Hauled a horse with ringworm

[TheBigEasy]

So many of you may have saw my post in Off Course about my friend buying her first horse sight unseen from proud horse traders via an online auction.

I helped her retrieve said horse and hauled it back 9 hours in my trailer.

Twelve days post delivery, she messaged me saying marsey has rain rot - diagnosed by the BO. Tells me it’s at the girth line. I’m puzzled - doesn’t sound right to me.

Today she sends me a picture. Looks like ringworm. Actually, I’m really confident it’s ring worm and not rain rot.

What do I need to do to my trailer? I haven’t hauled my horse in it since but we have a show in two weeks. Trailer has been sitting at my own barn since I delivered maresy to her new farm.

Seeking advise on a cleaning protocol or if it sitting for three weeks between hauling her horse and mine is enough.

[Lusoluv]

It wouldn’t hurt to spray it down with a dilute bleach and water solution. Cheap, easy peace of mind. Highly effective.

[erinmeri]

For all things microbial, I really like using Rescue (formerly AccelTB). It kills everything and is safe. It’s accelerated hydrogen peroxide, so it breaks down to oxygen and water. You can buy the concentrate, which will last you forever. They say it’s only for hard surfaces, but I have communicated with reps who attest that it works for soft surfaces too (and studies support that). Highly recommend over bleach.

ETA: I use it off label as my go to cleaner at home.

[erinmeri]

PS, depending on the fungi responsible for the ringworm, they can be viable in environment for up to 18 months… so you don’t want to just “let it sit”.

[NaturallyHappy]

I used bleach on an aluminum trailer and it pitted it…sort of…

[TheBigEasy]

After reading up on ring worm I figured that letting it sit wasn’t the answer.
Last thing I want to do is screw up my trailer - functionally or cosmetically - it’s only two years old.
I will look into the Rescue product mentioned above. Any other suggestions are welcome as I think my friend is also going to have to figure out how to decontaminate her gear…

[erinmeri]

Equine ringworm is different than cat ringworm in your home for a lot of reasons, but here is my “battle plan”: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cO0-MZkjeBFHk22HnF1ILWzVfLVNYs4MThISMiHDj_w/edit?usp=sharing

[Lusoluv]

The bleach solution is 1 part bleach to 9 parts water. It won’t ruin an alum trailer, but there are other options. This is just a cheap and effective one that I have used.

[TheBigEasy]

Holy moly that is quite the guide! If my cat ever gets ringworm, I’m totally equipped!
Thanks for sharing. Impressive work.
Hopefully my trailer doesn’t get lesions.

[erinmeri]

The only downside I have seen with Rescue is that it will peel paint from wood if left on too long (no experience with aluminum), and if you don’t protect your hands, it can cause dryness. I absolutely love it. Use it for everything: ringworm, COVID, EHV. etc.

[erinmeri]

The outcome of my total paranoia!!!

[TheBigEasy]

I have bleach, water, and spray bottles. I wasn’t sure if I would need to scrub also. Bleach is always the cheap and easy go-to. I don’t want to bleach my padded panels or floor or anything. But that dilute might be fine.

Guess I’m spending the day tomorrow decontaminating my trailer.

[NaturallyHappy]

Thank you…I’m guessing I did not use those proportions.

[erinmeri]

The price of Rescue seems high but it lasts forever!

[TheBigEasy]

Found it. Will be here tomorrow thanks to Jeff Bezos.
Now to see how this turns out for my friends horse…who wasn’t quarantined at the new barn and thrown in with the other boarders…. Ring worm running thru a barn will be much more of a problem than me spraying down my trailer.

[Lusoluv]

I’ve used the 10% bleach for disinfecting leather girths, rubber curries, horsehair brushes, wood stalls, feed/water buckets, rubber mats, etc. Nothing was damaged and the ringworm didn’t spread beyond the one horse affected.

[erinmeri]

I was just chatting with my barn manager about this. I haven’t seen any outbreaks in the last 3 years, even though we are in the muggy NYC area, since I have been back in the horse biz, But I remember a lot of ringworm (and scratches) as a kid in arid CA. I wonder if it has to do with crowding and management there? Hopefully it doesn’t spread too far or wide for your friends!

[TheBigEasy]

The situation was a recipe for disaster. If ringworm is the only issue we’re in luck.

You may have missed my story. Post 1 and 31 summarize the situation.
Makes total sense the the mare was carrying ringworm. Shared tack in a horse-traders barn. Lesions at the girth.

The naive friend-buying-a-horse

This is one of those stories I know the COTH hardcore live for. I think I’ve mostly solved the situation in my head - but thought I’d tell the story for your reading pleasure. Good friend, we’ll call her April, asked me two years ago about owning a horse. I ran thru my budget, considerations, amount of time I spend. All the things. She wanted a horse then, but her DH slowed her roll at the time. April’s 16 year old daughter took “a few” lessons in the last few years. April has not. She message…

[StormyDay]

Sounds like OP found a product, but I’ll also put out there; Oxine. Its used to sterilize labs and animal hospitals. It doesn’t stain and doesn’t bleach color. Its also very safe to use; it’s the same stuff as you get in the white lightning soaking bottles.

You don’t need to activate it with an acid for it to disinfect either.

[sascha]

Virkon is my go to for ringworm and I used to deal with a lot of it.