| Rain Rot By Laura Vonk |
This time of the year Rain Rot can become a problem. Rain Rot, also called Rain Scald,
thrives in the warm damp conditions that often occur in the spring when it's rainy and the
horses have not fully shed their thick winter coat. Going out daily and grooming your horse is
one way to help keep this from being a problem. Not only does it help them shed their coat
faster, but it's also how you can find out they've developed it while it's still a mild case. If you
run your hand lightly across their back and rump, you'll feel the little lumps before you even
see them. At that time, a single bath with iodine shampoo might stop it in it's tracks.
If you found it after it got more wide spread, you'll have to carefully pick off every little scab
to expose it to air. Although the Rain Rot itself causes the horse no real discomfort, picking
the scabs off of them does not feel good, and you'll find different horses tolerate this
differently. The less wide spread it is, the less they'll have to go through, so finding and
treating this infection early is important. After picking off all the scabs, bathe them with iodine
shampoo once a day for a week, keep them as dry as possible and try to protect the area
from biting insects. This infection is contagious, so if you can, separate the infected horse and
do not use the same grooming equipment on your other horses. Then you'll also have to
disinfect your grooming equipment after use. You can do this by submerging them in bleach
water. If not caught early enough, in some cases, the infection can become severe and it's
possible for a secondary infection to occur, at that point you might have to administer
antibiotics.
If the condition doesn't respond to your home treatment, worsens, or the skin becomes
cracked and bleeding or oozing pus, call the veterinarian because it is either something else
or another infection has developed.
Once you've dealt with this condition the first time, it's pretty easy to spot, identify, and treat
the next time. The best way to prevent it is to keep your horse as dry as possible and to
groom him daily whether you ride or not.
thrives in the warm damp conditions that often occur in the spring when it's rainy and the
horses have not fully shed their thick winter coat. Going out daily and grooming your horse is
one way to help keep this from being a problem. Not only does it help them shed their coat
faster, but it's also how you can find out they've developed it while it's still a mild case. If you
run your hand lightly across their back and rump, you'll feel the little lumps before you even
see them. At that time, a single bath with iodine shampoo might stop it in it's tracks.
If you found it after it got more wide spread, you'll have to carefully pick off every little scab
to expose it to air. Although the Rain Rot itself causes the horse no real discomfort, picking
the scabs off of them does not feel good, and you'll find different horses tolerate this
differently. The less wide spread it is, the less they'll have to go through, so finding and
treating this infection early is important. After picking off all the scabs, bathe them with iodine
shampoo once a day for a week, keep them as dry as possible and try to protect the area
from biting insects. This infection is contagious, so if you can, separate the infected horse and
do not use the same grooming equipment on your other horses. Then you'll also have to
disinfect your grooming equipment after use. You can do this by submerging them in bleach
water. If not caught early enough, in some cases, the infection can become severe and it's
possible for a secondary infection to occur, at that point you might have to administer
antibiotics.
If the condition doesn't respond to your home treatment, worsens, or the skin becomes
cracked and bleeding or oozing pus, call the veterinarian because it is either something else
or another infection has developed.
Once you've dealt with this condition the first time, it's pretty easy to spot, identify, and treat
the next time. The best way to prevent it is to keep your horse as dry as possible and to
groom him daily whether you ride or not.
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