Label on the Omega Alpha Neemella After Bath Lotion, Photo by: Lorraine Peachey

I love this time of the year. Here in Pennsylvania, the days are pleasantly warm–but not overly hot yet. The freezing days of Winter seem to be a bad memory at this point, as flies buzz around the barn. The cold. The snow. The mud. Horses rolling in said mud.

Once mud dries, I feel like I can never truly get my horse clean until I am able to bathe them. One of the (many) things that I like about the comfortably warm days of the present is that I finally feel like the temperature is warm enough for bathing my horses.

A perfectly clean horse is a wonderful sight to behold. Finishing up after bathing one of my horses gives me a sense of accomplishment. Well, for about all of five whole minutes – once I turn said horse loose and he goes out for a nice roll…not so much.

Of course, I just try to keep a good sense of humor when I’m around horses. They roll when they’re clean. Or sneeze on you when you’re clean. I always just go with the theory that a horse feels so good after you bathe or groom them, that they just have to get down to get their roll on, since I think that makes them feel even better.

But it’s a little disheartening when you feel like all of that scrubbing and shining up went to waste. After a good ‘ole fashioned roll, no horse still has the squeaky clean look or smell. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. And the only thing that can really bring it back is a(nother) bath. And who has time for that when you’ve got other horses to clean and ride? Which is why, I was very happy when the chance came up for me to try out Neemella, which is an after bath lotion made by Omega Alpha Equine.

There’s this smell that a horse gets after you bathe them – the aroma of shampoo blending with their natural horse-y scent. It’s definitely one of those great summertime smells. Throw a little fly spray in to the mix, and you’ve really got a great combination.

Anyway, I digress. I’ve started to apply the Neemella after bath lotion on my horses after…well, naturally after their baths! Neemella is available in both a 1 liter and 1 gallon container. From my own experience, I liked using the 1 liter container; it is easy to handle and very convenient to use with a spray nozzle attachment.

Neemella goes on nicely via a spray application. And it has, in my very humble opinion, a pleasant aroma. Rufus certainly seemed to want to get a better whiff of it while I was applying it to his coat anyway.

The application went quickly, and again the only indication that I sprayed anything was a pleasing aroma that lingered in the air afterwards. After bathing all three of my geldings, I put them into their stalls for the night.

The next day after their coats dried, they felt noticeably soft to the touch. And, the nice aroma still hovered around them. Too bad that within five minutes of turning my ‘boys’ out the next day after their baths, they all rolled. Or was it?

When I went to bring the gang in later in the day, I observed that their coats were still nice and soft, and they still had the subtle scent of the Neemella hanging around them. Ok, so maybe I needed to lean in to sniff them – the scent was pleasant, but not overbearing.And, I did detect a bit of a shine as well.

So what does the Neemella smell like?It does have a fresh lotion aroma; Neemella also contains both Neem oil and Citronella oil, because it is made to “lessen Summer’s annoyances”. Which is why I got the sense of there being a hint of the smell of fly spray that was a part of the aroma of the Neemella. Personally, I really like the fragrance that the Citronella helps to add to the after bath lotion, because when I close my eyes and breathe deeply, I smell Summer.

Another observation that I made when I rounded up my horses to bring them in from pasture was that they did not appear to be getting harassed by clouds of flies. In fact, they did not seem irritable or bothered by bugs.

I really like that not only did the Neemella help make my horse’s coats softer, but it also acts as a type of insect repellent. Since one of my gang is a giant beast of a horse, who is acutely sensitive to fly and insect bites – well, let’s just say insect repelling properties are much desired around my barn.

The Neemella after bath lotion made by Omega Alpha Equine is very easy to use, especially with the spray applicator. I personally liked the soft feel and shiny appearance that the Neemella gave the coat. And, the Citronella helps to not only give it a nice aroma, but it also helps to deter flies and bugs as well. Which is a huge plus in my mind. I am quite pleased to have found a convenient after bath product that helps to make my horse’s coats soft and shiny, while deterring bugs at the same time. Happy Summer, indeed.

Go Bug-Fighting After Bath Lotion.  Go Omega Alpha Equine.  Go Eventing.

From Annika: This was taken today on my very own Reason in Fort Collins, CO. Reason is a 6 year old warmblood, who was raised as an orphan as he was  a twin and his mom rejected him. He has certainly been the journey but days like this, hacking out alone, on a horse you know better than anything? Clearly the journey is worth it!