I was wondering how to get rid of stubborn rain rot. I’ve tried several things with mixed results, and just want to get rid of it! This horse is prone to rain rot, and I’ve never dealt with it before outside of verymild cases on cannon bones/the face, and my go-to’s aren’t touching it. It’s moderate; mostly on her hindquarters, hind legs, ears, and cannon bones (front and back) with some small open sores. It’s definitely getting better, but I’ve been dealing with it for over 2 months now, and just wanted to see what other options I could try.
I’ve tried:
MTG- no help
Lysol spray- helped, but didn't eliminate it
Eqyss Microtek- helped but didn't eliminate it
Currently using Hay Where’s That Blue Stuff, but wanted to see what my other options were.
mix a solution of 50% mineral oil and 50% betadine solution (not the scrub). drench the area and rub work it in
leave on for 3 days - gets messy if horse is in work, but Ive done it
I don’t know about rain rot but for mud fever I’ve found the only thing that works for my boys is Nettex Muddy Marvel Barrier Cream, and Barrier Heel to Hoof. But I think any lanoline-based cream will function after a very good disinfection with clorhexidine (you could mix a little in the cream, also).
Some may think this is overkill, but have you considered having a vet out to take a sample and culture what your horse has? We had a very bad case, and it turned out to be something nasty (can’t remember what exactly, but not simple rainrot) that required the horse to be on an oral antibiotic, or possibly an anti-fungal drug. Cleared up very quickly once we knew how to treat properly.
I have a little mini colt that came to me mid December. His prior owner thought he had rain rot, but it’s an odd case which could be just poor nutrition and bad living conditions. He had no shelter and was lying on the ground - has caked and matted coat between his front legs and belly. He’s very itchy and I’ve found a few small crusty itchy spots.
The culture sounds like a very good idea for my little fellow. I’m interested to know if it goes beyond just a standard rain rot thing.
You may or may not have considered this, and I’m sorry if I’m repeating what you already know, but…
While some horses have more sensitive skin than others, if the horse is repeatedly developing rain rot, that’s an indication that something is NQR (not quite right). Very commonly it’s a nutritional imbalance, deficiency, or intolerance. Other times, there is something else compromising the immune system, whether it be an illness or issue or just high stress.
I just say this because you may want to evaluate the whole horse. Treat the rain rot topically, but also investigate why he continues to be prone to it or else it will keep coming back again and again. “Rain” alone is not a cause.
Also, spot-scrubbing the areas with 4x4s and chlorohexidine scrub (nolvasan or hibiclens) usually works really well for me when the patches are in isolated areas like you described. Although Microtek usually works well for me also, and you mention your case was not responding well to it.
[QUOTE=Texarkana;8472820]
You may or may not have considered this, and I’m sorry if I’m repeating what you already know, but…
While some horses have more sensitive skin than others, if the horse is repeatedly developing rain rot, that’s an indication that something is NQR (not quite right). Very commonly it’s a nutritional imbalance, deficiency, or intolerance. Other times, there is something else compromising the immune system, whether it be an illness or issue or just high stress.
I just say this because you may want to evaluate the whole horse. Treat the rain rot topically, but also investigate why he continues to be prone to it or else it will keep coming back again and again. “Rain” alone is not a cause.[/QUOTE]
I love to toot my own horn- I’m a vet student :yes: and we’re taught to ALWAYS culture and have a vet out. That’s my next step if the “horse person” methods don’t work. Right now, mare seems to be in good health, not painful, and comfortable, which is why I want to try a few more things before calling the vet. But I absolutely agree that the overall health of the horse is an incredibly important factor and it is something I am keeping in mind!
I also wanted to ask to learn, so I have something I can pass along to my clients in the future if they have similar experiences.
Air (as in, no, don’t use oil-based topicals).
Dry.
My standard recommendation is to lather up affected areas with a chlorhexidine-based scrub, allow to sit briefly to soften crusts, gently remove them, rinse, pat dry, then use a hairdryer on the area if the horse will permit it.
Persistent cases may, as mentioned above, have a nutritional component, or an underlying immune compromise of some sort.
If topical therapy is unsuccessful, systemic antibiotics (PPG or SMZ/TMP) usually result in resolution.
My first recommendation is to call the vet, but it sounds like you’ve got that on your radar. My old horse had chronic skin crud due to allergies that resulted in overgrowth of fungus and bacteria on her hind legs. Equiderma (shampoo and lotion) cleared it up. I had tried MTG, Microtek, and something my vet had with no results.
I’ve also found that clipping the affected area helps tremendously. Not only does it help in treating the rain rot, but as Ghazzu mentioned, the exposure to air helps.
Wash with surgical scrub (betadine or hibiclense) and get all of the scabs off. leave it exposed to air. We had to go to SMZs this summer with a case like none I’ve ever had before. I also have had good luck with the cow mastitis antibiotics, Tomorrow or Today, topically.
I’ve only had to deal with some mild lumpy stuff on one cannon bone, once. I washed all the scabs off with Head and Shoulders shampoo and warm water, then put on zinc oxide/cod liver oil baby diaper cream. I think I did this twice, and then it was gone. There was no hair loss in this case, so the challenge was getting down to the skin under the fur.
I think getting the scabs off is key so that whatever topical ointment you are using is hitting the actual skin.
Ghazzu’s recommendation for chlorhexadrine scrub and exposure to air also gets the scabs off, and might be better than my treatment, which doesn’t really let the air at it.
IME, I see back rainrot in horses that have been out at pasture over the winter, without quite enough oversight, so getting them back into a dry situation with good shelter matters too. Interestingly, a whole herd can be out in the same situation (feed, shelter, weather), and only one horse will have rainrot.
[QUOTE=Texarkana;8472820]
You may or may not have considered this, and I’m sorry if I’m repeating what you already know, but…
While some horses have more sensitive skin than others, if the horse is repeatedly developing rain rot, that’s an indication that something is NQR (not quite right). Very commonly it’s a nutritional imbalance, deficiency, or intolerance. Other times, there is something else compromising the immune system, whether it be an illness or issue or just high stress.
I just say this because you may want to evaluate the whole horse. Treat the rain rot topically, but also investigate why he continues to be prone to it or else it will keep coming back again and again. “Rain” alone is not a cause.
Also, spot-scrubbing the areas with 4x4s and chlorohexidine scrub (nolvasan or hibiclens) usually works really well for me when the patches are in isolated areas like you described. Although Microtek usually works well for me also, and you mention your case was not responding well to it.[/QUOTE]
Very,very good point. When my guy had thrush while we were in AZ I thought it could be the boarding conditions but it just wouldn’t clear up. In AZ this is strange!
Turns out,I lost him to lymphoma 6 months later. He was loosing an almost imperceptible amount of weight at the time and I had asked them to feed him more. A few months later,after moving to NC,he became emaciated in just a few weeks,despite plenty of good food and pasture.
definitely agree with checking out the whole horse.
Zephyr’s Garden fugal spray and ointment work wonders in our tropical climate here. If that doesn’t work, we use the betadine solution, potassium permagenate or tea-tree oil.
Make sure to bleach your brushes after every use and to have fully cleaned the area with gentle soap and water before applying the treatment. (Allow loose scabs to come off, but don’t pull off tight scabs.)
Rainrot on the cannons? I have never heard of that before. Cannon keratosis, yes. Mud fever, if it’s a bad case creeping up from the pastern, sure. But not rainrot.
Even something as simple as mud fever has a number of different causes. The first key being whether it is fu gal or bacterial in origin. Very often the treatment for one makes the other type worse. Then too there is the consideration that different bacterias and fungi can cause mud fever, and will react differently to treatments.
Given the wide range of locations, and long term nature of the issue, I would suspect your horse has an underlying health issue that has made skin care a low priority for her body. My first check would be for vitamin E levels - because I had one who had skin issues, and a long term, getting better-getting worse cycle of lower leg mud fever.
His E level was at the lowest end of “normal” range, and the vet recommended supplementation. Within a month of 2000iu of vitamin E per day his better-worse mud fever was about gone, and he stopped getting new patches. His other skin issues improved greatly. His E levels didn’t get any higher after six months of supplementary vit E, so I increased it to 3000iu per day. His E levels are well within normal range now, and his other skin issues have improved even more, to the point of being gone.
