Fat cob... to muzzle or clip?

ShadowFlame

ShadowFlame

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Hi guys, looking for some advice. Cobby has been on the rolly side for a while (he's now back in work, so was planning to combat that!), but over the past couple of weeks he's well and truly ballooned due to them having access to more grass (and I'm not just talking grass belly). I need to get some lbs off, but right now it's unpractical for me to be bringing him in every day. My question is which is the better option here? Stick a grazing muzzle on him (Greenguard, new style, would be on 24/7 and he's never been muzzled before), or clip him out (no more severe than a chaser) so he has to work a bit harder to keep warm?

Any advice or experiences welcome, unfortunately restricted grazing isn't an option at current yard :( Thanks!
 
Muzzle. My tubby mare has had a muzzle (Greenguard) on since March and she's never looked so good, but you still couldn't call her thin....

She does come in every day to be checked over and/or ridden and while she's in she has a section of hay and access to a Horslyx.
 
Research into the reduction of grass intake by muzzling is as much as 75%, however, if you can only check him once a day, I'd be reluctant to do this for a 24 hour period. It would be a drastic change and stressful particularly if he isn't familiar with wearing one.
Part clipping and leaving unrugged would be preferrable. Can you increase his work at all ? Even walking over a couple of poles on the ground on the lunge for 20 minutes would help quite a bit, if no horse walker is available on days when you haven't much time to ride.
 
I don't like either of those options. Can't you fence him a smaller area off? Leaving him in a muzzle 24/7 would be unfair. I think they need a few hours a day break from it. Clipping so that they are cold and shiver the weight off is inhumane IMO. So restrict his grazing or bring him in with soaked hay for half of the day would be my suggestion. We have three horses here who are prone to weight gain. They are all still nice and trim because I only allow them on well grazed paddocks or restricted areas of longer grass.
 
It's the drastic change I'm worries about re: the muzzle. He'll be coming in at night within the next month and be put in the winter fields (even MORE grass :( ) so he'll be having it on while he's out then... but I'm reluctant to do it 24/7. He's being worked 4-5 days per week and we're building fitness back up, trying to get some reasonable trot work and a bit of canter or trotting poles in aswell. Is part clipping and leaving unrugged likely to make much difference?
 
As mentioned, both bringing in and sectioning off aren't an option right now. He'd only have a chaser, so he wouldn't be bitterly cold, it'd just encourage him to move round a bit more?
 
Neither are desirable options. If you can I would rather section off a small area for him. If bringing him in or strip grazing are not an option then I would rather a small clip over a muzzle. A muzzle on 24/7 doesn't sound like much fun. The clip may help with with regards to sweating when in work anyway. I always grew up having native good doer types with a small clip and unrugged unless it rains. Cold they were fine with but getting wet where there is no hair is unfair imo.

ETS: Lots of hill work!!!
 
ShadowFlame said:
As mentioned, both bringing in and sectioning off aren't an option right now. He'd only have a chaser, so he wouldn't be bitterly cold, it'd just encourage him to move round a bit more?
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This is a complete fallacy that horses move around more when they are cold. In truth, a cold horse locks down, and stands back to the wind. Hungry horses move around more and get aggressive with each other. Hence many people thinking they are rushing around because they are cold. It is usually because they are hungry and want to come into their stables for hay.
 
Agree with Wagtail - In my experience, if Iv been caught out rugging etc and my ponies are cold/shivery they most definately arent moving around. Theyre huddled under the trees or stood hunched up away from the rain.
Id personally clip him, but dont rug him so hes toasty , just so hes dry from the rain.
And exercise exercise exercise :D

I know its hard, I have a fatty myself :)
 
I have just moved my cob into his winter field, and the grass is ankle deep :O

So he has, his muzzle on 24/7 now until real winter comes then he can it off. He's also unrugged, not clipped and left in the rain. Sorry but if he wants to stand in the middle of the field, stuffing his face in the rain when he has loads of natural shelter then he does not need a rug.

He has the muzzle off when riding, come's in a few days a week or has it off a few hours when turned out in the small fatty paddock (which he hates more than having the muzzle on).

I would leave your cob unclipped, unrugged and muzzle, I think as long as they have it off a few hours a day then it's ok. I even walk mine out in hand for a bit so he can eat the long not so good looking grass on the bridle paths. (His field was used for hay so is the short bright green stuff, now!!!!)
 
Muzzle. I've had a muzzle on mine all summer and she's lost 2kg which I know isn't a lot at all but last year she didn't have a muzzle on and ended up putting a hell of a lot on! She got it off a couple of times in the first few weeks but now is so used to it and had no issues x
 
Thanks guys... I might try the muzzle on him this weekend and see how he fares (or how frustrated he gets) in-hand. Or maybe a cheap webbing muzzle and make the hole bigger so it limits but not excessively? Might try and get him clipped next week aswell, leave him naked when it's dry and stick a LW on when it's wet... he has such a layer of fat on him now I'm not convinced he'd feel the cold anyway :(
 
Muzzle :). My thin skinned mare has worn a muzzle 24/7 when she needed it. I enlarged the hole to let more grass through so she was getting the right amount of grass. Be careful with Greenguard as they restrict grass intake a lot. The best combination for my mare was a rubber bucket type muzzle with girth like material lining (Aerborn or Shires type I think) tied onto a field safe headcollar (from Robinsons, soft cotton with no hardware) with bailing twine. I had to change the headcollar part as she very quickly figured how to remove it. The new settings has never rubbed and she wasn't starving but not ballooning either.
 
I'd be concerned about the muzzle rubbing and causing sores if left on so long. you might need to pad out with something soft around the top of it as once sore has developed then a right bugger to get rid of without moving the muzzle completely

also make sure he knows how to drink with it on, may sound silly but the amount of horses that seem to forget how to drink when they are muzzled is quite frightening!
 
Coincidentally, senior vet came to the yard this week and advised the owner of an overweight hairy cob to clip and let the b****r freeze it off.

However, with a full clip, I would use a rainsheet for wet weather, unless its only a neck and belly clip.
 
horserider said:
Coincidentally, senior vet came to the yard this week and advised the owner of an overweight hairy cob to clip and let the b****r freeze it off.

However, with a full clip, I would use a rainsheet for wet weather, unless its only a neck and belly clip.
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:eek: He wouldn't be my vet for long if he suggested this! Of course the owner should not allow the horse to get fat in the first place, but freezing the fat off is an awfully cruel way of doing it.
 
Wagtail said:
:eek: He wouldn't be my vet for long if he suggested this! Of course the owner should not allow the horse to get fat in the first place, but freezing the fat off is an awfully cruel way of doing it.
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TBF, he's a cracking vet, but every vet I've ever spoken to has cursed indulgent owners for rugging. General rule, in their opinion seems to be, if its healthy and unclipped- don't rug.
If its a fat hairy native, part clip and still don't rug.
As long as they've shelter and ad lib forage, they won't be hard done by.
Being fat, disposed to laminitis and joint problems is much worse.

No offense, OP. You're tackling the problem, and owning a good doer is a constant battle.
 
Gotta admit, I always thought the rule was better to under-rug than over... a cold horse can run round, shiver and eat to warm themselves up, but a hot horse can do b*ggar all about it? Unless I sweat it out of him, is that a better option? :P (I'm joking, for those of you wondering lol)
 
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