What can I wash my horses faces with?

[Serigraph]

The both have fungus or areas on their faces where the hair is gone from sweating, fly masks, etc. I wipe the face with a sponge with just water and try to spray what I can.

What can I use safely for the face that will help the hair grow back?

[Jaegermonster]

I don't use anything on my horses faces but baby shampoo. Ever.
Basically if I don't want it in my eyes it doesn't go on their faces.

[ThoroughbredFancy]

If it's fungus related treat with some sort of anti-fungal or just keep the area clean and dry.

If fungus is no longer a worry and you'd like to encourage hair grown then apply some Aloe and Vitamin E cream.

[nextyear]

The both have fungus or areas on their faces where the hair is gone from sweating, fly masks, etc. I wipe the face with a sponge with just water and try to spray what I can.

What can I use safely for the face that will help the hair grow back?

I never use shampoo of any type on the face but will put a couple drops of tea tree oil in a 1/2 bucket of water and use a small towel or face cloth to wash the face keeping it from running into the eyes. I have had good luck with using just that.Do not use sponges on the face and wash the cloths after every use in something that will disinfect it (I do all in washing machine with bleach)

[Nanerpus]

I always wash faces w/Johnson & Johnson No Tears Baby Shampoo before shows. It's the only "soap" I would use on faces.

[fourmares]

Gold Bond Powder. If necessary you can put it in a sock and pat the sock against the horse's face... keep it out of the horses eyes. Also try a small area and don't have the horse tied up when you do it because it might sting.

[deltawave]

I wash faces rarely, using minimal soap, the hose nozzle on "mist" and a scrubby glove. If you have fungus and want to keep things clean and dry, get some nystatin powder.

[Angela Freda]

Another great facer washing tool is an old holey sock. Turn it inside out, and slide it on your hand to use as a mitt.
As for clearing up a fungus- I would think clean and then dry would be best?

[Penthilisea]

Luckily there is now a whole aisle of products for horse face washing- of course it's in the infant bath area of the supermarket/pharmacy. Lots of Johnson and Johnson No More Tears products, etc. Tea tree oil is also terrific.

I've found that if you have a wet sponge and slowly put it on your horses poll/forehead, they will usually close their eyes when you squeeze! Voila, no stuff in eyes. You can also run a thin stripe of vaseline or other oil based product on the point of the eye ridge, so the water will not flow over the eye area. Can you tell I've had some eye wounds to care for??

[caarabianlover]

you can also use cider vinager and water mixed 50/50 apply on a wash colth it will help get rid of the fungus

[katarine]

vetrolin shampoo diluted and rinsed well.

[sid]

Most horses love a good "srubbie" on the face...if a hose is not headed their way.

To train a horse to a face wash is to soak some small terry cloth towels in hot steamy water, wring out and have out it. Eventually, wring less and less water out so they'll get used to the dripping.

Once they are used to that, put your hose nozzle (hopefully you have one) on "mist"...they learn to love the soft spray without being blasted in the face. Rub with the terry.

Eventually, you can add "no more tears", with a terry scrub, wash off with the mist and they'll love it.

Sorry to be so long, but sometimes those things that horses don't naturally like can be learned to like in little steps..:) if you have the patience and skill.

[bird4416]

I have always used baby shampoo with a soft scrubby. My horses love the scrubby and it gets all the funk off.

[equineartworks]

lol! I was just thinking this morning "I have to wash Paco's face today...he is a gunky monkey right now after all the sweat from the past few days.

Katie's face (actually, the whole Katie) is always SPOTLESS. No matter what, I swear. She is waterproof, dirt proof, mud proof, the works!

Clean and dry for fungus, I would second a tiny bit of tea tree (maybe a drop or two) in a small bucket of warm water. Wash gently and dry completely.

[cloudyandcallie]

I've always used Johnson's No More Tears baby shampoo.

If you get those greasy spots on your horses' faces, you can apply the original formula Listerine (keep it below the eyes and don't let it sweat into the eyes) and leave it in. It will kill the bacteria and fungi and you can brush the residue off later with a wet wash cloth. No need to scrub.

[Penthilisea]

I was wondering if anyone elses' horses behave this way? My TB will not have his head sprayed. Period. You can do his neck, maybe he cheek gently, but the rest is sponge and towel. He also never learned to drink from the hose.

On the other hand, my older QH, who spent the majority of his life out in the big bad world, WILL drink from the hose and tolerates head spraying- but only barely. But he seems to enjoy drinking from the hose- is there a connection? Tolerance to the hose because it does something he likes?

[hesakeeper306]

my pony gets that fungus on his face that makes him lose his hair also. he has a very long forelock so his face gets very sweaty. I just wash his face every day with the tiniest little bit of Dawn or Microtek or other anti-fungal shampoo. Don't use too much though, or you'll be rinsing the face forever! Dawn fights grease so it'll get the sweat out. He gets the fungus on his legs, so I wash his legs every day too.

[hesakeeper306]

I was wondering if anyone elses' horses behave this way? My TB will not have his head sprayed. Period. You can do his neck, maybe he cheek gently, but the rest is sponge and towel. He also never learned to drink from the hose.

On the other hand, my older QH, who spent the majority of his life out in the big bad world, WILL drink from the hose and tolerates head spraying- but only barely. But he seems to enjoy drinking from the hose- is there a connection? Tolerance to the hose because it does something he likes?

my pony is terrified of getting water in his ears, that's why he won't let me spray his face, but I just use a sponge to rinse his face. he used to be afraid of that too, but I do it so often that he got over it :)

[Lori B]

baby shampoo (CVS store brand is fine) and I have to use a sponge, because the princess doesn't like having her face sprayed, even very gently, w/ the mist setting.

I find that you can keep the gunk down on their faces by using the softest rubber curry on it consistently. My horse is a giant ball of dandruff if I don't curry her well nearly every single day.

[LD1129]

I use Malsorb shampoo from local small animal vet offices. It can be used on cats/dogs and horses and has an anti-fungal. No perfumes and very mild so its great on the faces.

[DQonaDraft]

My mare absolutely despises getting her faced washed, so for day to day cleaning I use the antibacterial wipes from Walmart, etc. I can wipe her face down after a ride with out any drama.

[Abbeyroad1791]

The both have fungus or areas on their faces where the hair is gone from sweating, fly masks, etc. I wipe the face with a sponge with just water and try to spray what I can.

What can I use safely for the face that will help the hair grow back?

My horse has really sensitive skin and gets the same thing. This is going to sound very weird, but use one of those jelly scrubbers and Excaliber. (the sheath cleaner..) It's great for breaking up the dirt and fungus and the hair will start to grow back fairly soon.

[lindasp62]

I use Malsorb shampoo from local small animal vet offices. It can be used on cats/dogs and horses and has an anti-fungal. No perfumes and very mild so its great on the faces.

I think it's Malaseb, is it not? This one? http://www.malasebshampoo.com/

In any event, to the OP.....don't forget to wash the fly mask, tack (bridle, halter) and sponge, otherwise you will be putting fungus right back on the face.

[Maude]

I use Johnson & Johnson's baby shampoo. I don't have to worry about it getting in my horse's eyes and it rinses out easily without leaving a residue. I apply it with my hands or a washcloth. Only thing I've ever used. If it's good enough for a baby, it's good enough for my horses. :)

[Amwrider]

Diluted apple cider vinegar or even a diluted Listerine will help fight the fungus too. Just make sure to keep the face dry. After you ride or work the horse, rinse the face well and dry with a clean cloth.