Rain Rot

[Janet]

I am sure this was discussed to death on UDBB and I would have just searched for my answers there, but....

After the mid-atlantic 10 days and nights of rain and high humidity a couple of weeks ago, two of my three horses have developed ugly cases of rain rot. Strangely - the third horse only has a few bumps. The other two were so bad I couldn't ride for several days because the patches were so inflamed they would sink to their knees when I would gently run a brush over their back. The inflammation is now gone, and the scabs are flaking up.

What is the right thing to do? Do I pick the scabs? Do I let them fall off on their own? Do I just groom as normal? I have given both a couple of baths with anti-bacterial shampoo. The horse I ride most seems to be recovering - and I admit to picking the scabs on him and grooming him quite a bit. The other horse is the companion horse. He is an appy and is very thin skinned. On the best of the days he can't tolerate even a gentle sweat scraper. Now he will not let me pick the scabs - or use more than the most gentle of brushes. He is to the point he pins his ears as soon as I head towards him. Will he heal if I just leave him alone?

Any suggestions on anti-bacterial shampoo would be appreciated too as I have run out and need to buy more. Thanks for the help!

[Fatcat]

I would use Equiderma on the rain rot, and not pick scabs. You should not share brushes among them, and I'd wash all brushes when this is over and leave them in the sun to dry.

[musical comedy]

I would put Panalog on the sore spots. Yes, no sharing of brushes and disinfect anything that touches them each time. Why don't use use a lightweight waterproof sheet to protect them?

[goldhorse]

Actually, you need to pick the scabs. It is awful and painful but all the nasties live in the scabs and will reinfect. What I would do is wet my horse and then slather on Hibiclens and scrub with a curry comb. I left the hibiclens on for at least 5 minutes and then rinsed. I repeated this for 5 days in a row.
Hibiclens is used for presurgery disinfection and works by binding to the proteins of the bacteria/fungi and killing them over time. It's available at your local pharmacy.

[Fatcat]

Actually, you need to pick the scabs. It is awful and painful but all the nasties live in the scabs and will reinfect. What I would do is wet my horse and then slather on Hibiclens and scrub with a curry comb. I left the hibiclens on for at least 5 minutes and then rinsed. I repeated this for 5 days in a row.
Hibiclens is used for presurgery disinfection and works by binding to the proteins of the bacteria/fungi and killing them over time. It's available at your local pharmacy.

This is good to know! That's one of those tidbits I've learned from this group over the years thanks for sharing!

[Janet]

Thanks so much for the replies. I thought I had read somewhere that the scabs needed to come off. I have already isolated the brushes (and washed them each time the horses got a bath) and will continue to do so until this mess is cleaned up. I will try to get the Hibiclens today; however the weather is turning very cold here this weekend so I am not sure I can wash more than two days in a row. I wish there was some sort of powder that would kill the bacteria as well.

Regarding rain sheets - I gave serious thought to them as we were having all the rain that triggered this outbreak, but even though I have "breathable" sheets I was afraid that it would make things worse with the heat and humidity. It was a tropical system that went through and the temps were in the mid to upper 70's the entire time and the humidity level made me break into an sweat just cleaning stalls. I was afraid they would get too hot and that it might make things worse. I did keep them in at first, but after about 48 hours - rain or no rain - they wanted out!

Do you think the sheets would have made a difference in this situation? I'm trying to think how to avoid this in the future.

[Fatcat]

Do you think the sheets would have made a difference in this situation? I'm trying to think how to avoid this in the future.

Turnout sheets are a must in my climate of damp and rainy Oregon. Even so, last winter my pony got rain rot around the edges of the sheet! Vet said it was a bad year for rain rot as it was warm plus damp. This year I've added probiotics to her diet to see if it helps. It depends on your horses, mine will stand out in it and get thoroughly drenched and they won't dry, that = rain rot. My now deceased arab would have the brains to stay in the barn and not get wet despite days of drenching rains. He didn't get rain rot, but needed a t/o as he was a mud roller.

[Fatcat]

. duplicate

[awa]

Since it's difficult to wash now, I've had very good response using Lotrimin Ultra cream from the drug store, applied daily.

[musical comedy]

Regarding rain sheets - I gave serious thought to them as we were having all the rain that triggered this outbreak, but even though I have "breathable" sheets I was afraid that it would make things worse with the heat and humidity. It was a tropical system that went through and the temps were in the mid to upper 70's the entire time and the humidity level made me break into an sweat just cleaning stalls. I was afraid they would get too hot and that it might make things worse. I did keep them in at first, but after about 48 hours - rain or no rain - they wanted out!

Do you think the sheets would have made a difference in this situation? I'm trying to think how to avoid this in the future.

I don't know where you are and if your climate is like mine. I'm in NJ. We had/have spells like that where it is just too hot/rainy/humid to use even the lightest blanket. Because I'm here 24/7, I can monitor and change blankets as needed.

I can't really answer if the blankets would have helped or not. Have you had this problem before? The only time I have dealt with rainrot on the body was once I bought a young TB that had been kept outside and she was a mess. That was a long time ago, and I forget how I treated it. I have gotten the 'scratches' on the legs (same bacteria) a number of times on a number of horses and the panalog helped that.

I would not think that horses would get rain rot that easily, but I guess if that bacterial was in the soil and they rolled, that's how they picked it up. From what I know, it does not come from just getting wet. I could be wrong though.

There are various schools of though on the picking of scabs. I did, because it allows air to get to the problem and that allows the bacteria to die. Same thing with seedy toe.

I have had a horse get it so bad on the legs that she developed a fever and needed antibiotics. It seems to me that once a horse gets it, even after it is healed, they seem more prone to it. It's like the bacteria goes in hibernation but returns when the time is right.

[Fatcat]

I think rain rot has a holistic health component. I'm adding probiotics to my pony's diet this year to see if it helps. I've also revamped and analyzed her diet so she's getting more selenium & vitamin E, plus the probiotics and we'll see if it recurs.

[Code3]

My Arab had rain rot from the time he was a youngster, and had the scars to show for it. He got it whether he was blanketed or not, no matter what supplements I put him on. But he had a depressed immune system due to DSLD, and had to be put down at 19, so not a great example. My understanding is that it is caused from getting wet and not drying completely. The first year I had him the vet gave him a penicillin shot and that cleared it right up. He never got it that badly again, just minor cases that I was able to manage at home. I always soaked and pulled the scabs. My other horses live in the same conditions, same soil, not blanketed, etc. and have never had rain rot. I'm convinced on that stunning example of one that it is an immune issue.

[PNG_Pony]

Here in PNG, we deal with rainrot almost daily during the very rainy season (and can't use sheets). After we get rid of all the loose scabs, we scrub with some sort of antiseptic. Then we add on one of three things: potassium permagenate, tea tree oil, (or, the very best and it clears it within days), Zephyr's Garden Antifungal spray or cream or shampoo. I love Zephyr's Garden. I'd buy stock in their company with how much we ship over here. We treat daily until it is gone, and on a few horses, I use the antifungal shampoo as a preventative (bathing every few weeks).

Oh, also be careful to disinfect your brushes/blankets and not to share them across horses so the rain rot doesn't keep getting reintroduced.

I definitely agree that it's a holistic issue; once we were able to address some mineral imbalances in their diets, our occurrences of rainrot went way down. In our herd of 9, when it's continuous pouring rain (and they are out 24/7 with only a few shelters), at least a couple are guaranteed to have it, but our outbreak was much better this year (much smaller spots) and cleared up much faster as a result of the diet changes.

[Chisamba]

Rainrot has both a bacterial and a fungal component, to really help it you have to have a combination of antifungal and antibacterial ointment. i agree that the scabs need to come off to air underneath, if the horse is very sensitive to the scabs being picked then add DMSO to the ointment as it will carry the ointment under the scabs to the infected areas.

any of the antibacterial scrubs or solutions will work, betadine, chlorasepting, hibiclens, etc

[musical comedy]

"The organism can exist in a quiescent form within the epidermis until infection is exacerbated by climatic conditions."

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/integ ... losis.html

[Janet]

"The organism can exist in a quiescent form within the epidermis until infection is exacerbated by climatic conditions."

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/integ ... losis.html

Great article!! Thanks so much for posting. I didn't know it could be transmitted to humans!

[Pippigirl]

Ah crap, I didn't know that either Janet!!

[lorilu]

There is a wonderful product sold here in FLorida called "Muck Itch". Spray on. Oily,lots of natural oils including tea tree oil ...and some chlorhexadine.
everyone I know who has tried it, loves it. Softens the scabs and treats the infection.
http://www.sstack.com/product/muck-itch-/

[bailey]

One suggestion I learned on UDBB for cleaning grooming tools that has really worked for me is to put brushes & combs in the dishwasher on hot water and run through a cycle. It may sound weird but it really cleans and dries brushes well. After I run my brushes through, I run the dishwasher again empty on high heat to clean it. It works really well for me and I think the second run cleans and 'sterilizes' the dishwasher enough.

[smithywess]

Terrific comments from all. Here's a thought I had 25 or 30 years ago. Actually several thoughts. Never had a problem since. I live in the Pacific North West where it's really wet but quite warm too in the Winter. Rain rot needs 3 factors to produce it and maintain it. 1) an organism which normally lives in the soil anyway, and virtually everywhere. 2) Moisture, and lots of it. This is provided by the rain. 3) Heat. This is provided by the horse. I wondered why a horse I used a lot in the Winter never got the problem but the other ones did. There was just as much rain for all, and all were making warmth. I then got wondering why I've never seen anything grow around a salt block, either animal,insect or vegetable. I knew I couldn't do much about how much rain came down. Blankets and their upkeep was impractical. I didn't have much shelter, or money. I couldn't do much about the warmth my horses were generating and neither did I want to. I thought I could make it impossible for the organism to survive. I did. I soaked the backs of my affected horses with a super concentrated solution of road salt in water until no more would dissolve. Within 3 weeks all the backs cleared up and I just had to keep a strict eye open for recurrences whenever they occurred. The horse I was riding through the Winter was sweating under his pad hence he was salting his own back. The scabs don't have to come off. They'll fall off by themselves when the areas begin to heal. In fact pulling them off simply encourages secondary bacterial infection and is extra ordinarily painful.

I even thought of marketing "Dr Rain Scald's Winter Lotion". All I had to do was fill a few bottles of salted water,label them, and sell them for a bomb each, and then retire.

As a disclaimer I will use one of Ray Hunt's aphorisms....." worked for me, might not work for you".

[Perilous]

I really like the Kinetic brand shampoos and creams. I usually try to soften the scabs up with some sort of cream, before picking. Makes it a bit less painful for the horse.