Feeding garlic to horses?

I've read that feeding garlic to horses can help keep the flies and ticks away. I've been researching it some, mostly out of curiosity, to see what people think of it. I've seen where some people really like it, and others say it's not good for a horse? Anyway, does anyone here feed it to their horses? What do you think of it?

I did the garlic for my horses last year fed it for over five months never did a thing for repelling the flys or ticks. I had a heck of a time getting them to eat it also had to use soaked beet pulp to get them to eat it. That's my experience with it wont do it again.

I have tried it and had no significant results. However, I have found great results adding Diamataceus Earth to our feed at every feeding and it reduced the flies to almost none at all. It is a cheap solution since it comes in a 50lb bag and you just need a table spoon at each feeding to get great results. We buy it at the feed store. Plus it is a natural product. If you need a technical dicussion about how it works just ask.

I'm feeding garlic to some of my crew. They all eat it up right away and I've noticed a BIG difference.

I've heard garlic could cause anemia if you feed it for too long...

My mom-in-law swears by it, so I bought some and hated it. The flies and ticks were just as bad as before and it made the barn REEK like garlic the entire summer. It was gross.

I have heard that a small amount of apple cider vinegar will acidify the blood just a small amount and drive the flies off. Haven't tried it tho.

I personally hate drenching my horse in chemicals and refuse to do it. I found a great all natural product that I adore. It is called belly balm and is a green ointment that smells like citronella and has aloe in it. I rub it on her belly, by her eyes and behind her ears and never had a fly problem all season. Our gelding gets horrible hives and sores from flies and we used that in the areas not covered by his fly sheet and he healed everything up that was there and never got another sore. I would definitely recommend it!

Are there any possible negative effects to feeding? And are you at a boarding facility or your own place? I'm only asking because I'm wondering if it emits a smell from the horse or if it's something in their poo that makes fly breeding impossible..
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DME is better, and without smelling like a caesar salad and risking anemia

Where do you buy it? Maybe I haven't been looking hard enough but I never see it. How much do you feed?
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