Last night I went out to the barn and when I pulled my horse out I noticed all these bumps on his neck. Only where the rain sheet didn’t cover him. I was out there Saturday and he didn’t have them, then yesterday he does. Looks like the beginning stages of rain rot but so quickly? He’s clean, in very good health so this seems so out of the blue. Is MTG still the go to for rain rot? He developed a small case last year on his back and hind quarters but this popped up so suddenly.
That looks more like hives to me. Any chance he could have been exposed to some type of allergen or rolled in any ant pile? Itchy? Sore? Just bumps or crusty?
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Yes, it could be the beginnings of rain rot. Or it could be hives from contact with something allergenic.
Every vet I’ve been around in the last 10 years has recommended Chlorahexadine over MGT. (sp?)
I spent many decades in Portland Oregon, where rain rot is practically year around. Nolvesan/chlorahex. Works best.
No ants, doesn’t seem itchy or sore, not really crusty (yet). I thought hives too but just on the neck? Can I get chlorahexadine at the drug store? How about Equiderma?
Contact hives - something on his skin or in the dirt and only activated and made contact where he got wet. It happens to my horse after rain all the time (also a sensitive chestnut).
I rinse with the hose and then sponge off with 1 cup white vinegar diluted in a small bucket of water. You usually just need to strip the allergen from the skin and the hives will subside.
We did have a few cases of horses getting into something in the mud and having some bumpy scabs that sort of looked like rain rot but they were fainter bumps than hives and many fewer than your picture.
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Yes. Hibiclense.
Equiderma is just chlorhexidine with extra stuff added to make it stick better.
My lease mare gets hives localized to extremely random spots. For her it’s environmental, certain kinds of weeds. But definitely possible to have them just on the neck and those look a lot like how she presents! Usually quickly overnight, or sometimes I can see her as I pull in the driveway and an hour later she has them.
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I’ve had several get hives just from bring rained on.
If the horse has bumps “only where the sheet wasn’t covering him”, he likely rolled and it’s some sort of contact reaction. Good thing he had the sheet on or the hives would be all over! It’ll probably calm down on it’s own, but 5mg of Dex might speed that up if he’s uncomfortable. Equiderma is my go-to for rainrot, minor scrapes, fungus crud, etc. Yes, as @endlessclimb said it’s basically chlorhexidrine, but considering the size of the bottle and how long it lasts it’s a decent value. Hibiclens is great, but is more expensive when you compare ounce to ounce. However if you need it today and you don’t have a local source for Equiderma then it’s worth it!
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I agree with the hives guesses, and think they appeared wherever your mare was exposed. My gelding gets the same reaction to something in the environment. If it’s long run of hives our vet treats with otc Zyrtec.
Which Equiderma is made of clorhexidine? The shampoo or the lotion? That’s great info!
If you pull out the hair and it comes in a clump, with skin on the shaft, it is rain rot.
I have been battling the same thing with my horse since the summer. After the bumps appear, they get scabs. He lost hair at one point too.
My vet said it is an allergic reaction to something. He never had this happen before. No changes to his field or hay. So it was just something in the environment this year. He was put on an antihistamine for a while.
I used equishield HC shampoo. That really helped clear it up. Now that it’s blanket season, I am using a 50/50 mix of listerine and baby oil to spray on the crud.
Equiderma Lotion.
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Thank you!
I think what I’ve been dealing with is clipper burn. He still has it but it’s calming down and doesn’t seem to bother him too much but it has gotten a little itchy. I’ve been using Coat Defense powder on him and keeping a neck cover on so I think he’ll live.
