If your blanket is properly breathable, and you haven’t over-blanketed, skin shouldn’t stay wet
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Betadine scrub shampoo. Leave on for 15 min. Light rinse. Alternate days with chlorhexidine scrub. Ditto the 15 min treatment.
Rain rot is absolutely caused by a specific bacteria.
My area had a huge amount of rain about a month ago. It’s been unseasonably warm so no rain sheets n the hairy horses. As a result many horses at my barn as well as other barns in the area got rain rot. My old guy did all the way down the base of his mane, over his back and over his bum. Vet prescribed an antibiotic and medicated shampoo. It’s probably taken about 4 weeks so far but it’s slowly going away. In the middle of the 4 weeks it started to rain again and was humid so it’s likely the recovery slowed down because of that. Plus my horse is a roller so he could have picked up more bacteria from the soil. Those with rain sheets did not get rain rot. Vet did say that age is likely to be a cause of who got it badly. It’s ugle and gross but it will go away.
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Exactly so it comes down to the management of the horse as well as the diet.
I do not know what a rain sheet is. I am guessing a canvas sheet with no lining.
I am in a very hot country, mine wear mesh rugs with holes in them like shade cloth. The rugs are plasticky they do not get wet. They are strong and stand up to horses teeth and fences and the air moves through them. The horses get wet when it rains, however they dry quickly.
The other thing that can cause it here are people who use sweat scrapers incorrectly. On a sweat scraper with rubber the rubber is for going over the bony parts. The back of the sweat scraper is for non bony parts like the rump and neck.
The ones you buy nowadays even have handles to use the rubber side.
The rubber side only removes water, not sweat and the horses will get rain scald.
they are some variety of nylon without any lining, and modern ones are very light (physically). Canvas is heavy.
How does that cause rain rot?
No, they don’t, not unless there’s an underlying problem.
How does rubber only remove water? What is sweat - it’s mostly water. Are you saying rubber won’t remove sweat simply because it contains some minerals?
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Guess you’ve never seen a sweat scraper like this:
Works beautifully without the concern of which side is the right one to use in the right location. Never a case of rainrot.
I’ve owned ones like the one you’ve referenced and used the rubber side everywhere on horses and never had a case of rainrot either.
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she’s not talking about those all metal, or all plastic ones.
She’s talking about the scrapers where one side is rubber, and the other is…whatever - metal or plastic usually. Not sure if there are any that are wood with one rubber side. Usually they’re curved, at least here in the US. I don’t know if there are straight ones.
Waldhausen Gel Handle Sweat Scraper with Rubber Blade | – Paddock Saddlery
Those rubber sides really aren’t very soft. They would be kinder on the bony areas, but I’m also not really working on hip bones, or mashing down on shoulders. I also don’t have rain rot issues on those areas 
I have no idea if there’s a different kind where she is
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Haven’t had rain rot for decades. Not since I have been taking care of my horses. However I have been dealing with ^%%$#@ scratches like crud on a hind pastern. Wet skin from wet grass. Rain rot is from wet skin - either from sweat, rain or mud. When your skin gets macerated from water bacteria gets in. Or fungus. Prevention from the inside helps - I feed ground flax and it does increase the oils in the coat which seems to keep the skin in better condition.
I am now adding zinc and copper to see if I can help with the pastern crud. The horses HATE the taste but so far are eating what I am adding to their feed. Just one pastern but it looks icky and I don’t know how to dry out the grass. Hopefully we will get frost soon and the grass will die back. Also getting it mowed one more time.
I would try adding copper and zinc in addition to flax. It is not expensive and it might help.
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This is the sweat scraper we use.
And then I run my hand down their drainpipe at the back of their legs.
It may be that the people using the rubber are not using enough strength, it may be anecdotal, it may be that the same people are not feeding the right stuff, but tell them to use the other side and the rain scald goes away.
I have seen it over and over for decades.
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Same things, just different body parts 
Moisture is the “last straw” so to speak, as it weakens the skin and allows a higher risk of even a small skin break to allow the bacteria to enter. Pink skin is more prone than dark skin, which is why it’s almost always white legs that develop scratches, rarely pigmented legs.
what product are you using? There are lots out there, and some are ickier than others LOL
Slather with desitin to keep the moisture off You can also get zinc oxide powder and make your own ointment pretty cheaply
How is it then that 1000s of horses who sweat out in the field (or in their stall) and aren’t hosed off, don’t get rain rot?
I guarantee it doesn’t matter how hard you use a sweat scraper, the skin is still at least damp.
If they are suddenly getting more water off, which allows faster drying of the skin, that alone could keep the moisture from becoming that last straw. But if that’s what it takes, there’s an underlying problem, it’s not simply the moisture.
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I said that it is not sweat that causes it. It is people who over rug and create hot moist conditions. Also I am in a very hot country.
Dodge came here with rain scald all over his rump. It was pretty bad. He had his own set of brushes and it cleared up with the rugs I use. Medicated shampoo, etc. In summer you used to still see some of the scars. I will have to check to see if they are now completely gone. He has been here quite a few years now. It has not come back.
If possible, it might be helpful to have a vet take a peek the next time they’re near/at your barn just to confirm what it is, I’ve also seen them prescribe antibiotics for some cases too. Rain rot does present differently and I actually dealt with a case with an older horse with Cushing’s that was similar, it was very intense.
I ended up using the Blue Stuff as well as a very soft curry comb to circulate the areas that still had skin/hair (not on the scabs or open areas). Riding Warehouse sells some nice ones since a lot of times they have preferences for which specific curry they like or really dislike. Once you find one they like, it’s much easier to regularly curry them so hopefully you won’t have to deal with rain rot again, fingers crossed. Anyways.
The skin healed up and a bunch of hair grew back! I will say that rainy days did set back progress though so I would recommend a sheet that is very waterproof if possible. The rainsheets from Horseware Ireland’s Rhino and Rambo lines are excellent as they have 2 layers of waterproof material. My horse is always dry and they’re very breathable too.
It did take a few times to see improvement since this incident of rain rot was pretty strong. I’m not sure how big of an impact this made but I also did not pick any of the scabs as the horse was really sensitive so I would just put the Blue Stuff around and on top of the scab which seemed to help.
I’ve also heard some things about using Coat Defense, some say good results some said it didn’t do too much. I have their powder but have personally never used it for any open skin, only putting on unclipped horses after they’ve gotten sweaty when it’s too cold to hose.
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Actually, you said:
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Yes that happened to people in the ponyclub, used the rubber side then rugged. Not used the rubber side and didn’t rug.
Once they used the other side and rugged it went away.
Honestly I’ve never used a sweat scraper for sweat. By the time the horse is cooled out the sweat is dry or sticky. I do use a scraper after a bath, but generally when it’s warm enough to bathe the horse dries just fine. If I have a sweaty horse in winter I use a cooler.
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Guess you missed the part where I said I had one like she described…thanks for explaining it to me anyway.
I feel for you OP, I hate the Battle of Mystery Crud. I don’t have to deal with it often, but had one that was just prone to it in winter, naturally on the leg he hated you to touch. 
I did have good success with him by adding extra copper & zinc to diet & mixing with damp alfalfa pellets so he’d eat it. After staying on that steadily, the next winter we had ZERO skin issues & we both we much happier! Based on my observations, some horses are just more sensitive to all that than others.
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Something else to keep in mind since it sounds like your horse is on the older side. Difficulty in battling infections can be a sign of Cushing’s.
My 28 year old mare just showed signs of rain rot yesterday after a tiny bit of rain last week and then some light rain yesterday. I blanketed her but without a neck cover. Of course the bumps are on her neck.
Anyway, I’m testing her for Cushing’s at the end of November. Figure it can’t hurt.
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I am going to suggest a simple home remedy that I have used for years on my several thin skinned TB’s. 50/50 mix of Listerine mouthwash and baby oil. Whether the irritation presents as bumps/clumps or chunks of hair falling out, this has always been helpful. Spray the mix on, work it in, and leave it for 24 hours. The bumps/clumps soften, and the Listerine kills bacteria and/or fungus. Can take several days. I will also alternate with a 30% dilution of Clorox and water if the horse is out in the sun. The Clorox is even better at killing bacteria/fungus.
I find Desitin to be amazing. Not only does it soothe the skin, but also acts as a moisture barrier. Really helps heal irritated skin. Gotta treat though too. I still rail on about Microtek Spray being easy and effective.
During wet times like now I start spraying as a preventive to keep the skin feeling good.
