Anyone muzzling yet?

[noblesteed]

Hi all,
Just wondered what the state of people's grass is and whether anyone has started using a grass muzzle yet?
Given the rather mild winter we have had, I am concerned that the grass is going to be growing now. I have a good doer, non-laminitic who is out all day and in at night. He gets minimal feed. By end of March he will be out 24 hours, weather permitting. He is in light work due to my pregnancy, nothing I can do about that. He is looking nice and slim now coming out of winter despite his woolly coat - which he is moulting rapidly. However I am keen to keep the weight off, I have stopped rugging him. He wears a Greenguard as soon as the grass comes through, around April-October.

Would I be cruel to start muzzling him now? Has anyone else started? Or should I give him a couple more weeks?

 

[Kellys Heroes]

As soon as our girl goes back out in the field she'll be muzzled. She's got Cushings and is lami-prone as a result, so to me, an hour or two muzzled is far kinder than lami!
she's not too bothered by only being out for a short while, so everyones happy our grass is average, but I expect that after all the odd weather we've had the grass might just shoot up and be full of sugar.
K x

 

[amandap]

My Shetlands are yarded now and my bigger horses are out at night. I am debating whether to bring them off the grass altogether. During the day they are having soaked hay now and I hope this will be enough so they can still go out at night.

 

[Montyforever]

I would muzzle now, my laminitic pony is already struggling with the grass so it must be coming through

 

[acw295]

If it is long enough to muzzle I would muzzle now.

Ours are on same field as they were on all winter and it is bare, mostly mud, can't muzzle yet as she would literally starve. She is in on soaked hay overnight though, not fat and in decent amount of regular work. I won't be leaving out 24/7, will wait until May then swap to in during the day.

I usually end up muzzling from late march/early April but we usually struggle to get any grass back before then (no bad thing for me!)