Home remedies suggested were vinegar and mineral oil but what I read on the internet said "let it dry" and mineral oil seemed counter productive. Plus, it was clear from the way stalwart Archie wiggled when I curried his sore bum, it hurt. A visit to Tractor Supply offered a confusing selection of miracle cures; Cowboy Magic, Cowboy Magic Krud Buster (I did like the sound of that--magnificent branding), Muck Itch Skin Saver and some serious looking bottles identifying themselves as medical treatment of almost anything that appears on your horse's skin, besides eyeballs. Treatment on each was a five day daily application, which generally used nearly a bottle of the stuff which came no cheaper than thirty bucks.
I bought the serious medical shampoo and spent five days applying it and picking gross scabs, watching in horror as they revealed oozing sores on my poor pony's back and boiling brushes, tack and my hands. I would have boiled Archie if I could have managed it. Still, little progress and it spread to his forelegs (where apparently Rain Rot, becomes Mud Fever or Greasy Heel) in small hard little imbedded pellets, impossible to pick. Yuck.
Heather suggested a Betadine scrub and I used that for five days-twice. It did seem to slow things down but Archie's skin started to look like the before picture in a bad dandruff ad. I went back to a moisture shampoo to counteract the anti-moisture shampoo. Then I went to the vets-who sent me home with $60 worth of Uniprim which Archie gobbled up but quickly acted to gobble up his sores. One by one they flaked off (with some powerful currying from powerful me) and quickly healed over. Yesterday Heather gave me a lovely Oster round brush that returned his pebbly legs to sleek.
The thing about Rain Rot is--it comes back. Next year I am going to be ready. I have read everything I can on it and have a favorite page full of remedies which I look forward to trying--in order of appearance. I am particularly intrigued by the one suggesting you gargle with Listerine and then apply to horse. My English friend swears by a product enticingly called, Ranvet White Healer Cream (and if only available in the UK or Australia, which if you add in the plane fare, makes it rather more expensive than Cowboy Krudbuster) and suggests I also pick up a pot of Pottie's Green Ointment as chaser. There is the possibility that Archie's bout with malnourishment back in Kansas might be a contributer to his Rain Rot plight and I am also extremely attracted to the addition of some marvelous sounding "ration balancer" called "Buckeye's Gro N Win" on the logic of feeding my all-American quarter horse an all-American product to do battle with his all-American Rain Rot.
I think I'll buy the poor horse a rain sheet, too. Some cow pony.
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