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Has everything you need to safely and comfortably treat your horse. The cracking of skin, which will eventually worsen into a painful crust and scabbing. Try this homemade recipe with baby oil, 3% USP hydrogen peroxide, and iodine.
However, horses that are over-rugged can become sweaty which makes the skin susceptible to infection, so make sure rugs are removed or reduced on mild days. Keep your horse dry and reduce exposure to known environmental factors during treatment. You may also want to keep horses with rain rot separated from others while treatment is occurring to prevent spread amongst horses.
Home Remedies For Rain Rot
Rain scald in horses is caused by the bacteria “Dermatophilus Congolensis” which typically enters the surface layer of horses’ skin when it’s exposed to prolonged wetting and cracking, resulting in an infection. It’s most commonly seen in horses that are kept outside in wet and muddy conditions as the bacteria originates in soil, but it can also live on the skin and when the surface is compromised, it can cause infection. Most commonly show itself as scabs and lesions on a horse’s skin. Sometimes mistaken for ringworm or staph infection, rain rot is a bacterial infection rather than a fungal infection. The bacteria that causes rain rot is alive underneath the surface of the skin, which is why the scabs that appear on your horse can ooze. Rain rot, also known as rain scald, is a severe skin infection that causes scabs and lesions on a horse’s skin.
If you know your horses is susceptible, where possible try to minimise access to wet and muddy ground as much as possible. If this cannot be avoided try to provide your horse with an area where they can dry off – or bring them in daily for a feed to dry the area out with a clean towel. Depending on the time of year – you may wish to use a lightweight rug though just be cautious as the infection can spread from horse to horse so ensure the rug is clean and only used for that horse. This solution is more practical if you horse has large areas of infection.
Preventing Rain Rot
When a horse’s skin remains wet for an extended period, the outer layer becomes soft and compromised. Once the outermost layer of skin begins to break down, cuts and other abrasions can quickly form. In severe cases, your horse may need antibiotic injections given by a veterinarian. Skin biopsies may need to be conducted to identify if the cause of the infection and ensure it is rain rot. It is always recommended that you consult a veterinarian in any case when determining cause and making treatment plans.
McDowell's staff Herbalists can not diagnose your disease or illness. What they can do is offer a herbal program to assist with healing, after you have had advice from your doctor or specialist. If you have unexplained pain or symptoms, seek medical advice. If you notice the above signs, it’s important to contact your vet for diagnosis. This is essential because the bacteria live under the matted crusts.
Tips for getting rid of mud fever or rain scald in horses
Mud fever has many names including cracked heels, scratches, rain rot, greasy heel, mud rash, and dew poisoning. It is a common condition, usually affecting horses lower limbs; especially the back legs, and particularly if they are white. If you don’t have shelter out in the fields but have a stable, it’s a good idea to bring them in for part of the day when it’s extremely wet.
Include garlic in the diet for its antiparasitic properties and to discourage biting flies. Tonics are a great addition to a horse’s diet to avoid susceptibility to rain rot. Some have had success with Listerine and baby oil combined . However, the Listerine can cause skin irritation in some horses. Try to avoid hosing off your horses legs unless absolutely necessary, and if you do, ensure you fully dry the horse off afterwards.
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Make sure you’re checking the temperatures and not over-rugging as rain scald can also be caused by excessive sweating. Barrier creams should be avoided because they can be difficult to wash off properly and reduce the amount of oxygen reaching the skin, encouraging the Dermatophilus bacteria to multiply. If possible, bring your horse inside for a time to allow the skin to dry and protect from prolonged wetting of the horse’s coat. Sprays, such as diluted lemon juice or vinegar added to antiseptics like 5ml eucalyptus or thyme oil, and 4 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed are easily applied supports for rain rot. Add 5ml of Thuja to the spray for additional antifungal properties.
Tea tree and rosemary oil have also proven helpful in treating rain rot. It can be combined with Vaseline and rubbed onto the infected areas. The horse may show a pain reaction when touching the scabbed areas – or when attempting to brush/remove the scabs and lesions. When you run your hand over the affected area you will feel crusts, and the horses hair will have clumped over the scabs. It’s possible when brushing these may remove themselves from the horse leaving bald patches. And that was it – the best and easiest fix for rain scald that I have ever come across and one that can be done in colder weather without having to risk wet horses getting a chill.
For horses that live out without a rug, it’s important to ensure the field has shelter from the elements to reduce the amount their skin and coat becomes wet. This could either be in the form of hedges and trees or manmade field shelters. Light coloured horses tend to be more susceptible which is thought to be due to their pink skin which is more delicate. Additionally, horses with poorly developed immune systems or underlying diseases such as cushing’s disease are more prone to getting rain scald. Initially areas start exuding a sticky secretion that matts the hair together into small clumps. This progresses to crusty scabs that often have tufts of hair attached to them, which can stand up and look like paint brush bristles.
This will usually be needed daily until the area has healed. If the saddle area is affected, the horse may be unable to be ridden until it’s successfully treated. Rain scald is a non-contagious skin condition (meaning it doesn’t spread from one horse to another or to people) that can be caused by the same bacteria asmud fever1. Rain rot and skin infections are one of the most common things I see in my incoming horses.
It is a collective term for what is essentially a bacterial, and in some cases fungal, infection that causes irritation and inflammation of the skin. Sunny was kept out in the field without any shelter or a rug. His owner noticed patches all over his body which looked like sticky paintbrush bristles. Sunny was brought in from the field and kept in a dry stable. His owner removed the scabs and washed the underlying skin with dilute hibiscrub.
A second product we always sing the praises of, it Equine Super Goo. Again another NZ based product, this stuff is magical and great for treating cracked heels in particular. It only requires one thorough application and will fully treat mud fever within a few days. We highly recommend – you can get in touch with them on Facebook if you want to make an order. And remember, be careful to avoid future contamination through sharing of rugs and brushes and saddle pads etc and disinfect anything that has been in contact with a rain scalded horse. If none of these work, there are plenty of products designed to specifically treat rain rot.
Three days later I noticed that most of the powder had gone and there was some small new areas of infection, so I scratched out the little scabs with the brush filled with D.E. All the bay horses and greys were still glossy and shiny and in good health. You can start by washing your horse with an antibacterial dish soap. Rain scald is a bacterial infection of the skin that results in the formation of matted scabs usually affecting the back and rump but occasionally the lower limbs.
The other item you will want to employ during scab removal is a brush with medium strength bristles. Using the brush, you can lightly swipe over the scabs until they are loose enough to pull away. Leave the solution in contact with the skin for at least five minutes before rinsing off. Colloidal silver can also be rubbed on, and has even been used against Staph infections. Fresh chickweed herb boiled in lanolin to make a cream; or crush it in your hand and rub on itchy areas for immediate relief. Add the crushed herb to the aloe gel for easier application.
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