What is our favorite medicated/soothing shampoo for cruddy, scurfy legs?

[Sing_Mia_Song]

Now that Waterworld seems to have dried up for the time being here in Maryland, and I can actually get to those legs, what’s the current opinion on OTC shampoos for addressing the crud? No one has open sores, they have that crumbly crusty stuff. I’m amazed it’s not a lot worse, to be honest.

I have in the past used Equiderma Neem & Aloe, Eqyss Microtek, Cowboy Magic and good ol’ chlorhexadine.

My BFF is a huge fan of the Microtek for her generally sensitive-skinned horse, I am meh because I don’t find it rinses out very well.

Equiderma is nice, the bottle just doesn’t hold up sitting on the wash rack all summer (I’ve lost most of a bottle when it cracked from sun damage. Honestly, I should leave it in the tack room, but stuff happens.

I see good things online about the Vetricyn Medicated Foaming Shampoo - opinions?

Anyone tried That Blue Stuff?

Anything else that seems to be the latest and greatest?

[Scribbler]

Head and shoulders followed up with desitin worked for me.

[WNT]

A free/clear dish soap with a capful or two of chlorhexadine gluconate added to the bottle. I found the dish soap really does cut through greasy crud well.

[Sing_Mia_Song]

@WNT

A free/clear dish soap with a capful or two of chlorhexadine gluconate added to the bottle. I found the dish soap really does cut through greasy crud well.

Ah, Dawn does indeed tend to be my choice for that first bath o’ spring! But for follow up/regular use, I’d tend to choose something a little less harsh?

[Sansena]

If you’re concerned about ‘harshness’, then pour into a tub of water and dilute before use.

Frankly, butadiene or chlorhexadine scrub is fine if used properly. All these fancy, new, “therapeutic”/ gentle, whambedine sooper duper soaps are just demonstrating the success of marketing.

And as for your sun vs. fragile bottle problem, just overturn a bucket in the wash stall and keep your soap out there if you cannot recall to put it in the tack room

[Palm_Beach]

@Sing Mia Song

Ah, Dawn does indeed tend to be my choice for that first bath o’ spring! But for follow up/regular use, I’d tend to choose something a little less harsh?

It’s not harsh at all, and is way less expensive than the overpriced specialty horse shampoos. I use it on manes and tails weekly, and all over whenever I do a soap bath.

[RedHorses]

For ongoing maintenance I find nothing beats a good rubber curry used frequently.

[Toblersmom]

@RedHorses

For ongoing maintenance I find nothing beats a good rubber curry used frequently.

For legs, it’s hard to get in the little crevices and over the knobby bits without banging around uncomfortably. The newer grooming gloves like Hands On are a lot better. You can even get into that darn little dimple behind the pastern on top of the heel bulbs with them.

[Texarkana]

@Sing Mia Song

Equiderma is nice, the bottle just doesn’t hold up sitting on the wash rack all summer (I’ve lost most of a bottle when it cracked from sun damage. Honestly, I should leave it in the tack room, but stuff happens.

Pour it into a sturdier bottle?

This is what I was going to recommend, as it’s quickly becoming my favorite.

[NancyM]

Have never had a problem with it being “harsh”, and it’s not a shampoo. But MTG works well for this sort of thing. Just put it on, and leave it on. Reapply as necessary. Wash off when finished.

[WNT]

I’ve had legs blow up after washing with MicroTek, and have not yet had the same issue with the dish soap/chlorhexadine blend. One’s mileage may vary, and harshness can certainly depend on the horse.

[Obsidian_Fire]

I second what Scribbler said. Was also going to mention Tea Tree Oil - in a shampoo.

[Scribbler]

I was using Dawn this winter on a horse with serious Poopy Tail ( now resolved with probiotics). Nothing else would actually cut through the solid clumps of dried manure. It didn’t seem to dry out or damage the hair.

But generally I’m a soap miinimalist and just use water to rinse horses in the summer.

[DoubleDown]

I’m a fan of the Vetericyn medicated shampoos.

[findeight]

Sometimes we tend to over treat minor skin irritation that plain old blue Dawn and water plus sunny, dry weather clears up fine. And they are not kidding with the blue Dawn commercial bathing the oil coated duckling. Just basic soap with no additives or boosters, Dilute it as it is in the duck commercial if concerned about harshness.

We used to use Ivory as a pure soap, that’s morphed into blue Dawn, believe same manufacturer. Oh, the different colors of the product mean it’s got fragrance, boosters, bleach or oxy added. Blue is just soap. Orvus is a good, clean soap too. The paste form concentrates it so dilute to avoid dryness.

Trust me, just wrapped up 18 years with a grey pig of a show mare with the usual minor skin issues on lower legs, tried everything, Ended up using what I always used, diluting most of the medicated offerings, rinsing throughly and relying mostly on clean, dry legs to avoid too many problems. Clipping close helps too. But you don’t need to throw money into the horse product marketing machine.

[cloudyandcallie]

Go to Walmart and buy the biggest bottle of original Listerine. Apply full strength to area. Leave it on
apply daily
it also repels ants and flies and ticks
cures rain rot and prevents rain rot.
Thanks to the quarter horse guy who told me to do that in the feed store decades ago.

[findeight]

Yeah, plain old amber store brand " Listerine" too. Makes a good brace as well.

[Scribbler]

I would also suggest that if you are getting a lot of fungal scurf, to check the diets for oil and vitamin E. Try a cup of flax in the mash. Plus remember that fungal infections are somewhat contagious between horses and I would assume could be spread around on a horse through brushes, etc.

[ThreeFigs]

Interesting thread! My mare and I are currently dealing with the scabby scurfy legs. Her legs, not mine…!

Going to file the Dawn dish soap idea away for the future because it sounds easier for sure than what I’m trying right now. It’s a treatment suggested by a vet at CSU. Legs wrapped in a super-salinated solution via standing wraps. (1 cup salt to 1 quart of water, boiled till the salt dissolves. Cool before application.)

So far I’ve seen a lot of improvement. Once i get more of the lumpy scurfy junk off, I want to clip Mare’s legs.

[ThreeFigs]

Will keep the Listerine in my bag of tricks, too!