Rain Rot covering whole body... any miracle cures??

[RolexReady]

So I moved my horse to a new barn a couple months ago - great little place and he loves his new “heard.” He is in half the day/out half the day - right now with the changing weather we play it by ear which half of the day is better for them to be out for etc. A couple weeks ago he came in one day with what at first looking to be like some hives… I gave him some meds and it seemed to help a little. This past week the “hives” ended up coming all over his whole body, but now its actually turning out to be rain rot. They really havent scabbed up enough for me to be able to really curry completely off. I am trying to give him some MTG baths and curry what I can but it doesnt seem to be doing much!! I will eventually clip him for the winter which I know would help but were not really anywhere near that point yet… Does anyone have any special magical remedies for this??

Iv never had to deal with this bad of a case all ove rthe body - usually just legs and id be able to curry completely off, and then use MTG and desitin and that would work like a charm for me. However I dont think covering his whole body in desitin is realistic!

Ugh happy fall I guess right? TIA for any help.

[eqsiu]

I’d go ahead and clip the affected areas if you can. The less hair there is holding moisture in the better. Sure, you may need to clip again sooner than you normally would, but more air to the skin is a good thing now. Once that’s done you can treat the lesions as normal.

[HRF_Second_Chance]

I love Fungasol. It has three options, shampoo, spray and a gel that you can put on. It works out great. However, it sounds like your horse might need more help than that. Depending on the severity you may need your vet to come see it. Or if you can get ahold of Chloraxiden (sp?) that usually works. You can also do a betadine scrub, leave it on for about 10 minutes and then rinse it off. Good luck!

[AllDay]

Banixx doesn’t look or smell like anything, but is the single best product imho for massive amounts of rain rot on a horse. It’s also the most humane, vs. home remedies that can burn, such as mouthwash.

[skipollo]

I honestly use old school Listerine (the brown kind) in a spray bottle, not diluted. I’ll wash the areas with Betadine, let him dry, then douse with Listerine. Within a few days a lot of it clears up.

Banixx is great too but more expensive than Listerine, especially if you’re treating his whole body.

I have a dedicated curry just for skin funk as well–it’s the hard plastic kind, not the softer rubber type. It really gets up all of the yuck.

[Texarkana]

Whole body rain rot is usually a symptom of a bigger problem-- often nutritional deficiency, other times secondary to illness or stress.

Boosting omega 3s can help you get the upper hand on the skin condition. Try adding 1/2-1 cup of whole or ground flax to his diet. Sometimes that alone works to clear up the rain rot, other times you still need to treat it topically. Micro-Tek and Equiderma are two products that tend to work well for me if I need more than chlorohexidine scrub alone.

You also want to look at what else in his life changed when he moved barns-- maybe he was more stressed than you could tell from the move itself, which allowed the rain rot to become established. Or maybe something in his diet or lifestyle changed in a manner that is negatively impacting his health.

[RolexReady]

Nothing changed other than he has to “rough” it if theres a slight rain storm while hes out. The old BO was anal and brought the horses in for any small chance of rain, now hes out unless its going to be a bad storm/thunder/lightening etc! Otherwise his weight is muscling is still top notch, same attitude on ground and under saddle. Vet has been monitoring ever since he came though. She had to come out for another horse right when we came and I had her do a basic look over to get acquainted with him and shes seen him ever since whenever shes needed to come out for other horses.

[Cynical25]

In my experience, 5cc/week of Vitamin A clears it up in a few weeks without using any other topicals or bathing. I buy the injectable cattle type and dose orally - either straight in their mouth (messy) or mixed in with feed (into soaked alfalfa cubes for picky eaters or straight on grain for the chow hounds.)

[S1969]

@RolexReady

Nothing changed other than he has to “rough” it if theres a slight rain storm while hes out. The old BO was anal and brought the horses in for any small chance of rain, now hes out unless its going to be a bad storm/thunder/lightening etc! Otherwise his weight is muscling is still top notch, same attitude on ground and under saddle. Vet has been monitoring ever since he came though. She had to come out for another horse right when we came and I had her do a basic look over to get acquainted with him and shes seen him ever since whenever shes needed to come out for other horses.

Horses don’t get rain rot because they are wet. My horses never get rain rot, and spend lots of time out in the rain. Rain rot is typically a fungal infection, so a fungicidal treatment would be the first choice. I agree that Banixx is worth trying.

I also agree that a whole body “rain rot” is more likely a symptom of something else - an immune system issue, allergy or deficiency. What did the vet recommend, since she is monitoring? I’d want to at least rule out anything like ringworm or lice infestation.

[skydy]

@RolexReady

Nothing changed other than he has to “rough” it if theres a slight rain storm while hes out. The old BO was anal and brought the horses in for any small chance of rain, now hes out unless its going to be a bad storm/thunder/lightening etc! Otherwise his weight is muscling is still top notch, same attitude on ground and under saddle. Vet has been monitoring ever since he came though. She had to come out for another horse right when we came and I had her do a basic look over to get acquainted with him and shes seen him ever since whenever shes needed to come out for other horses.

What is the vet’s advice?

[Texarkana]

@RolexReady

Nothing changed other than he has to “rough” it if theres a slight rain storm while hes out. The old BO was anal and brought the horses in for any small chance of rain, now hes out unless its going to be a bad storm/thunder/lightening etc! Otherwise his weight is muscling is still top notch, same attitude on ground and under saddle. Vet has been monitoring ever since he came though. She had to come out for another horse right when we came and I had her do a basic look over to get acquainted with him and shes seen him ever since whenever shes needed to come out for other horses.

As @S1969 said, “rain” alone should not cause rain rot. Rain can be a trigger that exacerbates the condition, but something else loads the gun and allows for a skin infection to become established.

Even little changes can start a cascade that allows for rain rot to develop. For example, high iron well water can affect mineral absorption, notably Cu and Zn. More fresh grass v. less fresh grass can drastically change the intake of omega 3s, vitamin A, vitamin E, etc. A horse having to find his place in the pecking order of a new herd can cause ulcer issues that may never present behaviorally, but stress the immune system. The list goes on… If it’s just stress, the horse will get over it with time. But if it’s not just stress, you may need to tweak the diet or find the underlying cause.

[Guilherme]

@S1969

Horses don’t get rain rot because they are wet. My horses never get rain rot, and spend lots of time out in the rain. Rain rot is typically a fungal infection, so a fungicidal treatment would be the first choice. I agree that Banixx is worth trying.

I also agree that a whole body “rain rot” is more likely a symptom of something else - an immune system issue, allergy or deficiency. What did the vet recommend, since she is monitoring? I’d want to at least rule out anything like ringworm or lice infestation.

Concur fully. More than a minor fungal problem is at play, here. A vet call is in order.

G.

[RolexReady]

@S1969

Horses don’t get rain rot because they are wet. My horses never get rain rot, and spend lots of time out in the rain. Rain rot is typically a fungal infection, so a fungicidal treatment would be the first choice. I agree that Banixx is worth trying.

I also agree that a whole body “rain rot” is more likely a symptom of something else - an immune system issue, allergy or deficiency. What did the vet recommend, since she is monitoring? I’d want to at least rule out anything like ringworm or lice infestation.

No not saying its from straight rain, more so that our moisture levels are much higher which can contribute to its growth sometimes! Vet isnt overly concerned, she said shes been seeing tons of cases in our area lately. She prescribed us a medicated shampoo - not sure of the name off the top of my head - ill have to take note when I go back out to the barn this afternoon. Said to use it 3x per week for a couple weeks and to continue with my regular antifungal routine afterwards.

[Marla_100]

Improve the diet/nutrition and you’ll probably eleminate skin problems. More Vit. A , Copper and Zinc usually helps.

If rain caused rain rot, my horses would be covered in it. they are out 24/7 in Florida monsoons all summer. Never

have skin problems.

[S1969]

@RolexReady

No not saying its from straight rain, more so that our moisture levels are much higher which can contribute to its growth sometimes! Vet isnt overly concerned, she said shes been seeing tons of cases in our area lately. She prescribed us a medicated shampoo - not sure of the name off the top of my head - ill have to take note when I go back out to the barn this afternoon. Said to use it 3x per week for a couple weeks and to continue with my regular antifungal routine afterwards.

Well, so…have you used the shampoo and is it helping?

Not sure why you are asking for other treatments if the vet has already prescribed something. Unless it’s not working. In which case it would help if you told us what it was, so we know what doesn’t work.

You are right, it’s not from the rain. Or the moisture. It’s from fungus or bacterial skin conditions. It’s wet in lots of places, not just where you live.

[RolexReady]

@S1969

Well, so…have you used the shampoo and is it helping?

Not sure why you are asking for other treatments if the vet has already prescribed something. Unless it’s not working. In which case it would help if you told us what it was, so we know what doesn’t work.

You are right, it’s not from the rain. Or the moisture. It’s from fungus or bacterial skin conditions. It’s wet in lots of places, not just where you live.

Easy killer - not sure where you thought i was claiming its not wet anywhere else except where im located… however moisture, humidity etc does indeed have effect on the issue. I have used the shampoo once two days ago, one day prior to when i made this post. My next treatment is today. so not enough time to tell if it is or is not working. simply asking if anyone had any special remedies something i could maybe try using in the future for preventative purposes, or just to have in my bank of knowledge. If you dont like that I posted on a public forum to seek advice from others with the same problem, then just move along to the next post then. No need to be snarky

[S1969]

@RolexReady

Easy killer - not sure where you thought i was claiming its not wet anywhere else except where im located… however moisture, humidity etc does indeed have effect on the issue. I have used the shampoo once two days ago, one day prior to when i made this post. My next treatment is today. so not enough time to tell if it is or is not working. simply asking if anyone had any special remedies something i could maybe try using in the future for preventative purposes, or just to have in my bank of knowledge. If you dont like that I posted on a public forum to seek advice from others with the same problem, then just move along to the next post then. No need to be snarky

Easy yourself.

One of the most frustrating things about COTH is that people often ask for advice, get responses, and THEN tell posters the rest of the story, or why they disagree with their vet, etc.

For the most part, people are trying to be helpful, so not knowing the details can be a waste their time. Not knowing that you already have a prescription shampoo from the vet is an important detail - you said you were using MTG, not prescription shampoo…which is different.

Your sentence of "…more so that our moisture levels are much higher which can contribute to its growth sometimes." is why I thought you felt it was more wet where you live than other people. Maybe you meant “higher than they used to be” or something - not “higher than everyone else’s climate.”

For prevention - as others mentioned I would be looking for the other changes that might contribute rather than just the moisture level – the change in environment and possibly feed might have a larger contribution to skin issues than rain itself. Stress is a big factor in immunity.

[EmilyM]

I would probably get a good antifungal shampoo, lysol any brushes before and after they touch him and ask the vet about a month treatment of levamisole. Don’t share brushes, blankets, saddle pads with any other animals or do any laundry with other horses things.

[theresak]

@Marla 100

Improve the diet/nutrition and you’ll probably eleminate skin problems. More Vit. A , Copper and Zinc usually helps.

If rain caused rain rot, my horses would be covered in it. they are out 24/7 in Florida monsoons all summer. Never

have skin problems.

You can try adding Vitamin E too - helped my horse a ton.

[mswillie]

I like Betadine solution. About an ounce to a gallon, I make sure the coat is wet, or bathe if needed then sponge the betadine mix all over getting the skin very wet… I usually let it sit about 15 minutes then rinse lightly. This is the same stuff that stays on skin during medical procedures so it probably doesn’t need to be rinsed off anyway. Don’t use with Microtek shampoo though. I don’t know what the reaction might be but don’t use with betadine is on the label instructions.

I would be addressing diet simultaneously.