Equine skin is simple, right? Wrong! Here are a few common myths about equine skin.
MYTH: Horses get rain rot from standing out in the rain. TRUTH: Sometimes. Horses can get rain rot for many reasons (sweating under a blanket, contaminated clipper blades) and sometimes for no reason at all. Well -cared- for horses get rain rot too, it just happens sometimes! It’s important to keep horses clean and dry when we can and to have fast-acting but gentle products available for treatment and maintenance.
MYTH: bumps and hair loss on a horse’s skin are usually caused by fungus. TRUTH: Most equine skin problems (including rain rot!!) are caused by bacterial infection or by a mix of bacteria and fungus. Thats why topical and systemic treatment with antifungals alone is rarely helpful.
MYTH: Mineral oil and other moist treatments will kill skin disease. TRUTH: Oily or greasy treatments provide a nice warm protected layer for bacteria and fungus to live under. Effective treatments let the skin breathe; air is the enemy of funk!
The Lowdown on Equine Skin: Keep it dry when possible. Fluffy towels are your friend, especially on legs. Use gentle products. Most of the stuff on the market will kill bacteria and fungus, but will leave the skin stripped and flaky.
Keep blankets, girths, saddle pads and clipper blades clean to prevent horse-to- horse transmission of skin disease.
Stock your shelf! Keep gentle, effective skin solutions on had so that you can use them as soon as you see a problem; an ounce of prevention/quick action is worth pounds of yucky skin and lost hair.
Keelin Redmond DVM, Medica Veterinary Products
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