Eeek! What is mud rot and how do I get rid of it?

[Peace]

I've been sick and haven't gotten out to groom Quanah in a few weeks. Tonight I noticed what felt like tiny little bumps under the hair on his neck. There's no hair loss, just tiny clumps (2 to 3 mm in diameter) of hair stuck together. When I picked a clump apartI could see a little white fleck, almost like shed skin, in the little clump of hair.

My instructor says its mud rot, and that to get rid of it I need to curry him really hard. It seems sensitive to the touch, though, so I'm reluctant to really scrub on him with the curry.

Anyone ever heard of mud rot? Is there something I should be doing (besides resuming daily grooming) to get rid of it? I ran a google search and came up with nothing.:(

[mikka]

Hi Peace, I've never heard the term mud rot, just mud fever, which I thought, though could well be wrong, is restricted(?) to the foot area. It kind of sounds like it might be rain scald which is, as the name suggests, caused by dampness. You've had lots of moisture in your area lately, so maybe that's it? I think if you do a google search on it, you'll find plenty of info as it's a pretty common problem. Wish I could help more but I know so little about horse health.

Poor Quanah. Please give him a hug for me!

[Peace]

Thanks, mikka! I did a google search on rain rot/rain scald, and most of the symptoms match up: little clumps of hair, etc. I haven't seen the scabs mentioned, but maybe that's because it's in an early stage. Oddly, most horses get it on their backs and rumps, not on the neck - but other than that, it sounds like what I'm seeing.

The treatment is to remove the crusty bits - which is probably why my instructor said to curry him hard. I think I'll just pick them off with my fingers, though.:) Then I'm supposed to use a topical solution to kill the microbes, like Betadine or something.

Problem is, all the articles say they catch it from other horses - in Quanah's case, probably wrestling around in his pasture. So this means there's at least one other horse with it on the place. I guess I'll be feeling around on everybody tomorrow, to locate the culprit!

Oh, and I'll be sure to give Quanah a big hug tomorrow from his Aunt mikka!:)

[galadriel]

A lot of times what happens is the horse is out in the rain, and he gets wet, and he doesn't get brushed...the wet stays under his fur and provides a nice happy home for the infection, hence "rain" in rain rot. Duchess is very prone to it; I think it's either her coat or she just carries it around with her all of the time, and in the right conditions it sprouts. Yuck. She occasionally gets it *really* bad, apparently overnight.

You do often get little bumps in a "rash" looking thing before they scab over, but sometimes with Duch they're near invisible until thy're full-blown scabs. If you can catch it when they're bumps it can keep it from getting quite so painful; really thorough iodine bath (and WASH YOUR BRUSHES! so you don't just give it right back to him after the bath).

It can be contagious from horse to horse but it's usually when a contaminated brush is used on another horse.

I find 7% povidone iodine to work pretty well. Scrape off the scabs, bathe in betadine, brush the povidone in and leave it on. Should kill the infection under the scabs and keep it from coming back. A lot of times there are just so many scabs that you have to brush them hard to get them off; if it's mild you can pick them off by hand. The horses much prefer the 2nd way; they are tender and ouchy. (They'd really prefer you leave them alone altogether, but then they start losing their hair as it spreads.)

You know, I think maybe I'll mix some iodine in with their fly spray this summer and see how that works. Keeping Duchess sprayed down with iodine regularly may help to keep the nasty stuff away.

[Peace]

Hi, galadriel:

Thanks for the input! Could you tell me where I can get the povidone iodine solution please? And I'm a little worried about bathing him in the cold weather - do you think I could just wash and dry the affected areas? Also, will betadine stain the white patches on his neck?

Do you treat Duchess every day? And how long do you continue the treatment? I can't get out to him Monday-Wednesday, since I'm out of town those days. Is this one of those things where you can create resistant organisms by intermittent treatment?

Sorry for all these pesky questions - terrible new mother syndrome!

The internet sites I found said shared brushes were the most common way to spread it - but I keep Quanah's brushes in my tack box and only ever use them on him. I doubt it's shared tack, either, because I haven't ridden him since before Christmas (I'd been borrowing one of my instructor's saddles, since he outgrew his own). So I don't know how he managed to get it. :(

Thanks again for your advice! :)

[galadriel]

Duchess tends to sprout it all by herself, and Kat almost never gets it--so I think it's a quality of Duch's coat or something (they're running around the same places, rolling in the same places, grooming each other, you know).

Betadine washes off of coats, hands, clothes, all that stuff. I know some kinds of iodine stain nastily, but you should be okay.

I've had horses be okay with intermittent treatment--it just doesn't get better (sometimes gets worse) while it's not being treated. One of the things I've done to make treating Duchess' easier is to put the povidone in a spray bottle. Do you think your barn manager would be willing to just spray Quanah down if you leave her a spray bottle with iodine in it? That could at least keep it from getting worse. If it's a huge rash of it and I can't get all the scabs off, I usually end up treating it daily for about a week before it all goes away.

Usually once you get ALL those nasty little scabs picked off and treated with iodine, you've about killed it. So if you can get them all off today and him doused thoroughly, you may be okay. BTW, don't know about you, but it's supposed to be 50's here and not bet below 40's tonight; I'm willing to bathe in those conditions as long as I have a cooler or something until they dry. (Tomorrow is supposed to be 60's; you may want to wait.)

I get both iodine shampoo and the 7% povidone at my local tack/feed store (as well as empty spray bottles). By the way, do not bathe with the 7%! It's too strong; try to use it just on the open bits or the scabs. I keep it around just for rain rot and for treating things like abcesses.

Hope you can get it under control by Monday :)

[horse_barn_bum]

my gelding got mud rot last fall.someone told me its from rolling in the mud and not washing their coat.at first it is sensitive but then it turns into little scabs.if iodine doesn't work(cuz it didn't 4 me)then you can use a narrow toothed comb to pull them out.don't worry it doesn't leave bald spots.if nothing works then they will fall out when they lose their winter coat.

[Cathy Reynolds]

The scabs contain Dermophilus spores (the fungus that causes both rainscald - on the body, and mud fever - on the legs) which survive for more than 42 months. So they must be got rid of. They do of course survive in the field, so lost of reinfection opportunities if you don't keep the coats covered up and the legs dry. Don't use your brushes on anything else. Clean everything. Keep picking the scabs off. I've been given some shampoo by the vet which is approved in Australia for horses as well as dogs, but in the UK only only for dgos (we have sensible horsey vets!) - can't for the life of me remember the name. You use it every five days. Lather on, leave 10 minutes, wash off, dry. Henry has had a touch of rainscald this winter - undoubtedly caught from residual spores in the field, deposited from Benny's leg. We have kept Benny off the mud for the winter because of his stifle - and hallelujah, no mud fever!

[Peace]

Thanks galadriel! I may wait till tomorrow morning to bathe him - it's 54 degrees, but there's a right sharp wind blowing. My barn mates are out riding on the beach today - I bet they're frozen solid by the time they get back!

Cathy - my vet sold me some shampoo for it this morning. I don't remember the name either, but it sounds like the same stuff. The directions for use are exactly the same.

horse_barn_bum: I picked up a device at the feed store today to try and remove the little crusties. It's about the size and shape of a household sponge, but it's made of a kind of porous, pumice-like stone. The ladies at the feed store tell me they've had great success with it - you stroke the edge of it firmly over the coat in the direction the hair grows. I'll let you know how it works!