Is over rugging contributing to equine skin diseases?

The new controversy in equine management is our rugging of horses. Modern ‘wonder rugs’ that are tough, waterproof and toasty warm have revolutionised equine management, particularly for the busy amateur with a profession outside the equine industry. Certainly in my family, with both of us working and two small children, being able to winter horses out in modern rugs is the difference between being able to own them or not.
But are our horses now too warm more often that they are too cold? The recent winter epidemic, in this region, of equine skin diseases seems to suggest so. The talk at many a Christmas party this year was the ubiquitous ‘Canadian pox’.
Having not heard this term before, I have tried to research it and not found much- it appears to be an old term for raised, sore and pruritic skin lesions in the horse, most commonly found on the girth area. There does not seem to be a solid modern name for ‘The Canadian Pox’, but it appears to have both fungal and bacterial elements, and warm moist skin under rugs, in our recent wet mild weather, must be a contributing factor.
The condition appears to respond to a dual treatment of topical antiseptics such as chlorhexidine and /or anti- fungal agents such as enilconazole and sodium thiosulphate.