If this is rain rot...what should I do first?

[wingnut]

I noticed on Monday that the weanling, Baby, had "bumpy" spots on her back. Not many and only on her back area. We had a couple days of rain late last week. The horses were free to come in and out of their stalls and they did a little of both.

I took a closer look today and one of the "bumpy/clumpy" patches of hair came off and a open sore was below. This made me immediately think of the rain rot posts I've read on here.

So, what do I do first? I've read about something called MTG but haven't figured out what that is. We do have Listerine one hand but not any of the other things. It will be tomorrow before I can get somewhere to buy anything else.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations/suggestions/input!

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

I always use an Iodine shampoo to remove it and it works great 

 

[Miniv]

Ditto about the Iodine Shampoo........ And since rain rot is a fungus......believe it or not, applying athletes foot ointment to the sores helps too!

 

[GypsyMoonMinis]

MTG (Mane, Tail, Groom) is some great stuff, stinks to high heaven and will make the hair regrow amazingly fast (at least thats my experiance with it). BUT it can be rather caustic, even though it states on the bottle its good for rain rot, scratches etc. I only use it once a week for regrowing manes and tails, or healed cuts that need hair regrowth. I would not personally put it on any new wound

rain rot, if I remember right, is in the same bacterial/fungal family as scratches and girth itch. There is some debate on whether or not its contagious. to be safe, i would keep all burshes, blankets, pads etc seperate and then wash then thoroughly with the iodine before using them on another horse. Some horses are more suspectible than others, and those that are, generally have more sensitive skin over all anyways. Continuous moist, warm conditions seem to be a large part in what sets it off.

I agree with the iodine bath. take care not to make it too strong, as it also can be caustic when too strong. You could also make a cream ointment of triple antibiotic (neosporin), hydro-cortisone ointment (for any swelling/irritation that might be present) and desitin (diaper rash ointment to sooth the area). Also, there is some debate on whether or not to remove the scabs. I've only dealt with scratches personally, and the only way I got it to heal was to keep the scabs removed. So, i guess it would depend on how severe it is, but I would call your vet to see what they say. If its really bad, you may consider a dose of antibiotics as well, but again, those are things to discuss with your vet. Good luck!

 

[Tucker]

Is there pic we could see I think your baby has what mine did if so Ican tell you what to use with out geting him wet ect it gos away in 2 days.

 

[Katiean]

I used athlete's foot liquid spray when a mare I bought had rain rot. It worked real good. I would like to add that I have a mare that I changed hay on and she had an alergy to. She lost muscle tone and her back was covered in bumps.I changed hay and it all cleared up on its own.

 

[wingnut]

Thanks for the input everyone! I will try to take a picture or two tonight to share.

Sounds like my first steps are to get the iodine shampoo to clean the areas, use some form of ointment for post cleaning protection and will need a second set of grooming supplies. All of which I'll be picking up this afternoon on my lunch break. You can never have too many brushes, right?

Last night when I went out to do the 8pm check, I counted 5 areas of "bumps". When I get home later this afternoon, I'll be starting the process of getting them cleaned and treated.

The rain we had last Friday/Saturday was very heavy and it was also very warm and humid. Sounds like the perfect combination of conditions to bring this on. So far, the other two don't seem to have any bumps at all.