*whats the best way to treat rain rot?*

I have recently purchased a 3 year old paint. I noticed very soon after that she has rain rot all over especially on her hips, but its getting worse and spreading more and more. I have been washing her daily but she just rolls around afterward and pulls some of the clumps of hair out. It looks awful and when the hair clumps come out the areas start bleeding. I really don't want to ride her like this. The areas are painful to her and she doesnt really want them to be messed with. Is there something I should be putting on her? What should I do about it? Plzz help!!

I have found that taking baby shampoo and mixing a little bit of Iodine in with it helps alot! Poco has very sensitive skin and he never gets to go out on rainy days because he gets it alot. I usually have to bathe him once in it and it clears up great. With hers being more severe you might have to do it twice. Or you can get some betadine mix 30% betadine with 70% water and spray it on there and just groom everyday. That way you wont have to bathe her.

Betadine scrub, rinse well, dry the area really well. Then apply some medicated Gold Bond powder, which will help dry the sores. Keep her in if you can for at least a few hours after washing.

If you're able to (given the season), I would give her a straight betadine bath and just make sure you dry the areas very well after. If you blanket, I would attempt to leave off blanketing for a while as blankets will just trap moisture in and exacerbate the problem.

If her hair is long, clip it. Remove all the scabs, then use betadine and thoroughtly wash the area. Let it sit about 10 minutes and then rinse. Keep the horse DRY (don't use ointments!) Rain rot thrives on wet areas. You'll probably have to wash him every day for a week, depending on how bad it is.

Rain rot, rainscald, mud fever, thrush are all fungal infections. While it's good to treat them topically & do what you can to avoid or minimise the situations that they thrive in, if a horse is getting adequate, well balanced nutrition, particularly getting enough copper, zinc & iodine in it's diet, it shouldn't be susceptible to these problems.

Those are great ideas loosie, but she bougth the horse with it already. I'm lucky I've never had to deal with it on my horse!

I know all too well how much fun rain rot can be. My horse had it before too. I would suggest getting a good anti-fungal shampoo. I used Mane and Tail Anti-Microbial Shampoo and it works great. If the weather permits, make a soapy lather and work this well into your horse's coat. Leave it for about 10 minutes and then rinse. You want to get the scabs really soft so you can pull them off. When you get down the skin and its dry, I would use some MTG to repell moisture. This is a messy and painful process and it needs consistent treatment, but it will go away eventually. However I would definitely treat it now, before it gets worse. Good luck!


* And in response to Loosie's post, I think that some horses are just more susceptible to rain rot and mud fever than others. A lot of it has to do with the environment. If the horse is standing in mud 24/7 they are much more likely to get mud fever. I've never really heard of it connected to diet before, but I could be wrong.

I agree jubilee rose that some horses are more susceptible to rain rot. Simply bc I also have 3 other horses out in the field who don't have it. They eat the same grass and get fed the same. Maybe its just her skin type.

A few treatments I have tried, all worked with varying success:

• Yellow Listerine, full strength or 50/50 diluted. Saturate the area daily, do not rinse out.
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• Apple Cider Vinegar, full strength (REAL ACV, not just apple flavored white vinegar). Saturate the area daily, do not rinse.
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• Aloe Advantage Wound Cleanser with Phenol. Saturate daily, do not rinse. This has an analgesic (pain killer) in it, so it's especially good for horses who are sore because of the rain rot.
  Equine Wound Care
  .
  
• Wound-Kote or Blue Lotion. Spray affected areas thoroughly every other day, or after riding (if you brushed out the spray from the day before). My husband likes this treatment best, lol. Your horse will look blue polkadotted, but it works!
  Wound-Kote? By Farnam - Horse.com

You also need to be improving his skin from the INSIDE! A healthy horse is less likely to get rain rot and will fight it off more easily. Put him on a hoof & coat supplement that is high in Omega 3's, like Glanzen3, Omega Horseshine, or Smart Pak's SmartHoof Ultra.

I would also add some unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar to his diet. That will help get his skin PH back to normal and kill an infection or fungus that has gotten under his skin. Start with just a splash in his food and work your way up to 1 cup a day. Some horses don't like the taste, which is why you should start with a small amount.

Once the rain rot is 100% gone, you can discontinue the use of the ACV in his food, though I would continue with the hoof/coat supplement but in a half dose.

Also, if you're blanketing him, you need to buy a second blanket and keep them washed. Between washings, Lysol the HECK out of it every couple of days.

Same for saddle pads. Keep them washed and always use a clean one on him. You can reinfect him with a dirty pad or horse blanket.

Make sure you keep your grooming tools separated. Do NOT use them or the saddle pads on any other horses. Dunk your brushes and curries in a 10% bleach solution after every use, so you don't reinfect him or accidentally spread it to other horses.