Horse sprayed by a skunk! Tips for smell?

[RainWeasley]

So my absolutely wonderful, intelligent, sweet, playful 4 year old decided to try to make friends with a skunk. Apparently, said skunk was not as interested in being friends. I’m going out in a few hours to try to at least partially remedy the smell, BO said it’s not TOO bad as long as you don’t go in his stall :lol: We are supposed to haul out to go play with obstacles early tomorrow morning, not competing but I would still rather NOT have a smelly horse.

So, anyone got any smell remedies that can be done buying simple things at either a grocery store or tractor supply or something (AKA not requiring ordering online)? I’ve heard peroxide and baking soda, so that’s going to be one thing I try but if anyone has anything else they have used successfully let me know! At the very least, it might be a good thing to know for any future attempted friendships with things that really don’t want to be his friend.

[cloudyandcallie]

No skunks here but is canned tomato juice still the go to for skunk? Google and find the best solution

[4LeafCloverFarm]

I’ve tried many products and hacks over the years for skunk stink, but what worked best was a peroxide recipe I found online. It’s peroxide, dish soap and baking soda. You bathe them in it, rinse, and wash with regular shampoo. My guess is you’ll need more than one batch for a horse (due to their size).

1 Quart 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
1/4 cup Baking Soda
1 teaspoon liquid dish soap

[cloudyandcallie]

Ok that is temporary fix
Google says peroxide and baking soda and dishwashing liquid

[SonnysMom]

I have had a lot of luck with Massengil vinegar and water douche. It must be the brand name and the vinegar and water one not the scented. For some reason the Massengil brand worked better for me. You can buy a 4 pack at Walmart.

Dose the animal with the douche, rub in. Do NOT rinse. You can lightly towel dry. They now smell like a salad.

I would assume that you could figure out the PH in Massengil douche and mix your own solution of vinegar and water. I guess you would use white vinegar.
That was never worth it for me with a dog. It likely will be worth it for a horse due to volume. On the other hand if the skunk only got the horse’s face it might not be too bad. The douche applicator was nice with the dogs.

You probably could use the vinegar to spray down the horse’s stall to elimate any of the skunk oils he got on the stall wall, buckets etc…

I never wanted to use the hydrogen peroxide/baking soda/Dawn mixture since you need to leave it on for 10-15 minutes before you rinse it off. That seems awfully hard to keep the dog from rubbing itself on things/me or rolling during that time.

[clanter]

@4LeafCloverFarm

I’ve tried many products and hacks over the years for skunk stink, but what worked best was a peroxide recipe I found online. It’s peroxide, dish soap and baking soda. You bathe them in it, rinse, and wash with regular shampoo. My guess is you’ll need more than one batch for a horse (due to their size).

1 Quart 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
1/4 cup Baking Soda
1 teaspoon liquid dish soap

this worked on my dog…twice , she really did not understand why the kitty would not play with her.twice …so I keep an emergency ready to use skunk kit

[Maythehorsebewithme]

Note: Peroxide will probably bleach the hair!

[4LeafCloverFarm]

@Maythehorsebewithme

Note: Peroxide will probably bleach the hair!

The dog we used this on is black. I didn’t notice any bleaching of her coat. She was still shiny black.

@SonnysMom

Dose the animal with the douche, rub in. Do NOT rinse. You can lightly towel dry. They now smell like a salad.

:lol::lol::lol::lol:”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹ I am laughing so hard!!!

[DunByMistake]

I’ve done baking soda and dish soap with a vinegar rinse on my golden retriever. Then I usually do another soaping mixed with liniment and rinse with water. The liniment really seems to cut the smell.

[RMJacobs]

I had quite a skunk problem when I had my horses at home. My dog was the worst, as she would not learn not to chase them, but the horses got a lot of the spray, too. I tried what I had on hand: l’Oreal kids shampoo. I found that worked very well on horses and dogs, and the fruitier it was, the better. It cut the smell immediately.

I never tried peroxide, baking soda and dish soap because I never had enough peroxide on hand. But I do know people for whom this has worked.

Tomato juice has been determined not to work by people I know who have tried it.

Rebecca

[CHT]

If you are near a pet store, there is an enzyme spray that does a great job, and is even safe in nostrils and other sensitive areas. It is very easy to use.

[Lolliver]

I tried tomato juice on my dalmatian. It did not remove the smell, however it did turn him pink, so I had a pinky, stinky dalmatian! :lol::lol::lol:

[Minuet]

@4LeafCloverFarm

I’ve tried many products and hacks over the years for skunk stink, but what worked best was a peroxide recipe I found online. It’s peroxide, dish soap and baking soda. You bathe them in it, rinse, and wash with regular shampoo. My guess is you’ll need more than one batch for a horse (due to their size).

1 Quart 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
1/4 cup Baking Soda
1 teaspoon liquid dish soap

Our dog got a direct hit from a skunk. This is what worked for us. We also tried the tomato juice, and the OTC enzyme stuff. Nothing worked but the mixture.

[skydy]

I have no suggestions to help with the smell, but do make sure to ask your vet about vaccinating your horse for rabies since you are in a skunky area.

[Four_legged_farm]

And be prepared to have stink flare ups every time they get wet.
I had one sprayed right in the face and for months afterwards he had a light stink when he was hosed or rained on!

[2DogsFarm]

I got the same info as @SonnysMom from a no-kill shelter, but it was for cat spray.
Same idea: oil-based animal emission
They also specified it had to be the Vinegar formula, but did not say it had to be Massengil brand.

TeeHee… Imagining the look on the cashier’s face when you check out half a dozen - or more - packages of douche <VEG>

:yes: Agree with @skydy I had temporary resident skunks in my barn & asked vet to vaccinate for rabies.
The first time I got the Polite Professional Eyeroll, but the next Spring he brought me an article from Journal of Veterinary Medicine advising our area did carry a rabies risk for horses.

[DinkyDonk]

4LeafCloverFarm has the best recipe-- used it on my spotted mini donk when he took a full face skunk blast in his youth. Apply the mix, let it sit for 5-10 minutes, rinse. Works great; also works great (slightly different proportions) for cleaning pee/poop/barf off carpeting in the house.

[foggythistle]

You could also try Nature’s Miracle. It does a good job with cat pee odor.

[skydy]

@2DogsFarm

I got the same info as @SonnysMom from a no-kill shelter, but it was for cat spray.
Same idea: oil-based animal emission
They also specified it had to be the Vinegar formula, but did not say it had to be Massengil brand.

TeeHee… Imagining the look on the cashier’s face when you check out half a dozen - or more - packages of douche <VEG>

:yes: Agree with @skydy I had temporary resident skunks in my barn & asked vet to vaccinate for rabies.
The first time I got the Polite Professional Eyeroll, but the next Spring he brought me an article from Journal of Veterinary Medicine advising our area did carry a rabies risk for horses.

There is no professional eyeroll here anymore.:yes:

When rabies infected the (captive) CSU bison herd, it was a huge wake up for veterinarians and horse owners.

For those who aren’t aware, CSU has a very advanced and well-thought-of academic Veterinary practice and research program. It was embarrassing for them that they had not considered the risks.https://www.denverpost.com/2012/06/2…from-rabies-2/

[Peggy]

The hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dish detergent (Dawn is best since it de-greases so well) works and actually makes chemical sense. The concentration of peroxide is not enough to bleach hair: the stuff that’s used as hair bleach has a higher percentage of peroxide in it. It will remove blood, but that’s not a bleaching process

Upholstery cleaning services use peroxide to remove cat urine, among other things. The person I talked to said that they use about 6-8%. They experiment to get the highest concentration that doesn’t bleach whatever fabric they’re trying to clean. First aid peroxide is about 3%.