Natural Dog & Horse Care

We're heading into that time of year again, you know the one. It's the worst one, the one every horse owner dreads. Winter. Ugh.

It’s that time of year in the northern United States, a time of year horse owners dread. Not just because of the rain and snow, or blanketing and breaking icy water buckets, no, it’s something much more menacing.

Rain rot comes from the bacterium, dermatophilus congolensis. This bacteria is in a family called actinomycetes, these little things act like both bacteria and fungi. Horses naturally have these organisms on their skin; they lay dormant until rainy, wet conditions cause it to flare-up. This is when the crusty, scabby lesions form.