Rescue Horse With Severe Rain Rot and other issues...

The best rain rot treatment is petroleum jelly. I read about it in a horse magazine years ago. It is so much better than the scrub and scrape method!

Put the jelly on very thick and leave it overnight (and yes it will get covered in dirt but that doesn't matter). Bring some paper towels out with you the next day and wipe the jelly off. It will take all the scabs off with it. Presto! Although you end up with a much balder horse the skin usually heals pretty quickly after that.

yes, the laws vary state to state, and the BO can say whatever they want in a contract, but it has to be supported by the law. I also hope you can help theses horses, sounds like that should have happened a while ago. I agree totally with mls, that the BO has left themselves wide open for neglect charges at the very least. I also have no understanding of how anyone who has knowledge of horses like you say you do, can stand by and see a horse standing in mud all winter, to the point it can hardly move.......and do nothing. That is beyond my comprehension.

That said, if you really want to help, get this mare out of the mud! Get her to a drier place or nothing you do will work. My vets have recommended Silvadene ointment for the "mud fever".....my draft used to get small spots-nothing like you have described here, so I have no idea if it will work. I also think a vet is probably your best bet. I hate to think what her feet will look like when you actually see them.......

Any BO who leaves any horse, abandoned or not, without simple farrier care, etc for what you say is over a year (minimum) would not have anything to do with the care of my horses for eve 5 minutes. And there are other boarders there too? Mind boggling.

All I did to clear up my mares scratches is supplement her vit A. Its my fault she got them in the first place as I was late starting the supplement after the grass died. For the record, my horses are also on a formulated pellet feed and its still not enough A for her in the winter. My gelding would probably be ok but I supplement them both as a preventative anyway. When I supplement them, they stand out in the wet and LOTS of mud 24 7 as we are a wet area in the winter usually and they are impervious to skin problems like that when I keep them supplemented. Horses that get these kinds of skin issues are very deficient in VIT A. Google and you can read more. A horse that been kept without green grass for a long period of time is certainly deficient. I guve 5 CC of liquid injectable VIt A and D ORALLY over feed once every 7 days for two or three weeks depending on how bad it is. I don't treat topically. By the second week the rainrot will be falling off them as healthy skin grows in underneath. Then 5 cc once a month will keep them in the clear typcially or feed them a supplement like mare plus (even for geldings) that has high vit A.

Also her scratches was very painful to her and hot. I would never scrub or pick something that painful. Ever. Not if I wanted to keep my head on my shoulders. Treating from the inside out is preferable in this case.

These horses sound like they need to be surrendered to rescue for proper vet care. Anyone who would abandon horses at a boarding facility and the owner waits a year to take action should not be around animals, period!
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I think you should allow these horses to be taken by your local rescue. Then you could volunteer and be involved in her rehab, and maybe even sponsor her. Maybe you could eventually adopt her. But to me, it sounds like surrendering these horses, and sponsoring the mare would be best for you! You said you need another horse like you need a hole in the head. So why take her on completely right now? Let the rescue have her, that way it is all legal. But I am sure there is a way you can still be plenty involved in her rehab. So sad to hear this happened. Poor horses have to pay the price for our stupidity.

Or if there is no legal action pending against the original owner and you really want to take on the horse, move it to another yard. The original owner obviously doesn't give one hoot. Sadly people ditching their horses like this happens all over the place. We had one whom the owner still cannot be contacted years down the line and the horse actually had to be euthanased recently.

You have so many issues and obstacles to resolve first but assuming you can overcome those then its likely this mare is going to need a course of antibiotics as well as topical treatment because the bacteria from the ****ty ground she's living on - e-coli being a good favourite - is quite likely in her bloodstream now and doing her severe harm.
Keeping a horse healthy and providing it with some dry standing goes a long way to preventing this (I got hit at on a thread a while ago because I dared to say that I have never had a horse with this condition because I manage them that way too avoid it) however I have dealt with other peoples horses that have had it and at this point there are many products that are both fungicidal and bacteriacidal that will work - since there can often be two things going on its best to hit them both but you wont succeed with anything unless you remove her from the source of the problem as she'll just keep reinfecting now.

You are doing the horse a great service by taking interest in its care! If you are financially able to, you should really try to get a vet out there. It is likely that in those conditions she has developed problems much more severe than rain rot, such as lymphangitis or cellulitis from abrasions being bathed in manure and mud, and should be on a course of antibiotics, such as penicillin or gentamicin.

Yeah, that's my thought too especially since the OP mentioned her legs are swollen. That could mean a lot of things, but what comes to mind is infection from the fungal issues she seems to be having. I'd get the Vet out ASAP. Hoping this works out, she needs someone like you to care for her.

Don't touch that horse until you are legally allowed to do so. Don't get a vet out yet.

Horse people are batpoop crazy. Their owner could fly in at the last moment and try to attack anyone who's been around/messed with/treated/fed those horses in order to place the blame on anyone else but themselves.

If that contract is legally binding, then you need to talk to the BO about it before you approach the horse. Never approach a horse without the owner's permission. Ever. The BO might be thrilled that you are willing to do this. Or she may be angry.

Emotions get very high when a situation of neglect rises. Who's to blame? Not me! You are! Well you should have done this! Well why didn't YOU do something? You think you know better? Get off my cloud!

Find out what the course of action is for that horse from the BO. Ask questions. Find out state laws. If those horses really belong to the BO now, shame on her. If she is willing to give one to you, get a bill of sale to cover your butt. That way if the previous owner happens by and claims ownership, you at least have a bill of sale stating THAT HORSE was sold to you by SOMEONE and you didn't steal it. Pay $1.00 to make the sale complete.

I would caution taking that horse anywhere or being around the horse until you get permission from whoever is in charge, and get the whole low-down so you can make an educated approach.

Best case scenario, the BO gives you the horse and nothing ever comes of it. Worst case scenario is way too long to type out.