Can you and would you ride a horse with rain scald?

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Beatrice5

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The mare I am helping her owner with has really bad rain scald and mud fever. Vet saw it and not worried but it looks awful.

I was asked to ride her today based on advice from vet and chiro and livery yard owner nearly took a shot at me when I said I was planning on taking the old girl out for a walking short hack based on vet / chiro advice.

She screemed the mares bloody skin is coming off how can you ride her like that. When I asked to see there is a small patch of pink skin under saddle area but worst is on hind quaters. I use a prolite and full sheepskin pad normally and had planned to use that again on advice from Chiro.

So anyway I didn't ride and informed owner who wasn't happy. He is calling vet to double check she can be gently ridden but I thought I'd ask you more knowledgeable and experienced peeps what you would have done.

Suggestions as to how to treat also appreciated. So far we have hibi scrubbed legs but not body as too cold and applied Wonder gel.
 
Personally, if the area where her saddle will go is causing her pain, I wouldn't. If it is at a stage where it has almost healed, and it is just waiting for the hair to grow back then I wouldn't see why being walked under saddle would be such a big problem, especially with a big fluffy pad between the back and the saddle.
Could you not lunge/walk out in hand at a good pace until the area on her back has healed fully?

ETA- http://www.camrosa.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=102
 
No I wouldn't my last horse I bought at the sales he was covered in rain scald :(
Vet advised not to ride as scabs on his back I would not hav anyway and from what I remember it was not just cause of the pain to him she said about warm closed area( saddle) = more growth of bacteria that causes rain scald I've prob worded that wrong
 
We have been walking her out twice a day as well as good turnout . The reason her owner rode her Sunday was on advice from vet / chiro as she is now feeling so much better she is getting bored of just in hand walking out. She is really perky and happy.

The wonder gel doesn't seem to help much so I was considering sudo cream. Will that help loosen scabs without having to pick them off so much. I personally won't pick them unless they are already coming away naturally but livery yard owner is really going for it and I think making her sore.

Owner has emailed the vet to ask his advice too . Read on a pref post about someone using black wound powder and flowers of sulphur. I have normal wound powder but what is the balck one?

Also why is it spreading and getting worse still. It was bad on her legs before the accident but only a tiny bit on her body. Now her hind quaters are covered and this is 3 weeks post accident? Any ideas?
 
My mare gets rain scald on sweaty areas following one really bad case when she was caught in a bad flood. I waited several months for her back to recover before riding as it was pretty bad. Once the scabs healed and the hair was beginning to regrow. I was careful to use clean soft saddle pads and clean the area thoroughly afterwards.
Now on the areas that react to sweat under boots, saddle etc I use a Barrier healthcare anti-bacterial wash followed by Eqyss Micro-Tek spray every time she sweats.
 
Thank you LynH can I ask what you did to hepl her heal and recover.

This poor girl was trapped upside down in a ditch for 6 hours in freezing water which has exsassibated what was a minor problem before and is now a real scabby mess.

I think I will be riding my mare and leading her for a while until she is completely recovered. We were advised not to let her go completely due to her age ( approx 20 ) she will find it much harder to come back to ridden work if she is let right down ( this was from Chiro who is an EGB rider)
 
Just used olive oil on foal with rain scald (not a bad case - just starting), and a week later all skin pink and healthy, the coat is healthy looking (and looks like will help prevent the rain soaking in). The oil has softened and lifted the remaining scabs (some on hinquarters), and I have used some iodine/betadine to treat any bacteria. I was told this by horseman, and was hesitant, but it really seems to have helped. (And not expensive either).
 
Beatrice5 said:
The wonder gel doesn't seem to help much so I was considering sudo cream. Will that help loosen scabs without having to pick them off so much
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I wouldn't use Sudocrem. Apparently, it seals in the bacteria.

When my mare had a horrendous case of rainscald recently, I had to have her fully clipped to expose the rainscald and prevent the bacteria from multiplying in the long hair. I then had to wash her twice a week in Malaseb shampoo and dry her thoroughly and quickly, as the bacteria thrive in warm, damp places. I also had to spray her with Derbymed, a medicated wound powder, to dry out the moist, weepy bits and apply Flamazine ointment to soften the scabs.

My mare's rainscald was a side effect of an itching problem - she rubbed herself raw and bit her skin. The vet was concerned about infection, so she also had three courses of antibiotics.

The vet said it was far better to under rather than over rug, as being warm can exacerbate the itching. Also, if the horse sweats under the rug, the rainscald will spread as you've created its ideal environment!

The vet did say I should ride her, to take her mind off her condition, but I waited until the sore-looking bits had healed. (BTW, apparently pink skin on a dark horse isn't healthy - it's an indication of pus! Healthy skin is grey).

It took 4 weeks, but Jazz's rainscald cleared up totally.

Hope this helps and good luck! x
 
I'm another for not riding her - the scabs are SO painful for them it wouldn't be fair.

What works for me is washing in Equine America Fungatrol Shampoo or Malaseb if you are getting things from vet - I found both to work equally well. Let the area dry completely and then use Equine America Fungatrol Cream and gently work it onto the scabs in a circular motion, keep circling round & round & the scabs will lift. Once lifted you can remove them but it is sore for the horse, I was always wary of doing this and wanted to wait until they lift naturally but my vet advised they don't lift naturally as the bacteria breed under the scabs so they never dry up & lift.

Although it hurts the only way of clearing it is to remove the scabs and then either leave the pink skin to the fresh air or use a small amount of cream such as Fungatrol on the pink area for a day or 2. My vet once gave me a cream they had made themselves which was expensive & worked the same as Fungatrol but I can't think of what it's called.

Don't use Sudocrem, it seals the bactera in & makes things much worse. The first time I came across rainscald I used Sudocrem & 12 hours later the heat coming off the horse in that area was unbelievable.

It could take a week or so to get all the scabs off as they can reappear & then once they are gone & you have exposed clean skin I always give it a further 7-10 days before considering riding.
 
What works for one horse may not work for another so you could end up spending a small fortune. I would be tempted to start with the cheaper options. Years back we had a heavy horse and used pig oil and sulphur as prone to mud fever/greasy heel. Also some people swear by udder cream but its not something I've tried.
 
My mare and my old pony were trapped in a flooded field for several hours. The pony was swimming and the TB mare only had an inch of her withers showing. She lost alot of her hair and has scarring to her ears where it was particularly bad. It was about 8 yrs ago so I can't remember exactly what I used but it was a glycerine based liquid I got from the vet. I will see if they have a record of what it is. The Eqyss product really helps with the odd sore patch she gets now and I do have to careful to keep her sweat free. I would say the most important part I remember from the initial few months treatment was keeping everything scrupulously clean. I used a fresh summer sheet every day then every other day to stop bacteria from one patch moving to another and I poured the treatment into a dish rather than infecting the pot by dipping my fingers in it.
Good luck, apart from her ears and the reaction to sweat my gorse hasn't had any flare up due to heavy rain etc and getting soaking wet.
I'll pm you if I can find out what I used.
 
Thank you - you have all been really helpful.

I am now cursing myself for plastering Sudo cream on my fillies heels as she has really mild mud fever just starting so this morning I washed her legs off toweled them and sudo creamed her gggrrrrr what a fool :(

Oh well you live and learn. Tomorrow I shall have to wash off sudo cream !!!

As for the old TB who original post was about I think we have got to the stage where her owner needs to cough up for vet cream as this is running on and I feel unfair on her plus it's getting really chronic now. Her whole hind quaters on both sides are covered as well as her spine having patches :( Poor girl. I wish I could take her on as owner is looking for someone to loan her but I have 3 hungry beasts already :( Why do we get so attatched to these poor creatures?
 
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