The Dreaded Rain Rot!

When I got my horses back from Alabama, my Ex took absolutely no care of them. They were malnourished and covered in rain rot. At the time, it wasnt visible, but it could be felt. There was allot of bumps.

Finally, on my Appy, the hair started falling off.

At first, I had applied Betadine scrub, but it didnt clear up. So a few days later I gave them a thorough bubble bath, and started using the MicroTek spray on them, followed by grooming them with a curry comb. This took out most of the bumps. I also put triple antibiotic on the bald spots that were left by the rain rot on my Appy.

What else can I do?

Im going to repeat the MicroTek tomorrow to get the remainder of the bumps.. but what else can I do?

I know how to prevent it, but this is the first time I've had to deal with it (since my butt head of an ex didnt take care of them or keep their coat air-rated)

Thanks guys!

I may think of something later, I am a bit brain dead right now BUT
Have you thought about a waterproof but very breathable sheet? Sheets are generally inexpensive and keeping moisture away is the main goal.

Hmm.. My biggest fear of a water proof sheet, would be that I would get caught in traffic on the way to go see the horses one morning, and end up being 5 minutes late to the barn, meaning the sun will have just rose. By time I unlock the gate, i'd be afraid my horses would explode into little sweaty balls of hair! LOL! My gelding in CA was like that.. if they fed 15 minutes late, that means they would be unblanketed about 10 minutes after the sun rose, and my horse would be dripping with sweat.. haha!

Thank you very much for the thought! That's a very preventative step to take =) I may see if I can't become more weather savvy, and only put it on when its going to rain.. I guess I could always also buy gaits to attach to the back part of their stalls, so their in and outs can turn into normal stalls.. and when its going to rain overnight, just close those gaits off =)

Thanks again hun!

I used something call MGT or MTG im not for sure which one it is. I got it from tractor suppy. Don't know if you have one where you are. It smells but it worked really good and fast.

Yes yes, only when it rains. And I have found that my horse never goes inside (given the chance) when it rains. He merely stays outside and gets soaked. :roll:

LOL Same here, I remember the first rain I ever experienced as a horse owner all those years ago. I was walking in, sludging around in my boots with a bucket over my head.. and I looked at the row of stalls and all the horses were under their roofs.. except for one.

And that one was mine, LOL! Its like he was confused or something.

And even with my two here, they finally have AWESOME shelter, and grain/hay inside.. but they are outside being.. wet... lol!

I am looking for some State Line Tack and Tractor Supply's in the area, i'll be making a trip as soon as I find a job. Since my husband has really good military pay, I can afford to put ALL my money towards what I want =) I love it, considering my ex took all my money from my checks, and hasseled me about buying things for 5 bucks.

Wow.. im really chatty o__o sorry for drawling on like that!

I've has to deal with rain rot on a couple rescues before. In my experience, I've let them stay completely dry and I just kept brushing with a rubber curry until all the nasty stuff fell off. Yeah they were bald on their backs for a while but bald means its able to get air and then the new hair grows in. I wouldn't use any type of medicine on it unless there are open sores. If they were really dirty I'd scrub them really well with a mild shampoo and then they stayed inside until they were healed. And about the waterproof turnout sheets... high quality sheets allow the horse's coat to breathe. Same with the turnout blankets. I don't use anything else now - raining or not - unless I double blanket with a liner underneath. My horses have never sweated under their blankets unless it was too hot in which case they wouldn't need blankets anyway. It doesn't hurt a horse to get rained on - it hurts them not to get dry. Even a horse that never gets blanketed in the winter can avoid rain rot it it's coat is given a chance to dry out and be cleaned regularly.

I was told my horse had rain rot it was pretty bad and I used nu stock on it, and it cleared up within a weak, but I curried combed it out with a metal curry every day and applied nu stock on all the open places. Her hair was growing back within a few days it was amazing!!!! But now she's got the same thing on her two front legs which is odd but im starting the same thing with them im using nu stock. So hopefully it does what it did for her body .

Vetericyn is another product that works well. I love it because it's not just for rain rot – it works great on any injuries, big or small!

I definitely think that a blanket is a good idea. Even if it's just a lightweight or a sheet, it will help! The amount of hair that your horse grows is not determined by the weather or whether or not he or she has a blanket – it's the amount of light in a day. As the days get longer, he or she will grow less hair. A blanket will really just help!

When treating rain rot, keep your horse very clean. Wash all areas with betadine or another anti-fungal shampoo daily. In the areas where the hair starts falling out, pick the scabs and hair off and (after washing it with anti-fungal shampoo) spray Vetericyn. This will take care of the problem! Just keep at it! It's a persistent little bugger! ;)