Shasta is my 27-30-something year old Missouri Foxtrotter horse. I’m not sure of her exact age, but she’s in that range. She has a persistent skin issue on her back that looks fungal. It began a year or so ago, and everything I’ve tried relieves it some for a little while, but nothing has been very effective. It could be rain rot, but it’s not making sores, just causing her hair to clump and fail to shed when it’s hot outside.
As a 30-something year old horse, aging issues are expected. She is a hard keeper and loses weight quickly, so I keep a close eye on her weight. Most helpful for this is to simply feed her away from Comanche so he doesn’t eat her food. She’s otherwise healthy.
So, I made an herbal antifungal powder today to try on her and see if it helps. Right now it’s hot outside even though it’s the end of December. She probably would like to shed, but it’s going to be very cold tonight and for the next few days, so just as well that she didn’t.
Anyway, if the powder helps, I’ll put the recipe here for anyone else to try. If it helps significantly, I’ll also offer it for sale to anyone else fighting the same issues.
I used herbs I grew, some I cut from my sister-in-law’s bushes, and some purchased. None should be dangerous for her on the skin or in her hair (note: and especially I would not have used black walnut even though it does have antifungal properties. It’s extremely toxic to horses.)
Running Update
I’ll start using it this afternoon when I give them hay.
Begin: 2025 Dec 28
If it’s going to help, there should be some signs of improvement within a week or so. I’ll be looking for the clumpy hair to ease up and the actual fungus looking stuff at the base of her hair to go away. It might be difficult to get the herbal fungal powder worked down to her skin right now with her thick winter hair, but we’ll see.
Update: 2026 Jan 13
Her topline hair has become shiny and healthy. Clumped hair from topline over belly to about 6″ on either side is no longer clumpy. Hair on both flanks is normal.
I’ve been re-applying the powder weekly and using a brush to get it down to the skin. So far I think it is helping. I’m not sure if it’s the antifungal action of the herbs or the pH action from the baking soda. But at the very least it hasn’t harmed her, so I’m posting the recipe below.
The Recipe
Anti-fungal powder for Shasta’s skin
10 parts = whole
5 parts Beebalm leaf and flower
½ parts Thyme
2 part Rosemary
½ part Basil
1 part Corn starch
¼ part frankincense resin
¼ part gum Arabic powder (help with caking)
½ part Baking soda
I used a pint-sized mason jar, and all parts are measured according to that whole.
Contact & About
email: madison@wildozark.com
phone: (479) 409-3429
The newsletter is monthly. My blog is sporadic, so if you want the posts to go to your inbox, put your email address below. Blog posts and newsletters aren’t always the same (very rarely are the same), so it won’t hurt to subscribe to both 🙂
I’m a nature-lover, real estate agent & artist. Sometimes, I also write things. I began using local pigments to paint scenes from nature in the Ozarks in 2018.
If you’re interested in buying or selling in rural northwest AR, get in touch with me by phone, text, or email. I’m happy to help! I have a separate website for my real estate blogging and information at WildOzarkLand.com.
All of my artwork is available in prints, and where originals are available, they are for sale. You can find all of that over at shop.WildOzark.com.
Call me “Roxann” or “Madison”, either one works.
For pretty much everything online, I go by Madison Woods, a pen name I adopted when I first began writing and then later with my art. For real estate, I use my real name, Roxann Riedel. And for my fiction, there’s yet another pen name: Ima Erthwitch.
Do you want to learn how to use your local rocks, soil, or clay to make paints?