Rainscald? Horse living out and rugged

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SunshineTallulah

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Hi everyone,

My horse is out 24/7 at the mo and in a MW with neck. He's not clipped.

For the last two weeks he has been itching like crazy when he's come in for his feed. Sometimes he's so intent on scratching he is not eating.

Two weeks ago he broke his fillet string and his rug was over his shoulders (luckily spotted by a fellow livery) early one morning and she kindly put it right as he was dry. Not sure how long he'd been like it.

Yesterday I found that he is covered in random patches of small scabs, from his withers right down to his rump.

The scabs are well attached and one patch of hair came away easily leaving a not very nice sore.

He is checked everyday and he hasn't got hot or sweaty in his rug and it is changed as necessary. Could this incident with his back being exposed been the cause?

He's never had this before. Has suffered from mud fever but this is under control.

I'm assuming it's rainscald but perhaps it's something else?

Rang my vet for advice yesterday and he said to give him Piriton over the weekend to ease the itching and to think about a shampoo from them.

I've read that Nizoral is an option. Does Nizoral really work? Do I wash in and wash out? Repeat? Just the once?

I've sent his rug for cleaning/reproofing anyway.

He is so itchy it's untrue. Feel so sorry for him!!

Any advice is very welcome.
 
Go down to a lighter rug, it would suggest that he is sweating up in it during the day and drying off by the time you get there to check on him.
 
I'd agree lighter rug for now, we have a couple of solutions for rainscald.
I find a really ancient rug and after coating the back liberally with antifungal or baby cream leave the rug on. The heat from the horse softens the cream into the scabs and most of them actually come off on the rug .(now you see why I said ancient).
When this has happened after a few days you remove the rug and wash the back in either the fungicidal shampoo from your vet or we use imaverol which is supposed to be for ringworm but treats rainscald we've discovered. Don't put the rug back on until the horse is fully dry as it's warmth and damp that create ideal conditions for the fungus. I'd also spray his rug inside with the human spray for athlete's foot , let it dry before use. (or sprinkle some of the powder on instead)
 
Wash him with Nizoral shampoo as this will kill off the rainscald. You can buy it from a chemist.

Preferably dilute with hand hot water and lather up well working well into the skin. I keep some in a 2litre pump spray bottle so that I can spray it on and work it in - especially useful when the weather is cold and you don't want to end up soaking the horse. Scrape off excess and leave to dry. No need to rinse.

Keep covered so that his back is not exposed to more rain. Feeding a supplement that contains Zinc & Copper will help strengthen the skin from inside - also try and avoid feeds that contain a lot of molasses as the fungus loves it.
 
Is he fed Alfalfa? Mine got rainscald during a dry summer when I gave her Alfa A, it went almost immediately when I cut it out.
 
All great advice, thank you.

He is fed Top Spec Balancer and HiFi Original. He's been on this for the last three years tho.

Could the incident where he had his back exposed when his rug came up over his shoulders be the cause? Perhaps he got damp? He doesn't feel over warm in his MW.
 
I would not assume it was rain scalled until its been confirmed by the vet ( one of mine had rain -scalled we treated it with washing with anti fungus shampoo )

I am not saying it isnt , without seeing it its hard to say but-MY donkey started out like this now its down her legs belly etc. Have to bath her every 2 days while waiting on results

Vet has taken skin samples and skin scrapes. this is her now i had to clip her
 
If skin conditions are right horses can get rain scald from a minimal exposure to the rain. My foal was only four days old when he got it for the first time!

If the horse is damp under the cover and or the cover leaks then they are at risk of rain scald. I've seen them here in NZ with large patches of missing hair where rain soaked through and a damp cover wasn't changed or the weather warmd up leaving the skin damp and humid.
 
My horse is out 24/7 (trace clipped) and has only just started having a liner in his 40g rug because it has been so mild. Yours could have been sweating a little, or the time he got a soaking didn't dry off properly, it's very difficult when they have a dense coat.

Just to be on the safe side ask your vet for a specimen pot and a swab stick. Remove one of the scabs with some puss attached if possible and put it in the pot, use the swab to take some gunge from where the scab was and ask them to culture it for you. Shouldn't be too expensive to do this just to ensure you're giving the right treatment.

Meanwhile treat as for mud fever. Ideally I would wash him as instructed by the vet and leave him in overnight or even bring him in for a few nights until it's sorted, you really need the coat to air dry without a rug to allow the wash to do it's job. If you don't it can escalate really quickly because the airless atmosphere of a thick coat or just a rug is the ideal breeding ground for the bugs that cause it.
 
Thanks everyone.

Have gone for the Nizoral option and have left him in to air dry.

Def going to go for a lighter rug. Thinking 70g either with it's neck or with a rainsheet under?

Will also spread AF powder on the inside of the rug.

HenryHorn - what type of baby cream do you use? Nappy rash stuff?
 
I think your horse maybe getting too hot and sweating creating the right conditions for it. I've found vasaline brilliant on it, this is years ago on a pony that was kept out, but he wasn't rugged, we're talking over 30 years ago, little 12.2 welsh mountain, soon healed, depends at what stage its at and how bad it is as how to treat it.

Maybe treat and put a rug on with no filling just for a few weeks until its healed, if its dry is there any way you could go up and take the rug off during the day ?
 
My horse had something similar 2 winters ago. He was incredibly itchy. It started with a few scabs, I thought it was due to him getting hot so clipped him, but by doing this I disturbed the scabs and it spread all over him within about 48 hrs. Got vet out who took samples and thought it was something similar to rainscald but needed to check wasn’t ring worm. He was treated for both while tests were done. Turned out was a bacteria from the rainscald family. Treating him was awful, it was near freezing and I had to shampoo him twice a day!!! We had hot buckets of water but with low temps he ended up freezing!! As soon as treatment started the scabs started to clear.
 
I know what you mean stilltrying! So wanted to put a fleece on him but know he has to dry naturally. Fed him outside in the sun to aid drying. He is now in and I'll go back in awhile to see how he is doing.

What to do if not dry?
 
SunshineTallulah said:
Hi everyone,

My horse is out 24/7 at the mo and in a MW with neck. He's not clipped.

For the last two weeks he has been itching like crazy when he's come in for his feed. Sometimes he's so intent on scratching he is not eating.

Two weeks ago he broke his fillet string and his rug was over his shoulders (luckily spotted by a fellow livery) early one morning and she kindly put it right as he was dry. Not sure how long he'd been like it.

Yesterday I found that he is covered in random patches of small scabs, from his withers right down to his rump.

The scabs are well attached and one patch of hair came away easily leaving a not very nice sore.

He is checked everyday and he hasn't got hot or sweaty in his rug and it is changed as necessary. Could this incident with his back being exposed been the cause?

He's never had this before. Has suffered from mud fever but this is under control.

I'm assuming it's rainscald but perhaps it's something else?

Rang my vet for advice yesterday and he said to give him Piriton over the weekend to ease the itching and to think about a shampoo from them.

I've read that Nizoral is an option. Does Nizoral really work? Do I wash in and wash out? Repeat? Just the once?

I've sent his rug for cleaning/reproofing anyway.

He is so itchy it's untrue. Feel so sorry for him!!

Any advice is very welcome.
Click to expand...

Hi my mare had this last year, hers was especially bad around the flanks and withers, was literally running underneath her haynet to itch it. I got the vet out, gave me some shampoo (that I can't remember the name of) and although it was awful bathing her in the cold, she was so much happier. I had over rugged her- now I have her fully clipped and in a lighter rug and she is fine this year (although doesn't live out).
 
He is now out in a 70g rug with no neck. He is VERY hairy so should cope fine. I will resist the urge to put him in a warmer rug!

Should I rebath him again in the Nizoral?

The scabs are still there, will they fall off or should I put something on them?
 
Hi sunshine, i used a mud bar ointment for my
Mares mud fever last year for her legs and the scabs fell off in days, I have also. Been using a lotion called sweet relief for some nasty fly bites she had this year which left her feeling incredibly itchy, it was amazing stuff. I know when horses get mud fever on there legs u should keep them dry avoiding washing every day. This only irritates even more. The lotion I used for her itchiness contains benzyl benzoate which is in nappy rash cream, the lotion is truely amazing stuff I think the website is called sweetitch.net. It is so worth a shot it's cheap too. Good luck xx
 
SunshineTallulah said:
He is now out in a 70g rug with no neck. He is VERY hairy so should cope fine. I will resist the urge to put him in a warmer rug!

Should I rebath him again in the Nizoral?

The scabs are still there, will they fall off or should I put something on them?
Click to expand...

Sorry not to get back sooner - been running two area events and been so busy. Yes no harm in bathing again or just sponge into the area that is affected so you don't get him totally soaked. The scabs will fall off pretty soon.
 
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