Rain Rot

[rubygirl1968]

My gelding has rain rot in one spot on his back. I’ve been doing original listerine diluted 50/50 in water for about a week, but am still finding scabs when applying it and rubbing it in against the hair growth. I was planning on giving him a bath tomorrow and am trying to keep from going out but I don’t have any iodine.

I have Vetricyn, Banixx, desitin, listerine, and neosporin at home. Could I give him a bath in regular shampoo and use one of those things afterwards and get good results? Any picks on which one would work better?

First time with rain rot, he’s never had it before, sorry if a stupid question.

[cloudyandcallie]

Don’t dilute the original Listerine and don’t rinse it off. Use original Listerine. Don’t rinse it off

[AnastasiaBeaverhousen]

Rain Rot is a fungus so you need an antifungal.

I use anti bacterial soap to clean the affected area because fungus can attract opportunistic bacteria.

I would clip gently around the area to expose it to air.

Once the area is dry I would apply atheletes foot powder or spray, as opposed to a cream. You want to keep it clean and dry as much as possible.

it may be sweat scald as opposed to rain rot although they are basically caused by the same thing.

I live in area thats still chilly in the mornings but can get close to 80 in the afternoons.

My horse is shedding but he still has some winter hair and sweats under it in the afternoon.

I clipped his hind cannons today because he looses the hair there last and gets sweat scald .
I decided to try to head it off this year.

That’s what I’ve used for a while now and it works for me.

[rubygirl1968]

Ok, thanks. I’ll try it straight. At least I haven’t been rinsing it off, just spraying, rubbing it in and leaving it. ; )

[rubygirl1968]

@AnastasiaBeaverhousen I’ve got antibacterial soap so I’ll use some of that on that spot and let it sit for a bit. We’re still cool in the mornings too and hot in the daytime. It doesn’t help that he has the coat of a yak.

[AnastasiaBeaverhousen]

I really feel sorry for horses in our area this time of year. They are shedding but they still got their winter coats.

I’ve know people who swear by a certain product
the green stuff, Equitek , MTG, . I believe if it works than keep on using it.

I happen to like altlete s foot powder or spray because it’s a lot cheaper than horse products and you can get it any grocery or drug store.

I know someone who used Lysol.

[Equkelly]

Rain rot is fungal so antibacterial soap/ sprays won’t actually do anything and will probably make the problem worse. A lot of times the alcohol will irritate the skin and then the fungal spores have a new opening and then everything gets worse.

My mare had a bad fungal infection and I did everything including an oral prescription antifungal from the vet. All the topicals didn’t work either because in order for an antifungal to work you need to constantly reapply it multiple times a day.

The only thing that worked was my own recipe. I mixed desitin (the diaper rash cream) with miconazole powder (athletes foot medicine.) You can pick up both at the grocery store or pharmacy. The desitin helps the medicine “stick” to the horse and doesn’t just melt off. The miconazole powder is an antifungal and you can mix it right in. I would get the jar of desitin and make sure it’s the purple one with 40% zinc oxide. You can heat it up in the microwave for 30 seconds so it’s easier to stir and mix the athletes foot powder in.

Fungi love dark and wet environments so don’t keep washing it and wetting the skin. If you can, I’d clip the area so your miconazole is getting into the skin and not just in the hair. Apply your desitin/ miconazole as often as you can and maybe take a week off riding so the tack isn’t irritating it more with the sweat and rubbing. Once you break the cycle it heals pretty quickly.

[lenapesadie]

I’m a big fan of MTG.

[cloudyandcallie]

Don’t rub the area.
A quarter horse owner told me about Listerine in the feed store and it worked. Bonus that it repels gnats and skeeters and flies. And ants and ticks. Great on legs.
If you need zinc oxide, buy tubes of it instead o f wasting money on desitin. But for rain rot, to cure and to prevent, it’s original Listerine

[BayBondGirl]

Check diet to ensure he’s getting adequate vit/mins for your area as well! I have great luck with tea tree oil for skin funk, including rain rot, scratches, etc. I’ve tried many different options that have been mentioned above, but nothing cleared it up faster for me than tea tree oil.

[EVneo]

I keep a gallon of chlorohexidine concentrate from TSC around for antifungal and antibacterial bleghs. I dilute per the label in a spray bottle and just spray on and leave it. For scabby stuff, I also treat with MTG to help soften and loosen them so they come off on their own. Like someone said above, if you haven’t yet, clipping makes a huge difference!

[ParadoxFarm]

Funny how so many of us have different opinions on what works for us. My go-to is Equiderma Skin Lotion. Love that stuff. MTG didn’t work for me. https://equiderma.com/skin-condition/rain-rot-in-horses/

[SonnysMom]

I like Equiderma. I have used the Desitin, anti-fungal, triple antibiotic mixture for scratches. I prefer to have the antibiotic in there since many times there is both a fungal and bacterial component to it.

[MDKCongo]

I’ve heard about using Eqyss Micro-tek gel and not rinsing it off although my horse is allergic to that so not sure how well it actually works. A vet told me that she uses a baking soda paste. She mixes baking soda and water, makes a paste and leaves it on. I personally didn’t find much help with that method. My usual go to is scrubbing with betadine since my horse is sensitive to other things. I’ve also heard a lot of good reviews on Coat Defense. Whatever option you choose to treat the rain rot with, scrub/curry the area but you don’t want to leave a bald spot. Also, if the area the rain rot is in is the area where your saddle pad sits, make sure you change/ clean your saddle pads often.

[TKR]

Love Equiderma! Great product and works quickly!

[Wyndwolfe]

Since you are in the same general area, I thought that I would share what has worked for me with my older gelding, who is 3/4 TB, has sensitive skin, and is always the last to shed out in the spring. If he has any of the scabby stuff, I use a 50/50 mix of baby oil and Listerine, which I spray on, and then work through his coat with my fingers. The baby oil helps soften the scabs, so they can be removed. If the weather is sunny, I will spray a 50/50 mix of Clorox and water on the affected areas, and turn him out in the sun. Once the scabby junk (and hair) is gone, I spray the baby oil/Listerine mix to encourage the hair to grow back. Cheap, old school remedies, but both work!!

[rubygirl1968]

It looks like there are a lot of remedies that work! Confusing to know what to try next but good to know. Lol

Its supposed to start raining again this weekend so I’ll keep spraying with listerine and before the rain sets in, wash and dry him and put some desitin on it.

It’s mild so hopefully we’ll get it straightened out soon.

[BayBondGirl]

@rubygirl1968

It looks like there are a lot of remedies that work! Confusing to know what to try next but good to know. Lol

The nice thing is that you could basically try all of the remedies suggested (probably not mixing some though lol), and see which one works best… It just might take a while to figure out your preference and what is the most effective!

For scratches last year, I tried MTG first for 1-2 weeks with no change, then tried anti-fungal cream with the same result, then remembered I had some tea tree oil kicking around and put that on and within days it was clearing up. So now that’s the one I start with for all skin funky things! Others’ mileage will vary.

Pick one and try it for a while; if no result, pick the next most convenient one, etc etc. Good luck!

[rubygirl1968]

Absolutely. Having lots of choices is a good thing

Thanks!

[mbv]

For the record, the typical cause of rain rot is a bacteria called Dermatophilus congolensis. Not fungal disease.