muzzles for grazing

[lizzypeg]

do you think grazing muzzles are cruel? we are going to need to use 1 for our new very fat pony but she lives out 24/7.
i wouldnt want to keep it on all the time but will it still work if only used for short periods.
also dont want to stand her in a stable as dont agree with stabling unless i have to.
iv heard some horror stories about them rubbing etc.

[tammy68]

There is a grazing muzzle mad by Greenguard I thnk. No, I don't think they are cruel, especially if the pony is susceptible to laminitis. Better a muzzle than that! Also, by using a muzzle you are allowing your pony the freedom to move about the field and get natural exercise and generally chill out.
However, we got one for our small pony.....it lasted 20 minutes before he managed to rub it off and break it. He walked round the field rubbing it on the ground and up the trunks of trees until he evenually broke it. He was very pleased....you could just tell! Fortunately they come with a 10 year guarantee. The lady at the saddlery couldn't believe it when I took it back just a couple of hours after purchasing it....she'd never had one returned before!

[Roz]

I bought a Shires one and after padding it out it fitted my rather large lad very well. I don't like putting it on but to be honest if it's a choice of the muzzle which maybe a tad uncomfortable or the agony of laminitis, I know which I'd choose.

[js]

I've used a grazing muzzle on my laminitic-prone pony this year to great effect. I'd rather put it on for a few hours each day than to have to potentially stable him for weeks and push bute into him. He didn't like it to start, but once he reaslised he could still eat, he soon settled.

[natalia]

green gaurds are fantastic. well worth the money and don't stop all grazing. My fat NF wore one happily 24/7 in the summer, and it kept him to a lovely size!

[ajb]

greenguard are the best in my opinion but I had to do a bit of impromptu padding as my mare rubbed her nose. Still better that than the dreaded laminitis again!

[Diane with Sam & Jubilee]

We have greenguards in stock and if you need one sending quick, give me a call (get the number from our website). We sell them at 20% below RRP. We also have the Shires ones in stock.

[☼ WIZARD ☼]

my horse could wriggle out the side of a greenguard so use a shires one with the gg she just twisted the headcollar round a bit even with the special one that greenguard do.

[jor]

I have a greenguard, used it twice on my highland but then moved her fields to somewhere i didnt need it!
So got a practically brand new one and one of the cob size greenguard halters if anyone is interested as I wont use it again, no need for it! I was going to keep it and put it on ebay in march/april, expensive things just to waste but as others have said if its the choice between a muzzle and laminitis I would choose a muzzle every time.

[Leanne]

I've got a shires one, they are really good. Only £10 and fit my pony cob well. I padded it out with a gel pad for the head and used nosebands for the cheek pieces. This stopped it rubbing and he had it on a lot of the time, almost 24/7.
I hated it doing it, but as its been said it was better doing that. After the initial tantrum he settled wit it really well. He managed to get it off a few times and it was great fun looking for it, but it did help a lot.

[varkie]

I tried the Shires ones, but my pony hated it! She already had a Greenguard one which she tolerates - I just thought the Shires one looked kinder - but she had other ideas, so we're back to the Greenguard one!

[kofihorse]

I used a Best Friend one on Kofi all summer and it was fantastic - he could stay out all day every day and I didn't have to worry about his weight or about laminitis. He accepted it straight away (although I can't honestly say he actually enjoyed wearing it LOL)but it did take him a day or so to figure out how to eat through it. I gave him adlib hay when he came in at night. The only downside it that it rubbed off most of his whiskers.

[jill]

I would have thought if you're going to use one at all, you need to keep it on all the time they are in the field, apart from when they are learning to accept it. It's well known that the old method of stabling fat ponies for 23 hours and turning them out for 1 hour a day didn't really work, because they seem to be able to hoover up as much in that 1 hour - putting it on for half a day seems to be a lot of stress for little benefit to me. Personally I'd rather keep them on a bare paddock if at all possible.

[Carole2]

Dear Lizzypeg

I have tried three types of grazing muzzle (sorry, can't remember names) and the latest is by far the best. It is shaped like a "bucket" that fits over the nose, but is made of nylon webbing with a small hole at the bottom. The other two I tried were either too harsh or they were able to avoid eating through them.

If you're like me and have an abundance of good grass, it has got to be better to put them out in the spring, summer and autumn with a muzzle rather than keep them shut away in a stable. They may look at you as if to say "how could you?" but at least they have freedom of movement, fresh air and sunlight. How can this be cruel?

I know only too well what you mean as I have had criticism. Stick to your guns, keep an eye open for rubs/sores and be safe in the knowledge that you are doing what's best for your horse.

Carole

[Trouble]

Bert wears one in the summer...he has the muzzles on for about 9 - 10 hours a day (whilst I'm at work) and then is on a bare paddock at night after a small feed of hi fi to give him his supplements so that he has all the nutrients he needs.