How One Fly Spray Got Us Through a Summer of Rodeo Travel

The summer we ran Biscuit at a string of small jackpots from Weatherford down to the Hill Country, the flies were the worst I can remember. It was the kind of year when you could not stand next to a horse for two minutes without one landing on your own neck. And Biscuit, who is usually steady as a fence post, spent every warm-up twitching and stomping and shaking his head. He still ran his pattern, but I could tell he was working against the bugs instead of with me.

I tried the usual things first. A cheap spray from the feed store that smelled like perfume and did nothing by the time we unloaded. A citronella wipes bucket that dried up in the trailer heat. A fly mask that helped his face but left his legs and belly wide open. Nothing held up past the first haul. By June I had a trailer shelf full of half-used bottles and a horse who was getting harder to saddle every weekend.

Then a friend who runs a ranch outside Stephenville handed me her bottle of Absorbine UltraShield EX and said, "Try this on the next trip. It is the only one that lasts through a long day." I was skeptical. I had been burned by enough fly spray promises that I did not expect much. But I sprayed Biscuit down before the drive to a jackpot in Stephenville, and I did not have to touch the bottle again until the drive home.

That one trip turned into a whole summer of them. We hauled to jackpots, a county fair exhibition, and a weekend of team roping with my cousin. The Absorbine bottle rode behind the seat of my pickup the entire time. I learned a few things about how to use it, and I learned a few things about what actually matters when you are trying to keep a horse comfortable on the road.

The day I knew Absorbine had earned its spot in the trailer was the day we spent eight hours at a dusty county fairgrounds and Biscuit never once stomped a foot.

What the Summer Taught Me About Fly Protection on the Road

The first thing I learned is that a fly spray only works if it is on the horse when the flies show up. That sounds obvious, but most people spray in the morning and expect it to last through the day. Absorbine UltraShield EX is the first one I have used that actually does that. I sprayed before we loaded, and Biscuit stayed comfortable through the drive, the warm-up, the run, and the long wait at the trailer while the roping went on.

The second thing I learned is that coverage matters more than product. You have to get the legs, the belly, the chest, and the face. The label says to apply it thoroughly, and that is not just legal language. Flies find the places you miss. I started doing a quick check of Biscuit's legs and belly before we headed to the arena, and it made a real difference.

The third thing I learned is that the trailer is the hardest place to keep a horse comfortable. It is hot, it is dusty, and it is full of flies that come in through the windows. Spraying Biscuit before we loaded meant he was already protected when the flies found him. I also learned to reapply after a long day, especially if he had been sweating hard or had been out in the rain.

I will be honest about the drawbacks. The smell is strong for the first few minutes. It is not a perfume, it is a working product, and you can smell it on your hands after you spray. You also need to shake the bottle well before every use, or the ingredients separate and you end up spraying mostly water. Neither of those stopped me from reaching for it every single weekend.

How It Holds Up on a Real Rodeo Weekend

A rodeo weekend is not one event. It is a haul, a warm-up, a run, a cooldown, and a long drive home. I tested Absorbine UltraShield EX through all of it. The spray went on easy, covered Biscuit's whole body without a lot of fiddling, and stayed put through a full day of activity. The flies stayed off his face and legs even in the worst of the afternoon heat.

I also tested it on the other two horses at home. They do not travel as much, but they spend their days in a pasture that might as well be a fly sanctuary. Absorbine kept them comfortable too. The bottle lasted most of the summer, which surprised me. I expected to be buying a new one every month.

Who Should Skip It

If you are looking for a fly spray that smells like a spa day, this is not it. If you want something you can spray once and forget about for a month, no such thing exists, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. If you have a horse with very sensitive skin, test a small patch first, because the active ingredients are strong.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

If you came over for coffee and told me you were hauling a horse this summer, I would tell you this: do not waste your money on three cheap bottles that do not work. Buy one good bottle of Absorbine UltraShield EX, spray your horse thoroughly before you load, and reapply when the day is long or the horse is sweaty. Keep it behind the seat of your truck so it is always there when you need it. That is all there is to it, and it is not complicated.