Grazing Muzzles - Who uses them?

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IcarusGirl

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Nov 27, 2008
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I've been faced with the lovely dilemma of what to do with my porker. We've been told that because of the amount of poo in the field we need to move all the ponies (7 overweight native types) onto a lush 14 acre field so they can chain harrow it. I'm actually quite cross with the yard manager. We've offered to poo pick. 3 of the ponies have had lami before... i think its negligence on the managers part. Theres no way she'd put her horses on there. Part of me thinks she just want the field eaten down so she can put her horses on it, but maybe i'm thinking about it too much!

So, i've got a grazing muzzle - a shires one- but i've never really used it. I tried Icarus grazing in hand in it once and he kept panicking.

It's got to be the grazing muzzle or being kept in overnight, and in the past i've kept him in, but he stresses and obviously being out he'll keep moving which will also help burn the calories.

So, here are the questions:

Who uses one?
What make do you use?
How did you introduce it to your horse?

Thanks!
 
i brought a shires one bout month ago for my very fat mare!
i put it on her in the stable for a bit and she seemed fine with it but it was funny when i put her in the field cos she just stood there!! it did take her alittle while to get used to what she had to do but now she has it on all the time, well shes living out at mo but it comes off about 3hrs a day when i bring her in to work!! but im happy with it as shes lost weight and if she hated it she would take it off but i dont think shes that bothered!!
 
I've used a one for Mrs P, it looks like this...

http://www.saddleupinternational.co.uk/images/495n-pinkl.jpg

...but not pink! She hated it a first and seemed to really struggle to eat so I cut the hole out so it was bigger & she could graze more easily, this did the trick and she seemed quite happy to wear it :) It did rub her chin slightly but that was less of a worry than the consquences of her being able to stuff herself silly on the lush grass :rolleyes: She was coming in at night so it didn't matter much of she didn't eat a lot during the day, if anything it helped because she was hungry so she settled down to stuff herself with haylege when she came in ;)
 
A few ponies in our pasture wear greenguard muzzles during the grass season - it restricts intake by about 50%, apparently, and has served us well over the years. I would have no hesitation putting one on Lance.
YO sounds a bit irresponsible :(. I alwasy say I'd feel nervous if my YO didn't keep her horses with, and in the same way as, mine!
 
I have been told by my farrier that my horse has LGL and to put him in a grazing muzzle for 12 hrs a day, he recommends the Greenguard and to cut his grazing area by half, again. When he wears his muzzle, does that mean that he can go into a paddock with more grass or do I still keep him in the paddock which has less grass in it. Is the concept of a grazing muzzle that you can let your horse graze in a larger area therefore still moving over a larger area but the muzzle restricts the intake of grass ?
 
id leave him in the paddock with less grass!! just in case it does come off!!
my mare has hers on and there aint alot of grass but it stops her acting like a hoover!!
 
I've just started putting one on Tess, I think it did take a few days for her to get used to it and everytime she see's mee she looks at me with those big eyes to say she's staaaaaaarving. But I know she is grazing as I found grass inside the muzzle the other day.
 
Doey has one for two reasons:

~she is part pony, so one blade of grass is about 40lb of weight gained :rolleyes:

~she is MUCH easier to catch with one on!

At the end of the day, rather have a slightly annoyed, hungry horse than a horribly fat, can hardly move horse :)
 
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