Bad mummy first day in grass muzzle

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RULEMI

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After much putting off I put a grazzing muzzle on my mare today just for a few hours. She is so sweet she let me put it on without fuss and now after asking each one of her field mates to take it off she is just standing not even trying to eat. Going back in a few hours to see how she is getting on.

How bad do I feel right now
 
Mine pretended he couldnt eat when he first had his on, a few hours later he was happily eating untill he saw us and then went back to pretending he couldnt eat :rolleyes:.
 
Probably very, but you should feel very good instead (it's just hard to); it really is a cruel to be kind thing. Have you tried poking bits of grass through to show her how it works? But there are very few who dont eventually give up trying to do the dying swan impression and just get on with it, do persevere and just firmly walk away from those big mournful eyes....:-))
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
Probably very, but you should feel very good instead (it's just hard to); it really is a cruel to be kind thing. Have you tried poking bits of grass through to show her how it works? But there are very few who dont eventually give up trying to do the dying swan impression and just get on with it, do persevere and just firmly walk away from those big mournful eyes....:-))
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^^^ This. OK maybe the eyes are doing a 'How very COULD you?' just now. Far better than the dull and withdrawn expression of something suffering from a full-blown laminitis attack.
 
haha, this is a cunning plan devised by horses for sympathy :) She will be stuffing her face by now, but when you get there, it'll be that "how could you do this to me mum ??" look.

trust yourself, you know you are doing the right thing, and also trust that your horse will soon be happy in the muzzle, but keep checking for any rubs.
 
My girl did this, just stood there looking at me like 'mum, what have I dont to deserve this cruel and unusual punishment' :( I watched her for a bit and she didn't eat, I tried showing her how but she wasn't having any of it.

So.. I thought she would probably eat when I wasn't there, but I snuck back up a few hours later and she was still standing there hanging her head and looking miserable... so that was that, it went on ebay!

She probably knew exactly what she up to and has just got me wrapped round her finger, but she looked so sad I couldn't do it to her and went back to the strip grazing.
 
dafthoss said:
Mine pretended he couldnt eat when he first had his on, a few hours later he was happily eating untill he saw us and then went back to pretending he couldnt eat :rolleyes:.
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Thats exactly what mine did, she just added a tantrum in for good measure!!

Stick with it, she looks so much better now
 
Lol ! you can only laugh :rolleyes: ! i'm sure she'll give in when she's hungry again, otherwise you could try putting her feed in the field to tempt her ?
 
I wouldn't feel bad at all. I'm sure your horse would much rather skip the grass than have an excruciating bout of laminitus or get fat and lethargic!
 
Feathered said:
My girl did this, just stood there looking at me like 'mum, what have I dont to deserve this cruel and unusual punishment' :( I watched her for a bit and she didn't eat, I tried showing her how but she wasn't having any of it.

So.. I thought she would probably eat when I wasn't there, but I snuck back up a few hours later and she was still standing there hanging her head and looking miserable... so that was that, it went on ebay!

She probably knew exactly what she up to and has just got me wrapped round her finger, but she looked so sad I couldn't do it to her and went back to the strip grazing.
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I'll watch for you in veterinary, asking for info on laminitis. They sometimes need help with the muzzle. All mine did, and despite the glares and frustrated 'trying different areas in the field because the grass wouldn't let itself be eaten, all of mine have worked it out.
 
^^^ hhhmmm well I've owned her 10 years and the attempt at the muzzle was about 6yrs ago and she's not got laminitis yet.

There are other ways to manage weight.
 
I used to keep mine very close to home - so close I could see them from my bedroom. My sons old pony used to be very good at the "poor me, I can't possibly eat in this" look & he used to make these pathetic attempts at showing me that he couldn't. Needless to day if I looked out of the window he was tucking in.
 
Mine did not cope with the muzzles with the holes in the middle , so bought him a greenguard basket style one , did not take him long to master it however it's a bit hard at the moment as the grass is a little too long to poke through so he really has to work a lot harder .
 
Feathered said:
^^^ hhhmmm well I've owned her 10 years and the attempt at the muzzle was about 6yrs ago and she's not got laminitis yet.

There are other ways to manage weight.
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Read up on EMS, then. It's not the one doughnut that makes you fat and gives you diabetes - it's years of steady over-eating. Same with horses. It's this level of ignorance makes me want to cry.
 
Brighteyes - I do think you are being harsh there. Not everyone has the same point of view do they, and to infer an owner is doing totally the wrong thing verges on being a bully.
 
Brighteyes - you know nothing about my mare, how can you make such a judgement purely on the basis she doesn't wear a muzzle?!

Do you think every horse in the country that doesn't wear one is guaranteed to get an obesity related illness? Of course not.

Yes she has a tendency to put on weight, but I've managed that without needing to muzzle, if a situation had arisen where I had needed to resort to that I would of, for the sake of her health of course, for example if I was on livery and had no control of the field management. But I haven't needed to. As it is I have been able to strip graze my fields and that has worked well for us.

Also there's a little thing called exercise, we used to compete in endurance, which is fairly good for burning off the calories.

So basically... Sod off.
 
My mare wears a muzzle if they are out in the field with lots of grass, today I went to get her in, she looked up at me and had a plant/nettle/leafy thing that she had managed to get hold of through the hole but she couldnt fit the whole thing through the hole!!!
So she just stood there with it hanging out of her muzzle :D

So wish I had the camera :D
 
i put one on our pony for the first time a couple of days ago, i felt awful! but after 2 hours he had got it off and was grazing happily! my guilt soon went! would love to know how people get the things to stay on!
 
My 11.2 and Shetland both wear Greenguard muzzles. I think the design is a good one, I have tried all of the others. You have to take time to fit it correctly and I have added extra padding on the front section as I did find it rubbed to start with.

They wear them alot and they do have a break from them a couple of times a week. The 11.2 has EMS; with the muzzle the overall food intake is reduced and spread out over 24 hours which ensures her digestive system is not overloaded.
 
As Lydia asked, I too would love to know how to keep a muzzle on. I have been trying all week with my haffie and 15 minutes is his record so far. I do think he has assistance from his mates, lol. The last time we tried it attached to a field safe headcollar, it stayed on about 45 minutes and both collars were unhooked.
Of course once the thing is off there is no chance of me getting near him to put it back on.
 
I suspect my horse should join MENSA. Worked out how to eat with the muzzle on in about 30 seconds :rolleyes:

Also worked out how to empty a snack ball in five minutes within about half an hour.

She's an evil genius. :D

I'm sure everyone thinks I'm mad muzzling a TB mind you :o
 
The Greenguard muzzle was no good for my girl - although it was the old model - she got too good at pushing it sideways:rolleyes:

I've ended up using the webbing muzzles but had to make the hole slightly larger at first until she got the hang of it. She now has no problem with the standard hole but as she HAS to have it on whenever out on grass we were going through one a month:eek:

However, found a tip somewhere, can't remember where now:(, about using a hoof pad cut to size to extend the life and it works!!! Saved me a small fortune - I get two hoof pads for around a fiver and they last about two months each -- I'm busy using up all the old muzzles now:D
 
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