[JB]

FWIW, most every horse in have ever cared for has been more prone to rain rot when they're on diets high in corn and/or molasses.

It's been shown that high sugar diets can easily cause a B1 deficiency, and who knows what else. So yep, that makes perfect sense in that you're creating a nutritional deficiency.

Texarkana, my horses were on 24/7 turnout 150 acres of grass, zero grain. Just grass and water. My gelding developed terrible rainrot. I had to body clip he was so bad. Now, he's fed grain and it hasn't come back

While horses were designed to live on just forage and water, that does not remotely mean they are optimally healthy on that diet. "Grain" provides nutrition that could well have been lacking in his forage

When we lived in Seattle it rained alot.

I just don't think it IS the rain. It is the fungus/bacteria that is on the horse's skin. It has to be treated more than one time. If the horse goes and rolls in the same spot or somebody brushes the horse with the same infected brush, it starts all over again.

You're right, it's not just rain, or every horse would get it.

It's also not just the bacteria, or every horse would get it, as it's just everywhere in the soil. So it's also not about sharing brushes or blankets, though certainly you don't want to be concentrating the bacteria

Rain rot can't go away fast. It has to be long and drawn out and a huge hassle. It is like scratches, abscesses, etc. Just nothing is easy and one day all gone thing. You have to treat it each day until it goes away. Rainrot is a PITA. Each horse is different on how long it takes. I have had three horses now get it, and it did spread to another one's legs (brushes - grrrrrrrr).

Really interesting on the corn molasses thing.

It doesn't have to be a long drawn out process. The 1 case of my then yearling was literally gone in a few days - scabs gone after treatment with the Miracle Mist I mentioned, and it just took the additional time for the hair to grown back where the scabs had been.

Brushes did not at all spread the rain rot to the horse's legs. The bacteria that caused the first rr was in the soil, and the horse who ended up with scratches was also exposed to the bacteria regardless of the brushes. It *could* be that the brush directly deposited extra bacteria to the point the horse was compromised, but he would have been compromised on his own.

[Jamie2337]

She gets 6 pounds of Senior a day, 1 1/2 pounds of rice bran pellets, and 1 1/2 pounds alfalfa pellets. Along with free choice hay. How can I tell if I need to up copper or zinc levels? Bloodwork or should it be on the feed tags?

[Old Mac Donald]

Jamie, I use the online FeedXL program to get a "guesstimate". I know that it is now available for US customers (I'm in Aus, where the program originated).

Highly, highly recommended. Best $30 I spend all year.

[PeteyPie]

One of mine had a small case of rain rot and I nipped in in the bud with one shampooing with Head N Shoulders. I know I was lucky because when I was at the vet's the other day with my dog who has frequent ear fungus problems, she recommended weekly baths with an antifungal shampoo in addition to other treatments. I asked her about Head N Shoulders (because the coal tars kill some bugs) and she said that for some types of infections/infestations Head N Shoulders was very effective, but not for what my dog had. So basically, I must have been lucky that my horse had an organism which was susceptible to a dandruff shampoo.

So the short of it is that you might want to have a vet test a sample of what your horse has so that you can be treating it properly. For instance, some people have reported that rain rot was resolved with a dose of worming medication, others with topicals or shampoos. What if it is an allergy? Allergies are often treated with steroids, internally or with steroid-based unguents. A bacterial infection would need different treatment than a fungus, and there are different yeast and fungal infections which require different treatments.

For me, I would do as you have done and try a few things first, and since nothing is working, it might be time for the vet.

[PeteyPie]

I have another suggestion. Ask your vet about metabolic problems. For example, low thyroid causes a slower metabolism, therefore slower growth of cells, and more opportunity for skin infections. Slow-to-heal wounds and infections are a typical symptom of low thyroid in other animals.* I don't know much about Cushing's Disease, except that older horses don't shed out. Perhaps that could have a relationship with skin problems.

*Some articles suggest that low thyroid in horses is usually the result of other metabolic problems. Whatever the case, it's something to ask the vet.

http://www.thehorse.com/articles/280...roidism-puzzle

http://www.horse-journal.com/horse-j...terinary-help/

[WildandWickedWarmbloods]

Rain rot is caused by a bacteria-like (but not really a bacteria) bug in the soil. When a horse rolls in the soil, the bug gets on it. When it rains and is humid, and if the horse has a lowered immune system, then the rain rot occurs. We've seen it on other horses. And when our owner had an old horse, that horse got it. Our owner is neurotic so she started treatment of the horse as soon as a few tuffs of hair were seen. Listerine cured it. Dermagard is OK but Listerine is faster and cheaper.

So old age, lowered immune system, and what's in the soil are all factors. Our owner had moved one of us and her old horse to a new barn, where those bugs were in the soil. She then used Listerine as a preventative. Once all moved away from that barn, no more rain rot. And we're in a hot and humid climate.

We'll have our owner call her vet tomorrow and ask what antibiotics and topical would be good for a horse with very resistant rain rot, and very advanced rain rot.

[bathsheba8542]

My thin-skinned TB had a terrible case of rainrot the first summer he arrived...I put him on SmartPak's Daily Omegas Plus and treated the rainrot with doxy (simultaneous with Lyme's, so not specific to rainrot). But, it cleared up, he's out in all kinds of weather (e.g., wet often) and a year and a half later, it has never come back. FWIW....

[PaulaK]

A little pricey but IMO a must to have in the barn. 99% effective on bacteria and fungus and also helps the immune system, accelerating the wound healing. They make a skin treatment also but for a couple of bucks more the wound treatment is more concentrated. I've seen remarkable results using this product. You can google for more info. (Rood & Riddle is using it too.)

[Keribeau]

My horse, age 17 now, has been afflicted with RR periodically since I purchased him as a 2 year old. His seems to be triggered by shedding, both Spring and Fall. He is on forage diet only, is given Omega Sunshine(flax) and vitamin/mineral supplement. Thankfully MTG takes care of the problem if caught early and applied frequently. Some horses are just more susceptible. My 27 year old mare has never had it in her life. Vets caution that it can be spread by grooming tools but I have never seen this occur. I know you have tried many things, but ask your vet about penicillin injections if it continues or is spreading.

[JB]

How do you know if you need to add copper? You try adding some (with some zinc for balance) and see if your issues go away

You can't really test blood for it - you'd have really big issues I think if you found deficient levels there.

The problem with recommended amounts is that's a recommendation based on horses as a population and doesn't take into account individual needs.

[pony baloney]

I have another suggestion. Ask your vet about metabolic problems. For example, low thyroid causes a slower metabolism, therefore slower growth of cells, and more opportunity for skin infections. Slow-to-heal wounds and infections are a typical symptom of low thyroid in other animals.* I don't know much about Cushing's Disease, except that older horses don't shed out. Perhaps that could have a relationship with skin problems.

*Some articles suggest that low thyroid in horses is usually the result of other metabolic problems. Whatever the case, it's something to ask the vet.

http://www.thehorse.com/articles/280...roidism-puzzle

http://www.horse-journal.com/horse-j...terinary-help/

I hate to be the one always blaming Cushings on everything under the sun, but your horse is the right age to have it. Cushings horses are prone to all sorts of skin ickies and immune problems.

[lolalola]

How about Vetricyn? That stuff clears up a lot of things, and it probably wouldn't hurt your mare even if it didn't do anything for the rainrot. You should call your vet if nothing has worked so far. I also agree that flax is a great supplement for skin problems.

[NRB]

I have a 17yo who got RR last winter and ever since then I've been treating a tiny dime sized spot of it in various locations. So I treat and is gone in a couple days. But then in a little time another spot will pop up. Occasionally it will flare up and there will be @ 12 different small areas of RR on his body (back, rear, hind legs) So clearly I'm chasing it around and need to get to the root of the problem.

I bathe the area with a Novalsan like shampoo with Chlorhexadine then allow to totally dry and apply Equiderma... in the process the scabs get massaged off.(Equiderma also has Chlorhexadine in it) Usually it's gone in 2 days and healing well, sometimes it takes a week if I'm not able to get to the barn every day.

But with suppliments to boost the immune system there are loads of stuff out there... where do I even start?

[Flash44]

I have one mare who gets rain rot and a pony who gets scratches. I feed both of them about 1 cup of ground flax seed per day, and no longer have a problem with this. They will occasionally get small patches after a good downpour, but nothing that requires intensive treatment. The ground flax has a good Omega 3/6 balance and it's very cheap to feed.

[SaratogaTB]

Equiderma

[Beethoven]

Just to clear up some misunderstanding about what causes rain rot. It is caused by Dermatophilus Congolensis, a gram (+) filamentous bacteria. People used to think it was a fungus, but it is not.

Like other have said, a horse with a healthy immune system should be able to fight it off no problem.

I agree that the diet may need to be looked at at this point since it sounds like you have tried everything else.

[betsyk]

Agree with those who say look at the whole picture - feed, and environment. Is your mare stressed this year - new pasturemates, different routines, something else? My horses seem to cycle through the rainrot and scratches years, where the one who's had a tough time for some reason is the one who gets the skin stuff. This year I decided to be proactive and put them all on flax back in September, thinking maybe I'd ward off the fall skin stuff - and we've had such a dry fall that nobody's had anything in our area. Go figure.

[spaceagevalkyrie]

Equiderma. My mare's back was COVERED under her blanket, which was odd and horrible to treat. Nothing worked until I used Equiderma lotion, it cleared up in just a few days and the hair started growing back right away. Love it.

That stuff actually made my geldings 'rain rot from hell' last winter worse . I wound up using Bannix which cleared it up nicely.

[SuckerForHorses]

The fact that your horse is 24 years old and growing hair back at such a fast rate to begin with...I would have the horse tested for Cushings. Horses with cushings tend to have more skin trouble than others, including rain rot.

Test for cushings.

[SuckerForHorses]

Adding: Since my horses have been on flax daily, 1 cup, they have had no skin problems that they had prior to the flax (scratches for one) and my mare's cannon keratosis has significantly reduced since being on the flax.