rain scald

[lamprellsarah]

i think my horse has definatly got rains scald, she is 21, she got it slightly last year but it was wetter last year!!
this year she has it bad but it's hardly rained.
it's not itchy it's not sore, just scabby and loss of hair!!
she has to live out and it's too warm for a rug
what can i do??
anything to put on it??
how long will it take to clear up??

[binky]

I swear by liquid paraffin. Cheap, keeps the wet out and moisturises the skin. Is an unlined rug not a possibility? My tbs are still rugged at night with cheapo unlined rugs - £35 from world beater. Hideous light blue colour with multi colour trim but its all covered in mud so who cares?

[THEO]

Hi there my horse had rain scald pretty badly when I bought him and what I did was get some olive oil put in a few drops of tea tree oil and a few drops of lavender mix it up and rub that into the skin it makes the hair grow back quickly and you dont get any white marks either as this can sometimes happen. I swear by it it has never let me down.

[Mehitabel]

we use novasan, we get it from the vet. you put a blob on some wet cotton wool and wash the scabby bits, then rinse it off with warm water. it loosens the scabs and has an antiseptic that stops the bald bits getting infected. it's really fantastic stuff, we discovered it during the floods, when everyone had rainscald, and it is just great. we do it every day, and keep them out of te rain or use a thin rug until it's gone, which has never taken more than a week even in the really bad cases.

[Piaffe]

I believe it is caused by the same type of bacteria as mud fever, therefore can be treated similarly.

Are you sure its rain scald? My horse is suffering a bit of hair loss and scurfy skin due to the time of year - a good bath will soon put that right!

Apart from that, as the others have said, a cheap unlined spring/autumn outdoor rug will do the trick.

[lamprellsarah]

well on her back she has a missing patch that about 7 cm's by 7 cms, on both sides, just below the back on the saddle, so it can't be the saddle rubbing!!
and he hind quaters have got patchs about the size of a 5 p coin!!
yesterday i thought it had stopped spreading then a whole more fell off!!
i have given her a good all over bath this did nothing to help!!

[galadriel]

I brush Povodone Iodine into the affected area once a day for about five days. It's been effective for me; I have a mare who's susceptible to it too. Kills the rain rot and the hair starts growing back right away.

[lamprellsarah]

ok so my first suspions were wrong although she went bald and scabby badly on her back, it must have been the sudden heat.
it suddenly got cold and wet so on went her rug, about 4/5 days later the rain finally stopped and i get to ahve a proper look under her rug, the other days i was being hailed on and soaked so much i just moved it back and fed her.
AND WHAT DO I SEE HAIR, all over, it was her summer coat, coming though!! a week late and there is no trace what so ever of bald patches!!!