Fat cob help!! Muzzle??

russianhorse

russianhorse

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Hi all

Can anyone help. My fat cob who is sprouting sideways is put away in his shelter/stable all day to restrict his grazing

HOWEVER the ****** has taken the back panel out, and turned it into his own back door 😡Came down to let him out, to see him smiling sweetly in the field 😩

Soooooo ....., I'm having no choice but to look at muzzling him. What's the best one? Needs to be one he can't remove. Do they work better on long or short grass? (Thankfully I have a field of each at min), how long do I keep it on for, as in just during day? How the hell do the poor things yawn with them on?

I'm not used to being in this predicament as my other horse struggles to keep weight on

All help very much appreciated!! Thank you x
 
Hi, I sympathise, my gypsy cob was looking like a broodmare so bought a shires duluxe muzzle, I bought an x large as its stops rubbing and there's plenty of room for him to yawn etc. I can get 3 fingers length ways in at the muzzle to give you an idea. I have plaited his forelock over the top of it so he can't get it off over his ears, and so far it has stayed on. He took to it very quickly, no stress, and he is eating fine with it on, he looked a lot less bloated after 24 hrs! So pleased with it, and was only £20 off ebay.

Long grass is best so they can poke it through the hole to eat, I haven't had to cut the hole bigger either, he does just fine.
 
GeorgeyGal said:
Hi, I sympathise, my gypsy cob was looking like a broodmare so bought a shires duluxe muzzle, I bought an x large as its stops rubbing and there's plenty of room for him to yawn etc. I can get 3 fingers length ways in at the muzzle to give you an idea. I have plaited his forelock over the top of it so he can't get it off over his ears, and so far it has stayed on. He took to it very quickly, no stress, and he is eating fine with it on, he looked a lot less bloated after 24 hrs! So pleased with it, and was only £20 off ebay.

Long grass is best so they can poke it through the hole to eat, I haven't had to cut the hole bigger either, he does just fine.
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Yes!!! Mines a gypsy cob too! What size is yours so I can gauge the best one. I do have a cob nylon one but it seems way too tight. Fattie is 14.2 but has quite a small head, but wonder if I should look at x large

Thank you for your reply! X
 
yep I like the Shires deluxe bought in a size above what they normally wear. i've tried many over the years and it's the best one out there IMO.

Mine struggle to get very long (towards hay!) length grass through the hole but short to medium length is fine. Make sure you have a large water bucket/trough which is inviting as they can sometimes take a while to figure out that they can drink like normal in it.

My horses don't have 24/7 turnout so they just wear them for 12 hours at a time. They really do work, I know lots of people think it's mean but it means your horse can still have space to move around and get the benefits of turnout without overdoing the grazing :)
 
Another vote for Shires. I read recently that if the grass is longer than 10cm they can struggle to eat so it is best to have them out in a paddock with short grass.
 
milliepops said:
yep I like the Shires deluxe bought in a size above what they normally wear. i've tried many over the years and it's the best one out there IMO.

Mine struggle to get very long (towards hay!) length grass through the hole but short to medium length is fine. Make sure you have a large water bucket/trough which is inviting as they can sometimes take a while to figure out that they can drink like normal in it.

My horses don't have 24/7 turnout so they just wear them for 12 hours at a time. They really do work, I know lots of people think it's mean but it means your horse can still have space to move around and get the benefits of turnout without overdoing the grazing :)
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Thank you. That's the thing, I've tried everything and it's my last resort. In all fairness, he has brought this upon himself for escaping from his shelter/stable. Now he knows he can get out, there will be no stopping him and he's already too fat grrrrr

Thank you for your help also x
 
eggs said:
Another vote for Shires. I read recently that if the grass is longer than 10cm they can struggle to eat so it is best to have them out in a paddock with short grass.
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Ah right. I Can try him in both paddocks - he's such a greedy fcker he probably won't struggle with either length Grrr lol

Thank you x
 
He's 14hh broad muzzle and small head, length fully adjustable, strong velcro so will give if gets caught up, adjusted to the shortest settings under chin, I have left half an inch from hole to his mouth, just make sure you can see their lips up through the hole so they can eat. I struggle with sizings as cob size is always too tight around the muzzle, so I got the extra large, when I got it I thought it looked huge, like a bucket! He is happy to be out in the field though, rather than confined to a bare patch with soaked hay. He is a ****** for going through fencing though to get to the grass.
 
Just be warned that some muzzles are easier to remove than others. If you are watching your horses weight for health reasons i.e. laminitis or colic I strongly suggest you put him in an strip grazed paddock or field to start with and see how you get on in case he removes it and gorges. However if he's be in the field already and not had colic or laminitis you are probably safe.
 
GeorgeyGal said:
He's 14hh broad muzzle and small head, length fully adjustable, strong velcro so will give if gets caught up, adjusted to the shortest settings under chin, I have left half an inch from hole to his mouth, just make sure you can see their lips up through the hole so they can eat. I struggle with sizings as cob size is always too tight around the muzzle, so I got the extra large, when I got it I thought it looked huge, like a bucket! He is happy to be out in the field though, rather than confined to a bare patch with soaked hay. He is a ****** for going through fencing though to get to the grass.
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I'm glad I'm not the only one - mine just keeps me on my toes with his escaping escapades 😩X
 
russianhorse said:
I'm glad I'm not the only one - mine just keeps me on my toes with his escaping escapades ��X
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I have leci'd him in before and found him stuffing his face in the field, fence intact....he's no jumper so no idea how he's doing it, climbing through the middle part perhaps..
 
applecart14 said:
Just be warned that some muzzles are easier to remove than others. If you are watching your horses weight for health reasons i.e. laminitis or colic I strongly suggest you put him in an strip grazed paddock or field to start with and see how you get on in case he removes it and gorges. However if he's be in the field already and not had colic or laminitis you are probably safe.
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I'll initially keep him in his normal field incase he escapes the muzzle. Thankfully no lami even with his size, but it does worry me 😁X
 
GeorgeyGal said:
I have leci'd him in before and found him stuffing his face in the field, fence intact....he's no jumper so no idea how he's doing it, climbing through the middle part perhaps..
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Yes! I've done that. Came down and found him on the middle hill, looking beautiful and stallion like, with the wind whipping through his mane, except he wasn't supposed to be there. Electric fence was all intact, but I'm certain he goes round listening for breaks 😁 Through winter I had to turn his shelter into a stable, and keep him in overnight as I couldn't keep him in the field 😡X
 
Have you looked at doing a track instead of a strip? That way you can keep it narrow so there's less jumping un-up space. Start at one edge, then fence off another and another then you end up with a track.

I've seen that this has taken off on my travels around the UK and there's increasingly innovative tracks to hinder the fatty on a mission. There's one on the way down to Southampton, hardcoring the track in places (there's an advert outside for hardcore) and hay feeders from blue bins. Genius I say!
 
My mare has a muzzle on 24/7 and even so she looks like she's just about to drop (we call it a grass foal belly). The only muzzle I found that I can keep on her and that doesn't rub is a Tough 1 which I bought off eBay. I think they're American and not always easy to get in the UK. Unfortunately are YO doesn't like electric fences and makes us turn out in a 8 acre field with grass so long you can't see the sheep.
 
pansymouse said:
My mare has a muzzle on 24/7 and even so she looks like she's just about to drop (we call it a grass foal belly). The only muzzle I found that I can keep on her and that doesn't rub is a Tough 1 which I bought off eBay. I think they're American and not always easy to get in the UK. Unfortunately are YO doesn't like electric fences and makes us turn out in a 8 acre field with grass so long you can't see the sheep.
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I have kept it on mine as well as he lives out, I will take it off for an hour or so, he isn't fussed having it put back on.
 
I have a retired 13.3hh who is uber greedy. She is out muzzled overnight and then in with soaked hay during the day. I use a shires deluxe muzzle. It can rub a bit but I wrap the offending areas on SoftBan. I removed the padded sleeves that it came with as my pony used them to rub it off.

I hate putting it on but it is the difference between her being able to have a retirement and stay on the same routine as her friends.....or another fate.
 
tallyho! said:
Have you looked at doing a track instead of a strip? That way you can keep it narrow so there's less jumping un-up space. Start at one edge, then fence off another and another then you end up with a track.

I've seen that this has taken off on my travels around the UK and there's increasingly innovative tracks to hinder the fatty on a mission. There's one on the way down to Southampton, hardcoring the track in places (there's an advert outside for hardcore) and hay feeders from blue bins. Genius I say!
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I've tried tracking aswell, but the sod didn't like it and went through it all instead 😁 He also now shares a field with my other lad, who is the opposite of him and needs to keep his weight up 🙄 X
 
pansymouse said:
My mare has a muzzle on 24/7 and even so she looks like she's just about to drop (we call it a grass foal belly). The only muzzle I found that I can keep on her and that doesn't rub is a Tough 1 which I bought off eBay. I think they're American and not always easy to get in the UK. Unfortunately are YO doesn't like electric fences and makes us turn out in a 8 acre field with grass so long you can't see the sheep.
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Oh okay, not heard of those. Wow, that's a pain for you 😳 - what a nightmare, long grass + fat cob 😁 I'm hoping I might see a difference if I muzzle my fattie 😩X
 
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