We have one horse that gets hives if we use anything other than Cowboy Magic Rosewater shampoo.
I have no idea why that works for him, but nothing else does.
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I use baby shampoo most of the time and Knotty Horse apricot shampoo for shows for my ultra sensitive chestnut. For just rinsing I like the lavender “slosh” from Smart Grooming (in UK) bc he can’t even handle most liniments like vetrolin.
My horse had free fecal water for months. I used to call it “juicy hay.” They squirt water which is brown, between the usual bowel movements. At its worst the fecal water covered his butt from the crack out 6-8" and on the insides of his legs. It went through his thighs toward the sheath and irritated the skin. It dried out and was crusty and took some scrubbing to soften it up and rinse. I had to clean it up daily. When he figured out what I was doing he starting moving his hind legs apart so I could get to where it was rubbing. The Equiderma seemed to be mild enough to clean him up without irritating his skin.
There is plenty of information about leaky gut, almost nothing on fecal water. They don’t know what causes it so there isn’t much about how to treat it. I came to the conclusion that it probably irritated the lining of the digestive system similar to leaky gut. I tried adding SandTrap from HorseTech.com. Rod, the owner, and I both searched the internet. SandTrap is psyllium with probiotics in ground flax, intended for sand colic. The anecdotal conclusion is that SandTrap worked. He got better over several months until he finally seems to be over it. It’s the only change I made to his diet. His poop was formed but soaked with the water. It is back to the normal dry state. He is 27 so I will probably continue the SandTrap.
You have to make a distinction between soap and detergent. You could figure it out by reading the ingredients, assuming you know the names. Years ago Ivory Flakes and Woollite were both soaps. I’m not sure about Orvis but it works well on the outside. My mother and the rest of her quilting buddies used it to wash quilts.
Ha! Until I scrolled down to your response, my mind was trying to figure out what underpants would be on a horse. I was thinking it must have something to do with the coloring of a Paint or an Appaloosa. (This TB girl doesn’t know much about colored horses). 
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I only truly bathe a few times a year (before shows). Otherwise I just groom, or rinse with plain water if sweaty. Partially because I’m lazy, partially because I don’t think soap of any kind – used regularly – is good for coats. Nature didn’t intend for them to be shampooed weekly! Anyways, I do need to bathe before shows, so I’m just trying to figure out the lesser of the evils for my delicate hothouse flower horse :).
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I like the unscented Castille soap recommendation. That makes logical sense to me. Dr. Bronner’s just went into my Amazon basket!
I get the Equate version at walmart, but I think it only comes in peppermint or lavender, not unscented. That said I like the peppermint and it doesn’t bother my horse who is allergic to everything under the sun.
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Dr. Bronner’s lavender or unscented for sensitive types! Beware…the peppermint can cause tingling on sensitive parts 
. You would be amazed at how many fragrance additives are in baby shampoos that are allergenic. Dr. Bronner’s is literally just soap. It’s one of my go-to’s, also environmentally friendly!
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Good choice. Given the number of different shampoos that you’ve tried, it might be the emulsifiers which are causing the problem. (Soap doesn’t need an emulsifier).
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