What to do about really bad rain rot?

Question

My sensitive little Thoroughbred mare has rain rot. Again. *Sigh* I live in Tennessee and it has been reallyyy rainy here and it seems like if she gets the slightest bit of moisture on her she suddenly developes rain rot. Oh well. Right now its really bad and ive heard that you can treat it with listerine. So ive been putting a bottle of listerine on her back and rump every day, and today i picked a bunch of scabs off and poured two on her. But it doesnt seem to help much. And should i pick all the scabs off? Underneath they are really pussy. But do you have any other ideas to get rid of this rain rot? I will be going on vacation on Sunday and i would like to clear it up before then. Thanks!

Answer 1

My horse had minor rain rot, no pus or anything, just little flakes of skin and hair peeling off (no bald patches though). I have never encountered serious rain rot but I know what to do.



You have to groom her daily, be VERY gentle, as rain rot is painful. Underneath the scabs, if they are pussy, yes pick them, and then clean them out. Give her a bath as well. Do some more research on how to clear it up besides here as well. Ask around in real life and Google it (though I'm not sure if they will provide right on answers but it may give you some ideas). Try to find some Topicals, like a fungus spray that cures rain rot. A list of some Topicals that cure rainrot are:



Rain Rot Relief by Equine Elite

Tea-Clenz Anti-Microbial Concentrate by Healing Tree

Fungasol Spray

Micro-Tek Medicated Spray by Eqyss



Also some medicated shampoos include:



Micro-Tek Medicated Shampoo by Eqyss

Mane & Tail Protect Shampoo by Straight Arrow

Answer 2

Because there is puss involved, I don't think it's rain rot. I would get your vet out. It sounds more serious than rain rot.



I would not use listerine for rain rot. I would use Eqyss medicated shampoo and Eqyss Microtek spray. It was developed to disinfect stuff for NASA and turns out to work really well on horses.



Also, rain rot comes from the coat being repeatedly wetted and not clean. So, I would shampoo once or twice a week with this product and keep your horse dry and mud free. At least, that would be my answer for rain rot, but, again, I think your horse needs a vet. I've seen a lot of rain rot and never saw any puss.

Answer 3

I've used MTG to treat my horses rain rot once. IT wasn't an extremely bad case, but I would assume it would work anyways. You can get it at your local supply store.... I rubbed it in all over the rain rot and let it sit overnight, then went through their coats with a flea comb to get rid of the scabs. It worked really well, it only took one or two applications and they were cleared up. I think it was about a week and it was gone for the most part. However, it wasn't a very bad case, so your's might take a little longer to heal. Good luck with your horse!

Answer 4

She probably needs systemic antibiotics to clear it up. You need to contact your vet for advice. Topical treatments can only do so much. If the infection is deeper, they don't work. A horse this vulnerable has already had this infection in the past so that the skin layers are already " seeded "with the bacteria (anaerobic dermatophilus congolensis) and it manifests every time wet conditions render the skin vulnerable. You probably need to treat it both systemically and topically to get it under control, which requires your vet to prescribe the antibiotics.



Add....if you are doing topical treatment, I advise you to use 0.9% isotonic saline available at any drug store. Soak the scabs and gently remove them when they soften. Then use saline-soaked cotton to clean the open sores. That is all you need to do. The salt in the saline will dehydrate and kill the bacteria, and exposure to air will prevent further bacterial growth, since the bacteria are anaerobic and thrive when there is no oxygen present.



For rapid healing, there is a spray-on product called Vetericyn that is an ionized saline. It also comes in a hydrogel form. It is FDA approved and cuts healing time by over half. It won't harm healthy tissue the way Listerine or iodine or other commonly recommended products do, but it will enhance the body's own healing capabilities. It has passed the rigid and extensive testing required for FDA approval. Isotonic (0.9%) saline will do the job and is much less expensive, but the Vetericyn is that much better and will hasten the process. I would still use regular isotonic saline to soak and remove the scabs, and use the Vetericyn to treat the open sores after the scabs are removed. If the infection is isolated to the outer skin layers, then this treatment may be all that is needed. Again, if the infection is deep, it may require systemic antibiotic treatment.



http://www.vetericyn.com/benefits/equine.php



PS....Rain rot is not a fungus infection.....it is a bacterial infection. I know the internet is full of misinformation and many sites refer to it as a fungal infection, but it is not. Antifungals do not treat dermatophilus congolensis infections because antifungals treat fungi...not bacteria.

Answer 5

You will need to pick up an anti-fungal shampoo and wash all the areas and let it sit for a few minutes so it really soaks in good and pick up an anti-fungal spray to put on the area once or twice a day until the hair starts growing back. It normally takes about 10 days for the hair to start growing back.



To help keep her from getting rain rot, make sure that you curry her out really well each day and when you take her blanket off flip it inside out so that it can air out and kill the fungus besides letting the sun hit her when it is nice out.

Answer 6

Wash your horse in the effected area daily with an iodine solution. It's what I've always used and it clears it up in a few days.

Your horse needs to be thoroughly dried after the bath and then groom him and pick off all the scabs. When you're washing use a curry comb. This will help get a lot of the scabs off. After that, you need to put a rug on your horse so it doesn't get any more wet. If he keeps getting wet, the rain scald will not go away.

If you just put a cotton rug on your horse, when it gets wet you need to take it off, dry your horse and put a dry rug on.

I would invest in an unlined canvas rug. It won't make the horse overly hot and it will keep them dry.

Answer 7

rain rot's really common, but there shouldn't be puss accompanying the rain rot. and if she gets it as often as you say, i would be concerned about a possible immune disorder. personally, i would have the vet out just so i could sleep easy while on vacation. i've never used listerine...and probably never would...but i use iodine/betadine and it works awesome. also, if the vet isn't worried about the puss or her having an immune disorder, i would just buy a rain sheet and keep that on her while it rains so you don't have to keep working at this.

Answer 8

Microtek Spray

Answer 9

ok well it took my horse back riding teacher about a month to get her horses rain rot gone completely but she used this rain rot stuff that she picked up from the horse and kennel by are barn ill ask tomorrow what it was and get back to you also you should pick the scabs off my teacher always tells me to do that idk why ?? but im guessing theres a good reason lol hope i helped

Answer 10

both of my horses had it..and i used listerine for it and brushed it out...but my horses wasnt taken care of very good..not saying yours isnt..i am just saying that as i started feeding him and getting him more healthy it went away...but also you may try putting your horse in a barn so it can dry....make sure to brush it hard with a hard brush...and keeping it out of a wet place and in a dry place will help..that is all i did for mine..oh if it is warm enough you can use some kind of idoine you get from the farm store