- Rain Scald
The Brayer, May-June 1997
Your donkey is loosing patches of hair over his back and loins.
The patches are crusty and scabby, and little tufts of hair attached
to the scabs come out if you try to groom him. Although the patches
seemed little at first, most of the hair over his back now seems
to be coming out in little clumps. What is going on?
Your donkey might have rain scald, also called rain rot (derrmatophilus).
This skin disease is caused by a fungus. The fungus is always
present on the skim, but us usually dormant. Periods of long
wet, high humidity and rain can cause this to flare up. Unlike
some kinds of lice and mange, which can also cause patchy areas
and hair loss in the coat, not all animals in a group may get
rain scald. Although it was once thought to be caused by poor
grooming and hygiene, wet weather and the underlying fungus is
the actual cause. When treating an equine with rain scald,
be sure to disinfect any equipment used on that animal. You would
not want to infect other animals as well.
The best way to treat rain scald is with a Betadine or Iodine
shampoo. You will need to get as much of the loose, crusty scabs
off as possible, but use a soft body brush or medium dandy brush.
Don't pick at scabbed areas. The shampoos will have to be repeated
several times. Bathe the animal away from others and don't leave
the shed hair lying around.
Another remedy is to bath for 3-4 days with a mixture of liquid
chlorine bleach. (1 part x 7 parts water). Make sure the solution
soaks all the way down to the skin, not just the hair coat. Captan
(Captavet) solution, (from your feed store or equine supply dealer)
can also be used as a wash. Be sure to follow directions on any
commercial products.
All of the affected areas will lose hair, but if treated, it
should begin to grow back without scarring. If the infection
is severe and the skin becomes cracked or bleeding, you may need
to treat these areas with antibiotics or as your vet recommends. If
the problem persist, try stabling the animal in bad weather.
A skin scraping to eliminate other causes such as mites worms,
lice, or mange might also be necessary. |
