Week six of rain and rain rot
I can barely keep up with the rain rot on Kasane and Rajiyyah — much less help them heal when the rain keeps coming down. They are kept in some times, but that doesn’t help because the rain may come up in the middle of the night. I can’t put a sheet on them because that will just keep reinfecting them by getting the fungus on the rain sheet and then rubbing it back into their skin. I got to the barn and I just wanted to cry. I just knew that Mom’s mares were also going to have rain rot and how am I supposed to take care of all of these horses. (Mom doesn’t expect me to take care of her mares, but I feel like I should at least brush them some times and check in on them to make sure they are okay.)
At least it wasn’t raining at the barn, even if it was raining on the drive out.
I spent two hours at the barn and that helped a lot. It felt like I was at least doing something, even if I can’t ride. (Kasane has lost so much muscle because I can’t ride due to the rain rot and I can’t work them because the ground is too wet in the rings.) The rain rot is progressing on her back. First she had it from her withers to the middle of her back (just before her hips — her croup). Got that mostly cleared up just in time for the rain rot to get bad on the middle third of her back. That’s now in the large lump nasty part. The hair is coming out which means it’s healing. So that’s good, she’s still sore there, though. Now the last third of her back near her tail is getting rain rot too. I’m treating it aggressively. Without the rain, it would have been healed in a week. With the rain, it’s taking almost a month and a half.
Rajiyyah’s feet have been similar with the rain rot she has on her heels (called dew poisoning; caused by the same fungus). I have one foot cleared up just in time for the gunk to show up on another foot. I’m treating all of her feet. She also now has rain rot on her right hip in an area the size of two hands.
Mom’s mares at least don’t have rain rot. Sahra has one foot with some of the dew poisoning on it, but it’s only 2-3 spots. I treated it any way. Mom’s girls have hives. Sahra has them so bad she looks like someone did braille with mosquito bite-sized lumps on both sides of her neck. Kenya has them around her belly on both sides like a waterfall of bumps. I asked the barn owner to give them antihistamines for a few days.
I don’t know what caused the hives. Sahra, Kenya, Kasane, Lucy, and Rajiyyah all have hives of some degree. Lucy and Mom’s mares are the worst. This same kind of thing happened last summer. Maybe it’s an allergic reaction to fly bites? Unfortunately because of the rain, the fly wipe and other anti-fly treatments wash off.
So… we’re looking at fly sheets to help keep the flies off. Any one of them without rain rot can have a fly sheet. I’m holding off on one for Kasane. no point in having a fly sheet when she’ll just get it full of rain rot and I’ll have to disinfect it every time before it’s put on her (not to mention it will get gross and filthy from the rain rot treatment.)
I felt much better after grooming and loving on the girls. Something about going to the barn and having Kasane see me and nicker and whinny and then follow me along the fence line when I was in a pasture with the other mares. She makes me feel loved. 🙂 Everything seems right with the world when I’m with the girls.
