Rain scald advise please!

[3707rachela]

Naughty mummy put a turnout rug on the boy over the weekend and today he has about 6 20p sized lumps on his bottom. They are crusty and a bit weepy, is this rain scald? How is this best treated? Is it best to leave his sheet on to keep the rain off him or leave his skin to 'breathe' in the elements? Any advice greatly appreciated!!

 

[vennessa]

We took in a rescue nearly bald with rainscald.
The vet told us not to rug her although it was a cold April. We bathed her in OZ Oil tea tree shampoo and applied Oz Oil Tea tree lotion. It cleared and hair grew back quickly.
Good luck

 

[3707rachela]

Some people say no rugs, others say rug up to keep the rain off! Difficult to know.........

 

[Nailed]

if itsme and the scabs were loose id be tempted to peck them off, apply sudacream and rug.

Lou x

 

[3707rachela]

Ho hum, what to do, I suppose whatever I do, the opposite would have been the better idea!!

 

[vennessa]

I do think it is a case that no-matter which side the coin fell on both sides would be right and both sides wrong. The mares case realy was extreme so could have been different advice to what he would have given in your case - or rather your horses

I was going to suggest a poll but it may come out 50/50

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

You have to get the scabs off because the bacteria that cause rainscald "hide" under the scabs. Hibiscrub worked a treat for my ned. If the weather's cold you can make up a tiny amount of dilute solution, work it well into the sore area and leave it without rinsing it out. I'd defo cover up though (over clean, dry skin) because it's the constant wetness that creates the ideal conditions for the bacteria to thrive. Take away the cold wet skin and you take away the perfect environment for the bacteria. Good luck!

 

[jesterfaerie]

I have always picked the scabs off applied sudocrem and rugged up.

 

[AmyMay]

The best thing is to obviously get some advice from your vet if it is quite bad.

You also don't want the horse to get another soaking whilst it's healing. It's true that putting a rug on can be detrimental to the healing process, because creating a damp, warm environment will only feed that bacteria that causes the rain scald. So the best cause of action - is to ensure that the horse remains dry until the problem is solved. Ideally by keeping it under cover - rather than rugging.

Removing the scabs and using something like Sudocream will work well on a fairly mild occurance.

 

[kellyeaton]

tea tree shampoo then aloe vera cream to get scabs off and keep dry and clean until cleared up!

 

[Livia]

Sudocrem softens the skin up, and I've never used it on rainscald as I was told rainscald has to dry up.
This may be the actual treatment advice from a vet but I've always picked off the scabs either by hand or using something like a rubber curry comb.
Then treat the area with hibiscrub or perhaps one of the tea tree oil products (this worked well for a friend of mine).
I was also told to leave the skin to air, as rugging up creates the perfect damp and warm environment for the fungus. Unfortunately in sunny old england its more than likely to rain as soon as you take your horse's rug off! So perhaps keeping the horse under shelter (stabled) would be best, though this then might mean treating the stable with disinfectant of some sort!
Like I said, I've been told this by other people. Whether all parts are true, I'm not sure.
Feel free to comment everyone, I'd like to know if I'm horribly wrong!

Horses, so much work eh

 

[bennsboy]

Mare suffered very badly after a rug leaked (wasnt happy it was brand new!!)
Vet advised washing the affected areas in Hibscub and leaving it on for 5 mins before rinsing off, this was to be done every third day. Kept in during this treatment.
Alsso used Wonder Gel. cant remember who makes it, is soothing helps loosen scabs, and promots hair growth.
Also contacted Global Herbs and used some off their feed additives.
Combination worked and it didn't come back.
Vet also advise a skin scrape for testing if the above failed.

 

[Diggory]

It might not be rain scald at all - it could be a Staphylococcus Aureus infection. Staph A is a bug that is VERY commonly found naturally on horses and which usually does no harm at all. However, if a horse gets damp and warm (e.g. showery rain followed by sunshine, competing, stress sweating), the opening of the pores can allow the bug in, and it can then go into serious party mode.

Usual symptoms are scabbing over of the skin, with very raw looking tissue underneath, a yellowish sticky exudate can weep from the scabs and dry in claggy lumps around the scab, the surrounding tissue is inflamed, sore to touch, and can also be intensely itchy. The bug will cheerfully spread once it gets into the skin, especially if the horse is itchy and can scratch and break the skin further, so you need to short circuit the infection as quickly as possible if it is Staph A.

The best method I've found is to gently soften the scabs with Hibiscrub diluted in warm water, swabbed on with cotton wool. Loosen and remove the scabs where you can but without actually ripping too much away, as it can be very painful for the horse. Quite a lot of hair will probably come with the scab, and I usually clip the hair in about a 1cm margin around a lesion to make cleaning it easier. I've found a cat's flea comb (with metal teeth with blunted ends) is really good at easing the scabs and exudate out of the coat and leaves more hair behind that plain picking. Swab the area as dry as you can and then apply something soothing. Sudocrem can be good, but is sometimes a little too greasy to stick if you can't get the area dried well enough - I would prefer Dermisol or Dermoline; Dermobion was brilliant in the good old days, and something similar is still gettable under a different name if you don't mind breaking the law! (Nuff sed.)

You'd need to repeat the process for a few days, possibly twice a day, until you were confident the exudate was lessening and that you were winning the battle. It's important to keep the scabs from forming a roof under which the bugs can do their worst. If the horse has to be turned out - and why not - you need to keep the area as dry and clean as possible, so a turnout rug would be best if the weather is bad, to speed up the healing process. However, this is a bug that seems to able to remain viable on rugs, so you might want to put a cotton sheet under the turnout rug to limit transfer onto the lining of your turnout rug - you can boilwash the summer sheet much more easily than a turnout rug.

For a persistent infection, a course of antibiotics might be helpful to couteract any secondary infections that kick in - I've used oral Baytril in the past with good results.

If it is a case of Staph A, be careful to wash your hands after treating the area - it's a bug that is a damn nuisance for humans too, and it's not fussy! Also, don't share any grooming equipment and rugs between this horse and others without cleaning it thoroughly with a Staph A killing disinfectant such as Virkon S. You can spray the insides of rugs very satisfactorily with a hand-sprayer, but do it in an open space, as Virkon S is very pungent in confined areas! Don't be tempted to wash affected areas of the horse with the Virkon S solution though as it stings like crazy.

Best of luck, whatever the problem turns out to be!