When I got my TB, he had rain rot & assorted skin funk. I had a curry & a brush set aside for him so I didn’t transfer rain rot to my other horse. Now that his skin is healthy, how can I wash these brushes? Would an equine antifungal shampoo do the trick, or would they need to be boiled?
I usually just add a bit of bleach to a bucket of water and soak them.
[QUOTE=Highflyer;8413807]
I usually just add a bit of bleach to a bucket of water and soak them.[/QUOTE]
I do the same. I usually add bleach and a little detergent, soak the brushes for about 20 minutes, scrub and rinse, then let them dry in the sun.
I think the OP’s risk of reinfecting her own horse is incredibly low, but it’s not a bad idea for brushes to get cleaned every now and then anyway. And, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Bleach kills everything.
Agree with Tex, rain rot/skin funk frequently has an autoimmune component to it, and once you get the horse straightened out, it tends to go away and stay away. I had a gelding who would get it all over when he first came in from off the track, but now that he’s been on flax and msm for a while, he only gets a tiny patch or two. I don’t disinfect my brushes and use them on every horse, no one else got it.
JUST went through this.
I have my mare, and a friend’s gelding, at my barn right now. Her gelding ended up with rain rot on his hindquarters - why we have no idea.
But, we had been sharing brushes because hers were at her house. As soon as we realized he had rain rot, I discontinued letting her use my brushes, and I immediately soaked them in a pretty decently strong bleach solution for about 20 minutes, then rinsed and let dry.
My mare doesn’t have rain rot yet - I’m hoping we were lucky and didn’t spread it from him to her by the use of shared brushes. UGH! I haven’t dealt with rain rot in YEARS, I don’t want to start now!
If your horse gets rain rot it’s because she gets rain rot, not because you shared brushes. As everyone has pointed out, it is not topically contagious. Now if you shared brushes with a horse with ringworm, that is a whole different issue.
But a glug of bleach in water and soaking for an hour or two is good for brushes - you would be surprised how filthy they get if you haven’t cleaned them in a while!
the Florida vets told me that spraying brushes with Lysol also kills most germs and will stop the spread of skin funk among horses
I run mine through the washing machine with bleach and hot water. Front loader, in with the grubby barn towels. But I buy plastic backed synthetic brushes so I can do that – not sure I’d be so rough on wood backed natural fiber ones.
I toss them in a bucket with hot water, some bleach and a very small amount of dish deterget and let it soak overnight, then hose it all off.
Thanks guys! I’ll bleach them tonight & move on with my life. :yes:
You would be amazed at how clean brushes get in the dishwasher!
[QUOTE=whitney159;8414473]
You would be amazed at how clean brushes get in the dishwasher![/QUOTE]
Oh hell no. You have no idea how dirty my brushes are :lol:
