Homemade Cure for Rain Rot on Horses

Rain rot is a tenacious skin problem with horses that can cause a great deal of headache to both the horse and the owner. This fungal condition causes small sores that scab and crust over, and it spreads to the skin surrounding it. If left untreated, it can become severely infected, causing illness. Fortunately, you can treat rain rot without resorting to expensive prescriptions.

  1. Iodine Wash

    • Use a tincture of iodine to create a wash when diluted with water, or --- even better --- use an iodine-based shampoo to wash the lesions every day, taking care to remove the crusts and gently applying the solution to the sores. Allow the solution to dry on the coat, and don't rinse it off. Take care to limit the treatment to the sores and not the surrounding skin.

    Bleach Water

    • Bleach is an effective caustic that kills fungus, but it can also burn and hurt healthy skin. Dilute bleach to a 10 parts water, 1 part bleach ratio, then apply this solution directly to the rain rot sores. Once again, removing the crusts is an important part of this treatment, allowing the bleach to kill the fungus. You can easily burn surrounding tissues, so keep the solution on the infection.

    Cortisone Cream

    • Applying a cortisone cream to the rash between the drying treatments can help keep the horse from itching and causing further damage to the skin. Dry the rain rot area completely before applying cortisone cream, and only apply it to the crusted, irritated areas. You can apply it after each drying treatment.

    Dry Sulfur

    • Purchase dry sulfur at your farm and garden store, and mix it with furacin to create a drying ointment that loosens the scabs of the crust for easy removal while working to kill the fungus and any bacteria thriving in the warm, wet environment of decaying skin and hair. This remedy works well when you use it between the bleach water or iodine washes.