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Overview
Which horses benefit from insect defense supplements?
Nothing can ruin a day at the barn faster than bothersome bugs. Luckily for you and your horse, supplements in this category provide additional defense against these pesky pests. They help discourage flies from bothering and biting your horse, making riding and turnout time fun for both of you.
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Ingredients
(Maintenance Dose = )
| Ingredient | Amount |
- Ingredient Per Serving Per Pound
View full label »
How the Ingredients Work
Instructions
Instructions for Use:
| Horse Weight | Recommended Amount | Loading Amount |
|---|---|---|
Research
The following ingredients in this formula have research associated with them:
Reviews
The reviews provided on this website represent the experience of the individual posting the review. We do not adopt, edit, or endorse any of the submissions posted within the reviews section. Rather, the reviews are part of an online community of animal owners that desire to share their particular experience with other individuals. These reviews are not a substitute for discussing the health of your animal with a veterinarian.
SmartPak customers are some of the most conscientious animal owners around. We encourage you to share your experience with the products we sell to help fellow customers to make informed choices for their animals. We do not edit these reviews in any way - they are direct customer-to-customer communication. We do monitor reviews for positive and negative feedback, and use this feedback to improve our selection as well as sharing feedback with product manufacturers to help them improve their products. Please note that we recommend consulting your vet with serious health issues.
Leg Up® Bug Defense Pellets is rated
out of
5 by
34.
Rated 4 out of
5
by
HorseMomof3 from
Helped save their ears
I wanted to try a feed through supplement to repel flies but I didn't have a large budget as I have three horses. Year round, all three mares live outside together in a medium sized paddock with access to walk-in stalls, which I clean both paddock & stalls at least twice a day. One of my three is very sensitive to bug bites and bug repellent. I had hoped a feed through might give her some relief. I like how affordable the Leg*Up supplements are. I decided to try the Leg*Up Bug Defense Pellets. According to the Q &A section, it was recommended to start them on it 4-6 weeks prior to dealing with bugs. I was a little late getting them started on it as it was already May here in the Northeast and bugs were out but I was curious to see if it would still make a difference.
I like that this supplement is a pellet. I feed only a handful of a topline balance feed in the evening, which is when I also feed them their supplements. Having a pelleted supplement is much more convenient than a powdered one that requires more dressing to get them to eat. They were initially a little put off by it, but I added a handful of alfalfa pellets to encourage them to eat it. After a few days, they cared less about the supplement and chose to eat everything.
After going a full summer with this supplement, I am happy to say it helped. Those annoying little gnats that like to chew on the inside of their ears were overall non-existent. With a little maintenance bug spraying, I could keep most of the irritating bugs from landing on them while the supplement kept them from getting chewed up. Not a single bloody inner ear mess this summer and I was able to skip putting on their bug faces (that they like to maneuver out of) for most of the summer. I don't think that it helped with some of the bigger more insistent bug biters like horse flies and deer flies. Those still required a good bug spray to keep them off my girls. I feel that Leg*Up Bug Defense is a good starting point addition in ones battle of the bugs. You may still see the bugs flying around your horses but you will also see that they aren't landing & biting them as much or at all. As winter sets in here in the Northeast, I am removing this supplement from my SmartPaks but I will be picking it up again in the spring a little sooner than I did this year.
Date published: 2020-10-11
Rated 4 out of
5
by
And74 from
It works
I tried this for two months during the last few summer months. I definitely noticed a difference when I stopped using it during the transition from summer to fall. I also noticed my guy had a lot less flies and gnats on him compared to the other horses. Of course nothing works 100% but this worked 80%, which is still better than nothing.
Date published: 2020-09-29
Rated 1 out of
5
by
heather from
Horses won't eat them
Both of my horses will not touch this at all. They turned up their noses and refused to eat this.
Date published: 2020-09-17
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Sage from
Happy horse, happy owner
At first we were not sure if these pellets were working. Amazingly, on the day that I was having second thoughts, I received an email from SmartPak explaining that it takes a few weeks for the effectiveness to kick in. Sure enough, here we are a few weeks later and our horse seems very content and not bothered by bugs. We will definitely continue to use this product.
Date published: 2020-07-30
Rated 3 out of
5
by
KylieAndBoo from
Not much difference but easy feeding
My 2 horses have been on this for about 1.5 months. I don’t see any difference with bugs or bites but the smartpaks and feeding are easy. I will be trying a different bug supplement from smartpak next year.
Date published: 2020-07-15
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Achara from
Switched this year - works great!
Montana this year! His brother and sister stay up in shelter while he’s out unbothered grazing away. I had used other brand last 3 years and he was with them more often. This is best I’ve used. Not using fly spray or sheets either.
Date published: 2020-06-30
Rated 3 out of
5
by
Heather from
2 Later
I find this doesn’t do much with the recommended dosage. However, with what’s its made from, I tripped the dose per horse. I find that it is 95% effective against ticks at this dose. Flys are demons and don’t care.
Date published: 2020-05-25
Rated 2 out of
5
by
Tmc1 from
Not Sure Product is Effective Enough
I decided to try the Leg Up because of the ingredients, less toxicity; however, not certain it works well to keep the flies from bothering my horses enough. May switch before I reorder.
Date published: 2020-04-21
Rated 2 out of
5
by
Savannah9196 from
Horse liked it - didn't do a thing
Fed this for a few months and noticed zero difference in the amount of flies on my horse. Granted, it was a bad year for flies, but this was a waste of money. Switched to the SmartBug-Off Ultra Pellets but that also didn't make a difference. I would've been better off saving the money spent on these feed throughs and using it to buy more Endure Fly Spray
Date published: 2019-12-08
Rated 5 out of
5
by
DinaD from
Helpful Product
Florida insects are horrible! We have to use a ton of fly spray and fly catching devices. With that said, the Leg Up pellets are one more defense against all these pests. It definitely seems to help, my horse eats it, and it’s a great value.
Date published: 2019-10-31
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