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  Discussion on Recurrent rain rot
Author Message
Member:
Lesleyb

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 21, 2004 - 10:39 am:

Dear Dr O,
Can you believe that we are still dealing with this rain rot crud? At least that's what it looks like is about to break out on the rump of one of my horses.
Quick history:
Last year we move to a new property which had no barn, we live in Florida. While we built the barn we had an extremely wet summer and had nowhere to get the horses out of the rain. All 5 eventually came down with very severe rain rot. Our local vet helped us by sedating the horses, so we sould scrub them and get all the scabs off them and by giving them antibotics, but I can't remember what the name was. The rain rot finally cleared up after the barn was built and the rainy season abated.
Now, it looks like my 5 year old mare is about to break out again on her rump. These horses are pampered to say the least, they are all slightly overweight, are wormed on a regular basis and are up to date on all their shots etc. They are in the barn at night, each having their own box stalls, cleaned daily with dry wood shavings bedding. They each have their own grooming kits, halters, lead ropes and tack, they never share any equipment. They are thoroughly brushed every evening when they come in and lightly brushed every morning before the are turned out. The weather here is currently dry, though we did have some rain last Sunday, they got lightly sprinkled before we could get them in.
These horses are positively glowing with health!
We currently bathe the horses about once a month, using Nolvasan scrub just in case.
What are we missing? What are we not doing right?
This is driving me and my husband absolutely crazy!
I've read everything on this site and just about everything on the internet about rain rot. I know of no better way to keep horses and yet here it is again.
Thanks in advance,
Lesley.
Member:
Eoeo

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 21, 2004 - 11:00 am:

We have had extremely good luck with using Tinactin Cream you buy over the counter. Scrape off the scabs and put some on each spot. If a large amount of them are present I sprinkle tinactin powder. If they wear blanket, you can lightly dust the insides of them with the powder. Repeat daily, usually cleared up in 3 or 4 days. EO
Member:
Tlcstabl

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 21, 2004 - 11:14 am:

Always remember that treating your grooming equipment and all tack, blankets, etc., is also key to stop spread the infection.
I have also used melaluca products (Australian Tee Tree Oil) and had success in treating this. Another product I like is Nature's Shield from Bloodline Veterinary Supplies.
Have you also thought of the possibility that the horses may be allergic to something (although it does sound like rain rot from your description).
Good luck,
Sherry
Member:
Christos

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 21, 2004 - 6:07 pm:

Lesley,
Rain rot can be chronic, and in that case you'll need rather aggressive measures to kill it.
You should take crust samples for examination. If positive for dermatophilosis, your vet will prescribe a long-term therapy for the animals.
I think that proper disinfection of stalls and equipment will be necessary to get rid of it.
As I understand that rain rot needs humidity and some skin irritation in order to come to life, I'd avoid, in fear of assisting a breakout, excessive grooming or bathing of the horses that have showed no symptoms but may have the bugs on their skin.
I think that most horses will recover anyway by themselves in about a month, so I wouldn't think that the bugs are gone just because the symptoms dissapeared.
Member:
Kthorse

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 21, 2004 - 9:07 pm:

Hi, I agree this can be chronic. Allot of horses at my barn have had severe cases of it. Some never came in contact with each other. My vet said that so many horses have it this year in the NJ area. My horse had it on and off for months. It started with a small kick and and open wound. I treated the wound with betadine, which irritated the skin and started the infection. The more I washed the worse it got. My vet had to sedate my horse to shave the area and put him on antibiotics. This cleared it up for a while, but a few weeks later it was back.In the end I removed the crud with oil on the skin( any I used vegetable) Massagining to soften the crusts. Then wiping it off with a paper towel. Then put a mixture of nolvasan creme( or any antibiotic creme) mixed with hyDrOcortisone creme(for inflamation) then covered it with zinc oxide. I used the nolvasan scrub for a while but while it seemed to clear it the skin stayed red and inflamed. I found less is better. But yes do as Christos said disenfect everything just to be sure. Everyone at my barn used different methods which all worked. Just make sure you dont irritate the skin. In my horses case betadine was severly irritating . Who would guess.
Good luck with this horrible annoying infection
Katrina
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Jan 22, 2004 - 8:10 am:

As several have already mentioned, this is a chronic problem on some farms but take heart with aggressive treatment and overtime episodes will get shorter and milder.

Because dermatophillus is a bacteria and Tinactin a antifungal we do not recommend it but LKR is not the first to say it has worked for them. We suggest you follow the suggestions in our article. There are effective but much less expensive than Tinactin for dermatophillus.
DrO
Member:
Oscarvv

Posted on Thursday, Jan 22, 2004 - 9:12 am:

We purchased a mare last year who was covered in severe rain rot. No hair on her rump or top line. We have found Micro Tek to work wonders. It comes in a spray and shampoo. We bathed her a few times and sprayed her daily.
She is susceptible to rain rot it seems. Whenever she starts to get those tell tale raised bumps I spray her before it gets going.
The micro tek has kept her rain rot free. It also got rid of the scurf on her back cannon bones. Also, if she is ever out in the rain, I am sure to curry her afterwards to help the hair dry out faster and not stay "matted" down.
Member:
Lesleyb

Posted on Friday, Jan 23, 2004 - 1:38 pm:

Thank you all,
We have the Micro-Tek spray on hand and are spraying that on the area and it actually looks like it is going to go away without breaking out.
I am going to get the other suggestions and keep them to hand, our rainy season will be starting in June, if not before. This year we will probably keep the horses in the barn during the day and turn them out at night during the rainy season. Our barn is equipped with fans and stays a lot cooler than outside in summer! I think the horses may even prefer this schedule. It will help them to stay a lot drier and hopefully will keep them rain rot free.
By the way, we disinfect the barn about once a month spraying with Novalsan solution and we curry them everyday, whether they get wet or not!
Christos, I do agree with you that aggressive grooming can help to break our the rain rot again. I am re-training my husband with the curry so that while the dirt is brought out and the hair is distured the actually skin is not scratched in any way, my husband can be a little heavy handed! I think I will also talk to the vet next time he is out for more long term treatment.
I don't know what more we can do. Maybe move to a much less humid area?
Thanks again,
Lesley.
Member:
Megster

Posted on Friday, Jan 23, 2004 - 2:36 pm:

Can anyone tell me what Micro Tek shampoo / spray contains. My horse gets rain rot on her back cannons despite only being out for a few hours a day at this time of year. I've never heard of this product and am wondering whether there is something similar on offer in the UK. Thanks.
Sarah
Member:
Lesleyb

Posted on Monday, Jan 26, 2004 - 2:10 pm:

Sarah,
Micro-tek is made by Eqyss. The following is a list of the ingredients from the manufacturers label. I went to www.valleyvet.com to get this info, I hope I am not breaking any copyright here.

Deionized water, tetrasodium EDTA, hyDrOlyzed Mucopolysaccharides, cetrimonium chloride, sodium PCA, Allantoin, triclosan, citric acid, mathylparaben, hyDrOlyzed wheat protein, DMDM hydantoin, extracts of aloe vera, clove, lavender, thyme, polysorbate 20, polysorbate 80, fragrance.

I have no idea which are the "active" ingredients, but I hope this helps. If I were still in the UK I'd probably still be using the old Zinc Oxide cream, if I remember rightly!
Lesley.
Member:
Shirl

Posted on Monday, Jan 26, 2004 - 2:22 pm:

Sarah,I don't know if it's available there, but i got rid of some nasty fungus on my horses face, and cannon bones by using Novalsan Scrub! After a few 'scrubs' it disappeared. I tried everything prior to no avail. After using the scrub, and it dried, I then sprayed with the Micro TEch. I suspect had I been able to use the Micro every day, it might have worked better, but Sierra is boarded. Cheers, Shirley
Member:
Npruitt

Posted on Sunday, Mar 14, 2004 - 2:35 pm:

To whomever recommended the tinactin powder for curing rain scald: I took your advice and it worked like a charm! I highly recommend that anyone who is having trouble with chronic rain rot go to CVS, or another drug store, buy some generic tinactin powder and sprinkle on your horses's break-out places.
Member:
Beasley

Posted on Monday, Dec 6, 2004 - 10:32 am:

Does anyone know how contagious rain rot is in pasture pals? I have one horse (boarded) that I took in who was in bad shape, typically covered in rain rot, thin, etc. but not "sick." My boarder is a friend and I have tried to help. I got the horse back to reasonable health and cured to rain rot, but it keeps coming back. My horses are fine so far, and I know not to allow tack and equipment to come into contact with healthy horses. But, if they are in the pasture together and rolling in the same muddy places in winter, am I at a high risk of my horses becoming infected. Friendship is one thing, a healthy horse is another! Any advice?
Member:
Suzeb

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 7, 2004 - 9:36 am:

Hi Jo,
Here is an excerpt taken from Dr.O's article above. I would venture to say that the scabs, if not treated would be a source of infection for the other horses.

Where Does it Come From
Dermatophillus persists in the environment for a long time. The source of contamination is the scabs. To help reduce exposure, it is best to dispose of the scabs after treating a horse. Other sources of infection would be brushes and tack that have been used on infected horses. Treating brushes and grooming tools with a mild Clorox solution (2 tb. to the gal) will kill the organism. Be sure the solution is made fresh daily as the chlorine dissipates rapidly.

Hope this helps,
Susan B.
Member:
Beasley

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 8, 2004 - 6:30 pm:

Thanks, Susan. I did read the article and have been deligent about disposing of the hair/scabs. Of course, that still leaves those on his body and those coming in daily (we have a lot of rain). Do you think it is contagious from pasture contact? Probably so?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 8, 2004 - 10:56 pm:

As long as you are treating them daily, I don’t think you will find it terribly contagious to other healthy adults.
DrO
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