Is there a homemade cure for rain rot?

Question

I've noticed a few more spots comming up on my horses skin, and I can't make it to a tack shop for quite a while, are there any home made cures?

Answer 1

I would suggest using an Iodine wash.

If you use Iodine, make a 1 part iodine to 6-8 parts water solution and wash your horse with it.

Make sure to rinse the horse well afterwards, otherwise the iodine will burn the horse's skin.

Also, MTG (the one that contains sulfur) is a good solution.

You can pour the MTG straight onto the horses coat and rub it into the skin. Don't wash it back off. You will need to apply it for several days.

You can get a bottle of MTG at any feed store and also at some tack stores.

Answer 2

We use MTG for our TB's scratches (which is basically the same as rainrot, but on legs) and it works wonders. As for homemade treatments, there are options but you can only go so far. You probably will have to get the scabs off, which will not be fun for the horse, but it's not usually a good idea to just go out and pick them off. I've heard everything from Vaseline to mayonnaise covered with plastic wrap, but I saw these in Equus magazine a few months ago: http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/he... http://special.equisearch.com/pdfs/EQSki...

Answer 3

listerine will work to get rid of it.  

some people say motor oil will as well.. but I'm afraid of the carcinogens.

if the spots are small still and dont cover a large area using neosporin will work but its not good if there is alot of area, and it costs to much.

T-gel shampoo in the human shampoo asle works good to get rid of it..

Answer 4

i know this will sound odd but bleach is a good rain rot cleaner. you dilute the bleach in water and spay on the rain rot spots and wait just a little bit then hose the horse off works pretty good. it odd though lol hope this helps

Answer 5

The first answer will work. I have dealt with it in the same way. Wash the area first with soapy, preferably anti bacterial ( good ol' Dial works) soap, softening up the scabs and then rinsing and w/ gloves gently remove the scabs as many as you can without hurting the horse too much. Shaving the hair around the problem area is a must to get it dried out. Iodine all over the area helps greatly, I have used Blu-Kote with good results also. Make sure you comb out all the flakes in the tail. You have to keep this up everyday, faithfully, otherwise it could keep spreading, the ooze is good it means it is healing and the nasty organisms that cause it are dying. Some horses seem to be more prone to it than others. Be faithful and all will be fine.

Answer 6

The best cure is sunshine and fresh air.  Shampoo well, dry the area well, then turn him out in the sun.  Keep it dry - if it's raining, put him inside, don't put a sheet or blanket on because that keeps any moisture - including sweat - in.

Some of the other "cures" sound scary, and rain rot is a bacterial/fungal issue, not a mange mite.

Answer 7

1 cup of bleach to 1/2 a cup of water dries up rain rot and you can peel the little dryed up scabs off

Answer 8

Bleach is safely applied at a 10 to 1 ratio.  During the summer you can first rinse your horse and then apply the bleach solution and allow to dry.  Remember, 10 parts water to 1 part bleach.  Use weekly unless you're getting a lot of rain and humidity.  In that case, use as needed.  Assuming that your horse is turned out full time. . .

<<>>Rain rot is caused by a Fungus.

In some parts of the country using motor oil as a medical treatment can land you in a spot of trouble.

Answer 9

The first thing we do is use a soap-like an iodine soap-that lathers good and work that crust off that's created by serum oozing out through the skin. With gloves on, lather the horse good and try to break the scabs off, which is painful to the horse. Getting the scabs off and letting the air get to the ulcerated areas is the most important part, and it is the most difficult because the horse resists it. Since it's painful, sometimes it takes a couple of days working a little at a time.

Then, any kind of antiseptic is successful in killing the fungus. The one that we prefer to use is a mixture of lime and sulfur. It's made in a ratio of one part lime and sulfur to eight parts water. If you use it any stronger, it can blister the skin. product is a fungicide that's used on plants like roses, so you can get it in a garden store. It's very effective, but the downside is that it has a very bad sulfur odor.

Other things that can be used are povidone-iodine (Betadine), Chlorhexadine, and phenol. Any one of them should be applied daily for five days.

Treatment consists of bathing your horse and lathering him in antimicrobal shampoo. As you do this try to pick off the scabs, but beware – this can cause discomfort and pain to the horse (remember when I said the cure hurts more than the infection?), so take it slow. The task might seem distasteful, but it's necessary because otherwise the infection can continue to thrive underneath the scabs. By removing the scabs you are exposing the skin to air (and by default oxygen), which will cause the infection to dry up and heal. The baths should take place for approximately seven days.

Also important is to make sure the horse remains in a dry and ventilated area during the treatment. Adequate protection against bug bites should also be provided.

Answer 10

Okay, here I go AGAIN!

They also call it "sarcoptic mange", "Spanish Itch", "sweet itch" etc.

Well if you're willing to try anything, here's a decades old remedy for it... Motor oil (New or used). Simply paint your horse/pony with it and it will kill the fungus/bugs. Leave it on at least a month and within 2 weeks of painting it on, you'll see new hair growing in hairless spots. What happens is, that it coats their little bug bodies and because bugs breathe through their skin, suffocates them...

I should state that you SHOULD either WASH your horse/pony with dawn or something else that will take the oil off IF you HAVE to ride before you put any tack on it.  IF you don't you WILL stain your tack and boots (I actually heard somebody did ride with it on their horse and it stained all their tack and their black boots turned brown)...  Thought that would be a no brainer.