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Pine Tar Soap/Shampoo

Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2019 3:11 pm
by blob
Has anyone used Pine Tar Soap or Shampoo on horses?

I know it's supposed to be beneficial for people with certain skin conditions and has some anti-fungal and insect repelling properties. All these things make me want to try it as a shampoo for my mare who gets very itchy skin in the spring/summer. But I can't seem to find if the shampoo/soap is safe for horses. I know people use Pine Tar on hooves, but of course that's very different.

Anyone have any experience with this?

Re: Pine Tar Soap/Shampoo

Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2019 5:32 pm
by Chisamba
The South Africans used pine tar to cover harness rubs on their horses donkeys and cows. We thought it harsh and sticky but it seemed to work. I think shampoo should be ok

Re: Pine Tar Soap/Shampoo

Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2019 5:50 pm
by blob
Chisamba wrote:The South Africans used pine tar to cover harness rubs on their horses donkeys and cows. We thought it harsh and sticky but it seemed to work. I think shampoo should be ok


Ah, thank you, tha'ts good to know. Yes, I suspect the shampoo will be much milder than direct pine tar, especially since it's formulated for humans. Just wanted to make sure it wasn't toxic to horses. Sounds like it's probably ok.

I'll give a try and report back if it proves to be a miracle shampoo :lol:

Re: Pine Tar Soap/Shampoo

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2019 3:07 am
by Canyon
I don't have any info about pine tar soap.

But, have you tried Eqyss Microtek shampoo? It really helped a friend's mare who would get a weird scurfy, itchy crud after she was worked and got sweaty.

https://eqyss.com/products/equine/shamp ... k-shampoo/

Re: Pine Tar Soap/Shampoo

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 1:11 am
by blob
Canyon wrote:I don't have any info about pine tar soap.

But, have you tried Eqyss Microtek shampoo? It really helped a friend's mare who would get a weird scurfy, itchy crud after she was worked and got sweaty.

https://eqyss.com/products/equine/shamp ... k-shampoo/


Oh yes, I've tried it and just about every other medicated horse shampoo out there. The tricky thing with my horse is that she doesn't have fungus or crud or flakey skin. Rather, she has allergies (flies and mites confirmed, and I suspect certain types of grass as well) that cause hives. And so she rubs and rubs, which then makes the skin further irritated.

She's on spirulina, which provides about 25% improvement. Other feed throughs/allergy shots haven't seemed to work. Dex works, but that's not really an option for long term.

So, I keep things from getting too bad by being really diligent about topical things that help with inflammation and/or are soothing to the skin to keep the skin from getting rubbed raw or too angry and making sure there's nothing else going on. What's worked best is scrubbing with a rubber curry and rinsing off after rides, a bath with shampoo/soap that has some kind of calming/inflammatory property every 10 days, spraying down with ACV + oil concoction, and vetricyn + vaseline on any rub spots.

This regime works well to keep her from going bald, right up until I take my yearly summer trip and then i come back to a horse full of bald spots.

Was thinking pine tar shampoo might work well for her bath days because in addition to working well for people with exczema and psorais, it also apparently drives off insects.

Re: Pine Tar Soap/Shampoo

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 5:20 am
by Chisamba
Gwen's mare who us in my care does very well with her "body condom" for allergies. It's a Boett sweet itch blanket. https://www.boettusa.com/

Re: Pine Tar Soap/Shampoo

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 8:33 pm
by blob
Chisamba wrote:Gwen's mare who us in my care does very well with her "body condom" for allergies. It's a Boett sweet itch blanket. https://www.boettusa.com/


Ah, this could be useful. Fly sheets don't do much, but this might help.

How much heat do you think this adds? I'm in GA, so summers are HOT and humid.

Re: Pine Tar Soap/Shampoo

Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2019 4:24 am
by Chisamba
It seems quite heavy and hot, but it breathes well and allows sweat to evaporate so it's not as hot as it looks.

Re: Pine Tar Soap/Shampoo

Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2019 2:13 pm
by Chancellor
Scarlett (who was a dog) had terrible eczematous dermatitis. The dermatologist I worked for a the time recommended trying Neutrogena T-Gel and it really helped her itchiness!

Re: Pine Tar Soap/Shampoo

Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2019 3:49 pm
by blob
Chancellor wrote:Scarlett (who was a dog) had terrible eczematous dermatitis. The dermatologist I worked for a the time recommended trying Neutrogena T-Gel and it really helped her itchiness!


Ah, yes, I know people who use T-Gel.

Re: Pine Tar Soap/Shampoo

Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2019 3:57 pm
by Silverado
I use Neem & Tea Tree shampoo from The Healing Barn for my sweet itch pony.

Re: Pine Tar Soap/Shampoo

Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2019 11:17 pm
by piedmontfields
MSM? DMG?

So sorry for your horse---keep posting what doesn't work!

Re: Pine Tar Soap/Shampoo

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2019 1:44 pm
by blob
piedmontfields wrote:MSM? DMG?

So sorry for your horse---keep posting what doesn't work!


She's on MSM. But it doesn't seem to make much difference for her hives...I still feed it because it's inexpensive and I do think it is a useful supplement for joints.

I have not tried DMG, though!

The most useful feed through has been spirulina which seemed to delay her hives getting to their worst. In July I thought it was really working for us. But by september there wasn't much difference from past years.

I am keeping her on the spirulina this year and am trying smartbreathe. It's meant for respiratory allergies, but nearly all the ingredients are ones that work to calm inflammation, so it seemed worth a try.

Re: Pine Tar Soap/Shampoo

Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:07 pm
by LeoApp
Have you tried Hydroxizine? That is specifically for horses that get welts or wheals from allergies and also for no-see-ums. My friend's horse gets a bit of headshaking, rubs his tail, and his eyes get puffy and tear as soon as spring starts. He has been on Hydroxizine for a week now and is much, much better. His eyes are no longer swelling and tearing and his head shaking has gone away.