Rain Rot?

[Carried Away]

I just moved my mare from Illinois down to South Georgia, from a stall with a small paddock to pasture full time and her coat has turned GROSS. :eek: It appears really dull and bumpy over most of it, and her hair is thinning/gone in some areas of her neck and a little by her girth. The reason I'm asking is because I'm not sure if this is rain rot (in past summers when she's had it it's only been on her legs, but she's always been in IL or KY where the humidity isn't as severe and it doesn't rain as much) or if it can be treated in the same manner or if it's some FL/GA thing like the stuff in wet grass that causes their noses to scab and get all icky.
I'm assuming this is just bad rain rot, what does everyone here use to treat it? Will plain old betadine work like it did when she had a mild case on her legs, or do I need to get one of those special anti-fungal shampoos? Also, I know that they can be re-infected by stuff like boots and saddle pads- is regular washing enough or do I need to use bleach/water to disinfect stuff? Thanks :)

[Savanna]

When I bought my first horse, she had rain rot really bad. The vet gave us this anti-fungal shampoo and the rain rot came off in chucks :eek:

[plaidpants]

My horse just came down from New York to the south (NC) and we are having a HORRIBLE summer with temps in the 90s + with like 90% humidity everyday, it's horrible. He only goes out at night but he still gets rainrot really bad. It sounds like your horse probably just has a bad case of it as my horse has something like yours, not quite as bad as it's mainly just on his legs, shoulers, neck, and hindquarters - not his stomach and back and such but we just give him a bath everyday and really scrub at it. Another option to get rid of it would be to clip your mare.

[tmanross]

any med. shampoo.

[hot2trot]

In my experience (and I live in SC where the heat and humidity is just as bad, if not worse, than GA), medicated shampoos, iodine scrubs, and bleach just seem to irritate a horse more. I swear by Shapeley's MTG.. It's some amazing stuff that, if applied every day, will take the rain rot away pretty quickly. It's also great for growing out manes and tails. And not only is it for rain rot, but any type of fungus really... so if it's NOT rain rot she has, then I'm sure it'd work just as well. You can get it at Tractor Supply for about $15 (for the big bottle; I usually buy the trial size for about $3).

[AidEE]

scrub the whole horse w/ tea tree shampoo. (follow the dilluting instructions) that works the best :)

[appylover123]

how often do you brush your horse?? because if not very often there is a good chance that may be why he got it. :D

[ModelCity]

Enter: Queen of Rain Rot.

Not a very attractive title, but pretty accurate nonetheless. Corey, my OTTB, gets rains rot like it's his job, so I'm now quite learned in the ways of ridding him of the nasty skin fungus.

You're in luck, because it's warm outside all the time right now, which means you can bathe your horse with iodine shampoo as often as necessary. Also, the *only* way to get the rain rot to go away all together is to pick it all off.. which sounds gross (and really, it's not much fun), but it's the most effective way to rid your horse of fungus. Do that in addition to idodine baths.

Also, wash your saddle bad and wash ALL your grooming tools with diluted bleech water - you can let them soak over night. Rain rot goes from horse-to-horse fairly easily, and you'll have a much better chance of kicking this thing out if your grooming tools and saddle pad(s) are clean and free of the fungus too.

Also (also), after a bath, take her outside and hand graze her, while brushing her dry in the sun. Really, you should do that with her everytime she gets a bath, or put her in front of a fan. Since she's already got the fungus, she'll be more likely to keep getting it.

Consistent and thorough daily grooming is the very best way to prevent rain rot. If you notice little bumps, pick them off immediately and spray a little iodine on there, to nip it before it gets rolling.

If your mares is REALLY awful, you can talk to your vet about getting some medication to help clear it up. Good luck!

[death_come_Soon]

use eqyss micro-tek!!!!! it comes in a spray and a shampoo , get both since it sounds severe. you can find it at your local tack shop or at stateline.com. I work with rescue horses , and most of them have rain rot. the eqyss works very well on them , and it smells good too! ;) ! all of the eqyss products work really well. also on the bald spots use horseman's dream vet cream on it!!! wash your brushes , halter , or anything that touches her everyday in the eqyss shampoo.

here is a link to eqyss micro-tek:
micro-tek (http://www.statelinetack.com/global/search/search_results.jsp)

and here is a link for the vet cream:
vet cream (http://www.statelinetack.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441770417&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302024177&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302033868&bmUID=1122225300235)

I hope that helps!

[Lexi&Max]

Enter: Queen of Rain Rot.

Not a very attractive title, but pretty accurate nonetheless. Corey, my OTTB, gets rains rot like it's his job, so I'm now quite learned in the ways of ridding him of the nasty skin fungus.

You're in luck, because it's warm outside all the time right now, which means you can bathe your horse with iodine shampoo as often as necessary. Also, the *only* way to get the rain rot to go away all together is to pick it all off.. which sounds gross (and really, it's not much fun), but it's the most effective way to rid your horse of fungus. Do that in addition to idodine baths.

Also, wash your saddle bad and wash ALL your grooming tools with diluted bleech water - you can let them soak over night. Rain rot goes from horse-to-horse fairly easily, and you'll have a much better chance of kicking this thing out if your grooming tools and saddle pad(s) are clean and free of the fungus too.

Also (also), after a bath, take her outside and hand graze her, while brushing her dry in the sun. Really, you should do that with her everytime she gets a bath, or put her in front of a fan. Since she's already got the fungus, she'll be more likely to keep getting it.

Consistent and thorough daily grooming is the very best way to prevent rain rot. If you notice little bumps, pick them off immediately and spray a little iodine on there, to nip it before it gets rolling.

If your mares is REALLY awful, you can talk to your vet about getting some medication to help clear it up. Good luck!

^ good advice!

[Jumper_Sassy]

i live in florida, so i have had tons of experience with rain rot. my mare gets it and i spend many hours peeling chucks of hair off.

my advice. mtg works like a charm but i have also found out that nu-stock and calm coat work very well too.

and once you get rid of it dont just leave it alone or it will come right back. i always put some mtg on her legs [thats where she gets it bad] before she goes into the paddock.

hope this helps!

[live2ride2live]

sounds like rain rot to me, i would just use an anti-fungal shampoo and if it get really bad contact the vet. try and prevent it with regualy brushings and stuff like that. model city gave good advice

[HorsesEqualHappy]

Rain rot is a pain. Ben has huge spots on his sides from it, permanently white now. I just cleaned it up everyday and sprayed anti fungal stuff on it everydsy, and it went away within a few months.

[miruseques]

I swear by Shapley's MTG as well. My horse had chronic rain rot on his back and hindquarters not too long ago. I used diluted bleach, didn't work and hurt him. I used iodine shampoo (two different brands), didn't work and hurt him. Finally Kim (hot2trot) suggested that I try some MTG and see if that worked. Well I did. I washed him once over with iodine shampoo (no real scrubbing), did a once over with the sweat scraper (cleaned it afterward, and it was the rubber kind), took a towel and ran it over him, applied the MTG (rubbing it in really good with my hands and fingers), and took the towel over him once more lightly to get off any of the flaking rain rot. The next day I just rinsed him off really good, massaging and loosening things with my fingers where I was rinsing at, went over with sweat scraper, then with a towel to get the loose things off, put the MTG back on him (the same way as before), and took the towel over him again lightly. I did this until all the rain rot was gone (about 5 days, and he had a lot of rain rot) and then did what the bottle said about decreasing the use of it slowly to make sure it was gone.

It worked like a charm, a lot faster than anything else was working, and it didn't hurt him at all. If anything, it soothed things.

[HunterDreams]

Enter: Queen of Rain Rot.

Not a very attractive title, but pretty accurate nonetheless. Corey, my OTTB, gets rains rot like it's his job, so I'm now quite learned in the ways of ridding him of the nasty skin fungus.

You're in luck, because it's warm outside all the time right now, which means you can bathe your horse with iodine shampoo as often as necessary. Also, the *only* way to get the rain rot to go away all together is to pick it all off.. which sounds gross (and really, it's not much fun), but it's the most effective way to rid your horse of fungus. Do that in addition to idodine baths.

Also, wash your saddle bad and wash ALL your grooming tools with diluted bleech water - you can let them soak over night. Rain rot goes from horse-to-horse fairly easily, and you'll have a much better chance of kicking this thing out if your grooming tools and saddle pad(s) are clean and free of the fungus too.

Also (also), after a bath, take her outside and hand graze her, while brushing her dry in the sun. Really, you should do that with her everytime she gets a bath, or put her in front of a fan. Since she's already got the fungus, she'll be more likely to keep getting it.

Consistent and thorough daily grooming is the very best way to prevent rain rot. If you notice little bumps, pick them off immediately and spray a little iodine on there, to nip it before it gets rolling.

If your mares is REALLY awful, you can talk to your vet about getting some medication to help clear it up. Good luck!

Good advice =).

[gloryrider]

Enter: Queen of Rain Rot.

Not a very attractive title, but pretty accurate nonetheless. Corey, my OTTB, gets rains rot like it's his job, so I'm now quite learned in the ways of ridding him of the nasty skin fungus.

You're in luck, because it's warm outside all the time right now, which means you can bathe your horse with iodine shampoo as often as necessary. Also, the *only* way to get the rain rot to go away all together is to pick it all off.. which sounds gross (and really, it's not much fun), but it's the most effective way to rid your horse of fungus. Do that in addition to idodine baths.

Also, wash your saddle bad and wash ALL your grooming tools with diluted bleech water - you can let them soak over night. Rain rot goes from horse-to-horse fairly easily, and you'll have a much better chance of kicking this thing out if your grooming tools and saddle pad(s) are clean and free of the fungus too.

Also (also), after a bath, take her outside and hand graze her, while brushing her dry in the sun. Really, you should do that with her everytime she gets a bath, or put her in front of a fan. Since she's already got the fungus, she'll be more likely to keep getting it.

Consistent and thorough daily grooming is the very best way to prevent rain rot. If you notice little bumps, pick them off immediately and spray a little iodine on there, to nip it before it gets rolling.

If your mares is REALLY awful, you can talk to your vet about getting some medication to help clear it up. Good luck!

Agreed. Here's (http://equisearch.com/magazines/horseandrider/disinfect_051905/) a link to an article that gives good advice on disinfecting horse supplies. I'd follow their directions.

[littlemoney08]

I live in georgia and my horses get it 2 if i dont watch it...mostly on the there back legs

[butterflyfx]

i *think* my horse may be getting it a bit too; it started out looking like bug bites, and that's what i thought it was at first because it was only on her right side, just infront of the gerth. it's sensitive when i brush it, which also makes me think that it *may* be an allergic reaction or bug bites or something as i've never had to deal with rain rot before. :confused: it's just a small area, but do you guys think it'd be a good idea to try some MTG on it in case?