It has been raining non stop for about a week and I’ve noticed that my horse is getting what looks to be rain rot on his back legs and a little bit on his face. I’ve been trying to keep him as clean and dry as possible, but it’s next to impossible unless he stays inside 24/7. Any tips on getting rid of the gross scabs and hair loss that come along with the damp weather?
I acquired my Arab one wet November and she arrived covered head to tail in rain rot scabs. 5cc Vitamin A/E weekly (injectable cattle type, given to the horse orally with a syringe or in the feed) for several weeks cleared it up with no other bathing or topical products. I weaned her down to 5cc monthly, and still give it to her monthly Oct-Feb when our grass goes dormant, just for prevention.
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OTC yeast meds from the drug store is inexpensive and easy.
I don’t think there is anything better for this than Equiderma lotion. Just slather it on and leave it. You’ll see a difference in about a day or two. You can use it to prevent rain rot too.
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I finally tried Equiderma lotion and have been truly impressed with the results.
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Eqyss Micro Tek works great too.
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Nolvasan solution.
Diluted with water or mixed in with your shampoo.
Hibiclens is the same thing.
One treatment usually clears it up.
Equiderma is made with neem oil. Best stuff on the planet. Wash the area once, dry, then reapply every other day without washing. You can apply daily if you wish. They have a number of great products for horses. There is one with zinc oxide in it you can use behind the pasterns and on the facial area, as well. Good luck with your horse!
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I like Betadine solution. Dilute a couple ounces in a gallon of water and pour it on. For some reason the label on the Micro Tek bottle says not to use it with betadine so I would avoid that, but it’s easy, inexpensive, and it works.
^^^^^This but I only needed 5cc THIS week and 5cc’s ten days later. That was last year, if I have to do that again this year, I will.
diet also plays big part in some horses. My horses are on a no grain/no soy diet which helped a lot but 5cc of A&D was edge the one horse needed:)
The active ingredient in Novalsan, Hibiclens and Equiderma lotion is Chlorhexadine. CVS has a generic that is clear and suds nicely. It’s right next to the Hibiclens near wound care and washes.
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My horse has the rain rot from hell after two weeks of rain. I clipped him to improve moisture evaporation and air flow to his skin and have been doing chlorhexidine baths after exercise with Fungasol spray or MTG. Fungasol is chlorhexidine and tea tree oil. The MTG helps to soften the scabs. The rest is just as much currying as he can stand, as much to bring blood flow to the skin as to clear off the scabs. I kept him on a multivitamin over the winter and through spring and that helped with the winter skin crud he got last year, but his issue is Cushings, not nutrition, so in his case it doesn’t make sense to supplement additionally.
I think the challenge is finding a product that can cover the entire horse. Personally I feel that getting them wet exacerbates the condition, so the stuff you add to the bath isn’t the best option. But it’s hot enough I need to hose off after riding, so may as well add the stuff to the bath. Mine exploded head to tail and I went through an entire bottle of entaderm, and am now using the blue stuff, both the bath and the lotion. The lotion works into the skin better than entaderm, so I use less, but I kinda feel it’s a bit less effective. But it is working, just taking a few more days. The continuous wet weather is not helping.
My high maintenance race horses are doing just fine, while my easy keeping riding horses are reacting to the wet. One has rain rot everywhere, the other has it on his ears.
Short term- chlorohexidine and tea tree oil mixed in a spray bottle with water. Or Micro-tek but it’s pricey. Long term I find diet is the biggest thing. Knock on wood, I’ve never had a horse with a rainrot issue that was on a low starch diet that included a good helping of flax and balanced vit/ min.
Put Chlorhexadine or diluted betadine on the affected areas and let it sit for about 10 minutes then rinse it off and lift off moisture with a towel. Do this for 3 days in a row then every other day for 3 more treatments and it should be healed.
I remove formed scabs and clip away hair as best I can in the affected areas to assist in healing. Rain rot needs darkness and moisture to thrive.
When I click this link, it takes me to Dr. Ramey’s site, but the whole article is about Viagra and where to buy it. Looks like it’s been hacked. Does anyone else see that?
Whoa! Yes, it appears his site has been hacked as that was definitely not the case when I linked the article.
sometimes they need antibiotics prescribed by a vet if the rain rot is bad enough.
My easy keepers have been on low starch and flax for years. For whatever reason, this year is different for one of them. I spend more time doctoring the scabs than riding.
Clip the affected area, wash with MicroTek shampoo right after the clip, dry the area thoroughly with a towel, and apply Equiderma lotion once or twice a day until gone.
To keep it away, try putting him on a supplement that includes vitamin E. I now use Omega Horseshine for my older guy who got a case from hell last year and his coat has never looked better.
