Ding Dong, the muzzle's going on....

Shysmum

Shysmum

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Very soon, poor lad.
The grass is sowing,
The fat pads growing,
And Shy's gonna be so sad. :(

Seeing as we seem to have skipped winter here (North Yorks), and gone straight for spring. Here we go again. I hate muzzling the poor boy.

Truly sending thoughts out to those who have no grazing - ironic that I think we will have to divide our paddock up soon to reduce intake when so many peeps have no turnout at all. I just cannot believe that the grass is coming up here, but the weight is going on for no other reason.

Started using the Laminitis app already, and the risk here is "medium".

What the hell is going on with the climate ? :eek:
 
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Poor shy! Although half my field is under water (!) I can't belive how much grass I have too! Am still strip grazing my field although not much left now it will see me through until spring. Yep my muzzled one is going be wearing his hannibal lecter mask soon too............:( No frosts to knock back the grass I guess.......
 
Hi Shysmum,

the laminitis app you mention is it any good?

I ask as I have a mare with a bigger bum than mine :) and like you say although the field is fairly boggy in places I am sure there is more than enough grass out there.
 
Yesterday here (Lincs) it was sunny, still and 9/10 degrees, perfect grass growing weather.

My farrier said he had 2 lami cases in Jan as it hasn't really stopped growing all winter here - it's caught a lot of people out and sping grass in mid Feb will catch a lot more
 
Well, I have only just started using this app, and today it states "medium risk". The grass really is growing - it's been about 9 degrees and sunny here for the last few days. We haven't even had a hard frost - it's like winter has just skipped by, being very wet of course.
 
Yes its insane! Unfortunately my lad refuses to graze at all in his muzzle and commits his time to getting it off or breaking it to get it off! I bought a green guard one but he won't keep it on and he just looks so miserable. Plus he's out 24/7 and I'm not sure he should wear it constantly So I took it off at night but he just filled his face as fast as possible and then refused to be caught in the morning! I'm thinking of trying the new Shires Deluxe one but can't see it'll be any better. He's not lost that much over winter and is about to move to a new paddock which, thanks to a suspected water leak, is insanely lush!

Also, when you strip graze or reduce grazing in general does the one acre per horse go out the window? As I had it drummed into me but other H&H users have said they'll only need half an acre each of very lush grass...
 
I used the laminitis ap all last year. Just checked it today and we are still in the green. The farmer is putting up a little post and rail paddock for me round his new field shelter and I will shut him in their with hay in the spring / summer and he will wear the muzzle at night and go in the big field. His field mate often takes the muzzle off thou 😁 so have bought him a green guard too. At least if they both have one on,
no one can take anyone's off!

I also asked the farmer if I can have some of the sheep in my field. See if they can help my 2 keep on top of the grass.
 
I have a normal shires muzzle that I've glued sheepskin onto, but am also going to get a Comfort one (deluxe ?) to use as I alternate them to wash one.

When you strip graze, the idea is that the horse eats down everything, and the strip is gradually moved out. I have done it with much less than half an acre. The trick is to know what your horse measures on a weigh tape, and as long as the weight stays steady, you are doing the right thing !

I just can't get my head around having had no winter, just rain. Not even a frost - which of course is what I was waiting for with worming. URGH !!!!
 
I'm dreading the spring grass. Mine went lame last spring with a soft tissue injury and then got laminitis. Luckily we spotted it quickly and he had a month off the grass. Have had his feet x rayed 3 times since then at 3 month intervals (paranoid) and luckily pedal bones etc all fine. So this year I am going to watch him like a hawk!
 
I strip graze mine during the spring/summer. Too wet to start yet, but the grass has never really looked 'brown-wintered'.
At the peek of the stripping, both mares are in a very small area. not even half an acre. Size is not important (and no, I'm not referring to that ;) ) I get mega worried about the filly, but she would be impossible to muzzle due to her playful nature, and the not so brilliant fencing.
 
The look you get when you first put the muzzle back on in spring! - terrible isn't it? I used to use a Shires muzzle and instead of sheepskin (which I found held water if it did get wet) I was just extra vigilant in the first few weeks of wear and vaselined any areas which looked like they might be starting to rub and then after that had no problems.
 
For anyone interested, the Shires deluxe muzzles are fab - they are cut away under the chin so don't rub at all - far better than the normal ones. I did have to make the hole a bit bigger in it for my fatty, just so she could eat some grass, but not too much.......and then she learned how to get it off on the fence posts....aarrgghh!! I've not muzzled her yet as we're not turning out much, but as soon as we are, it's going on!
 
I wonder if it is easier to get off Holly Hocks due to being cut away underneath? It must mean it takes less leverage to get off (although maybe not in your case as I guess she was pulling it off her ears if she was using the fence).
 
Holly Hocks, can I just ask you - Shy is in a "FULL" sized normal Shires muzzle now - but the comfort muzzle comes in different sizes. What sizing have you gone for ?

I admit to being the one who takes in the current muzzle to try and check the fit of a new one, as I am hopeless with tape measures.....i think I may have to do that again.

I asked a fellow livery Muzzler when he intends to re-instate the damned thing, and he replied End of April. If i leave it much longer, i think we may have another lami scare on our hooves. :rolleyes:
 
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I think they are easier to get off because of the cut away design.

I have the best friend grazing muzzle for my pony, we had so much grass he was still wearing his muzzle in mid December!

Thankfully there seems a lot less grass now but I think there will be loads of grass this year due to the mild winter and rain. I am not looking forward to putting it back on my pony but they are life savers so grateful to have the option.


Sprig said:
I wonder if it is easier to get off Holly Hocks due to being cut away underneath? It must mean it takes less leverage to get off (although maybe not in your case as I guess she was pulling it off her ears if she was using the fence).
Click to expand...
 
Ive been thinking about muzzling soon too recently. We are off to a new livery yard at the weekend that will have more grass, and I'm worrying about his waistline expanding!

Does Shy live out 24/7 in the summer or does he still come in and then have the muzzle on when he goes out?
 
I do too - feel quite guilty when people say things about the muzzle- my last YO REALLY disapproved of it, which was hard. But he had a lami scare over two years ago, so I have to keep on top of his weight. URGH.
 
Sorry to hijack thread, but interested to see what you think of my cobs weight at the moment. Do you think he needs to lose a bit more before Spring?

image_zps541a8bf6.jpg
 
Until I got one with a lami risk i didnt realise how difficult it would be .
I feel awful watching her looking for each morsel. i fence her into a bare paddock for most of the summer. I plan on driving her now I have her back off loan so hope to get some work into her .
 
Shysmum said:
Holly Hocks, can I just ask you - Shy is in a "FULL" sized normal Shires muzzle now - but the comfort muzzle comes in different sizes. What sizing have you gone for ?

I admit to being the one who takes in the current muzzle to try and check the fit of a new one, as I am hopeless with tape measures.....i think I may have to do that again.

I asked a fellow livery Muzzler when he intends to re-instate the damned thing, and he replied End of April. If i leave it much longer, i think we may have another lami scare on our hooves. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Mine was in a cob normal one and I thought it was quite generous, so I got the pony deluxe one and it was too small, so then got a cob deluxe one and it's fine.
 
Blimey, looks good to me CG - I think you need to keep him level with the weigh tape from now on. !! Shy has got "wobbly shoulder pads" atm, which are new. I had to stop riding for two weeks, and it has made a change that quickly.

The other problem I have is that I am limited to walk/trot as everywhere is so slippery.

Thanks Holly Hocks - will get one soon.
 
Sprig said:
I wonder if it is easier to get off Holly Hocks due to being cut away underneath? It must mean it takes less leverage to get off (although maybe not in your case as I guess she was pulling it off her ears if she was using the fence).
Click to expand...

Oh yes she was getting it off over her ears, as in this vid
http://s801.photobucket.com/user/lilstinker1/media/002_zpsaa8bd7bd.mp4.html?sort=3&o=5

She appears to be highly intelligent when it comes to getting food, and not very intelligent when it comes to jumping - wait for the second jump (this was about 18 months ago)
http://s801.photobucket.com/user/lilstinker1/media/MyMovie.mp4.html?sort=3&o=16
 
Thanks Shysmum, nice to get another fatty owners opinion! He is currently 440kg on the weight tape.

I know how you feel about the ground! We have only been able to walk and some short trots on hacks as the ground is so deep and boggy! Although new livery yard will have more grass, we will also have a school so hoping to be able to exercise him more.

His weight is a constant worry to me though.
 
To stop mine getting his off, I take a piece of mane either side of the headpiece and tie them together with a rubber band. I also tape shut any Velcro.
 
My last yard had a school, and I was able to lunge even just for a few minutes, or do 30 minutes schooling. Now we just have hacking, which is all I want to do, but much harder to keep him so fit. It's ridiculous to me that my cob is a native, yet needs such "careful management". I know the weigh tape says in relation to the real scales too, hahaha !

ps, your lad is lovely - fell /dales ? Shy is half Dales.
 
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