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Removing dried poop from tail

Horse Care
#1

I’m hoping for a miracle method or product. My palomino sometimes gets diarrhea and the underside hair on his tail gets coated in crusty poo. Gross, I know. This stuff is stuck on like cement and I can’t figure out how to get it out. I can’t really soak it because it is the top underside of his tail - sort of the body side of the dock, if that makes sense.

Any good ideas? I have tried multiple shampoos and conditioners but have yet to find anything that can strip off dried poo. Fingers crossed that someone has a great idea.

#2

Vaseline. Not after the fact, but applied beforehand. But that may not be practical, if the loose poop is intermittent.

#3

Soap and water to remove it. You can figure that out, big sponge helps, be sure to rinse well . Use a detangler on the entire tail to keep the poop from sticking and the piss from splattering and turning the bottom hairs yellow. Easier to prevent it that way then try do deal with the result after it’s in there.

#4

Soap and water isn’t cutting it. Hair strands are coated in dried poop. I have shampooed multiple times, each time letting the shampoo sit for quite a while before rinsing.

#5

Try applying Vaseline or Corona, leaving it sit then toweling it off. That will remove petrified, chewed gum off hard surfaces and should work the poop off the tail. Might take a few sessions.

#6

Maybe an eye makeup remover? haha. Or WD40? We would use that on big mats in the tails of horses that were rented for a summer camp where I worked during college. You might consider putting his tail up after you get it cleaned up.

#7

Dried poop can be brushed out. Use a hair brush and brush most of the crusts out. After that you can wash the tail as usual. Leave the shampoo on to soak for a few minutes, scrub with your hands and rinse and condition. After the tail is dry spray show sheen. It will help the poop slide off easier. Addressing the diarrhea would solve the problem :slight_smile:

#8

You need hot water, preferably a hot hose, and Dawn dishwashing liquid. And it will still take a while because you have to get the poop totally soaking wet for it to come off.

None of the shampoos will cut through poop like Dawn. and it isn’t too harsh, it doesn’t hurt their skin.

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#9

Once you get it clean, consider a braid: left and right pieces, gather the underside of tail and bring to outside. third piece is taken from the middle of the outside of tail. Rest of tail hangs free. This should help a lot. I do this with my gray (white) horse.

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#10

If you get a large waterproof canvas bag you can soak the whole tail, almost to the top. That should loosen it

#11

Only had this happen a couple of times (thankfully) but when it did I found that using “dry” techniques to get most of it off are a very good idea. If you get encrusted, heavy, dry feces really wet you end up with lots of really WET FECES and that is NOT a Good Thing. :wink:

Depending on the nature of the load, the hair quality (density and thickness), and how cooperative the horse is standard grooming aids like wide-tyne combs, metal bristle brushes, shedding blades, currys, etc. can work quite well. It will take more time; it does make a LOT less mess.

After you get the heavy stuff out then soak and use whatever soap products you find useful to remove what’s left. It’s been my experience with light colored horses (two palominos, one cremello, and a truckload of grays) you don’t get the stain out without using really dramatic efforts. And sometimes not then.

If you have a horse with recurrent diarrhea that’s not right. I’d spend some time trying to see what’s causing that abnormality.

G.

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#12

I agree that getting as much out as possible while it is dry is easiest. If the poop has hardened into stiff pieces then simply bending the hair breaks up the pieces and rubbing the hairs against each other will get rid of quite a bit. Then go over it with a stiff brush.

I would also make it a priority to sort out the diarrhea.

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#13

For anyone searching for the answer to this problem - here is what worked. Blue Dawn for the win.

I applied Dawn to the dry tail in the poopy areas. I really glommed it on and let it soak a bit and rubbed it in well, trying to separate the poopy strands. Fun! Then I washed the entire tail in Dawn and applied Eqyss Survivor detangler to the entire tail, but concentrated on the area that catches the poop. His tail looks great. I appreciate everyone’s ideas.

I did try the WD40 first, but it didn’t do much.

Also, regarding the diarrhea, I probably shouldn’t have called it that. It is more like wet and heavy poop. He has had trouble with frank diarrhea in the past. Orchard hay, for instance, does a real number on him. His stomach is sensitive and easily knocked out of balance, it seems. Wet and heavy poop seems to be the best we can do with him. It is not cow patty poop - just not many formed balls. He has been seen by the vet for this several times. I appreciate everyone’s concern.

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#14

Probiiotics and Yeassac.

#15

He is eating Triple Crown 30%, which has both of these already, I believe. I did put him on a course of Probios in the past and saw no change. I also used SmartDigest and SmartDigestPlus with no discernible improvement.

#16

Herbs for horses Probio Plus, from Canada.

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#17

You may try a few other brands. My guy was on TC30 and still had sort of sloppy poops. I tried Uckele GUT and it has really helped, but each horse and their needs are different.

Bonus: GUT has some yummy flavor that helps hide his other supplements

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