Shoo Fly Horsehair Tassels

Shoo Fly Savvy

A shoo fly (also sometimes spelled shoofly, shoo-fly, or shu fly) is a tassel that horsemen hang on their horse while riding to keep flies shooed away. Shoo flies are traditionally made of horsehair, but they can also be found made in other materials. You commonly see shoo flies attached to browbands and throatlatches of bridles, as well as the sides of a bridle, and sometimes the curb strap. You'll also see them underneath the horse on the front and/or back cinch and pretty much anywhere else the rider simply feels like putting one.

While a shoo fly has a practical purpose most horsemen love them as much for their looks as for the job they do. Shoo flies are traditionally made of horsehair in varying lengths and colors, and commonly have beautifully braided buttons as accents.

Pictured at right: A shoo fly made of horsehair.

Picture of a shoo fly, or horsehair tassel

Other Meanings For Shoo Fly

While most horse people recognize the term "shoo fly" to mean a horsehair tassel, there are other meanings for the term. For example:

Sometimes, "shoo fly" is a name given to any item designed to keep flies or other insects off of horses, livestock, or pets. For example, sometimes fly masks are called shoo flies.

A child's rocking chair with a seat that looks like an animal.

A style of quilt block.

A kind of pie. "Shoo Fly Pie" is a traditional recipe credited to the Pennsylvania Amish, Mennonites, and/or Dutch. The pie is most commonly made with a lot of sweet ingredients (like brown sugar and molasses) and it is said to have gotten its name because the cook had to constantly keep the flies shooed away from it.

An old children's folksong ("Shoo fly, don't bother me...").

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