Good doer on grass

[bz88]

Hi all. My horsey is muzzled for majority of the year. Unfortunately grazing at our yard is fairly rich fertilised grass and about three weeks ago I’ve noticed clicking in his tmj joints whilst eating hay after coming in in the morning(he’s out at night) the noise is horrendous. The grass was very long and is now significantly eaten down and he did struggle to graze it with muzzle on. He does graze quite “aggressively” with muzzle on if you know what I mean and chiropractor who he saw today advised to try him without muzzle and seek vets opinion to take a look at his tmj and teeth as there’s definitely some issues, teeth were done in April. he has developed a lump on side of his face which is hard and doesn’t seem to hurt him) he’s fine having bridle on and fine being ridden. He spits quite a lot of his hay. He’s ridden 5-6 days per week and looks great at the moment. We will be upping his work not in the days but intensity. He has soaked hay for when he comes in and small breakfast to get supplements in him. Has anyone successfully kept their cob weight at bay without using muzzle whilst still on the grass? I can’t move him off the grass or bare paddock as yard doesn’t facilitate that sadly. Please don’t suggest track as if I could i wouldn’t be here asking for advice, it would be the first thing I would do.

Thanks a lot!

 

[Jambarissa]

I guess we're past the worst of rich grass until September time, but it'll be affected by weather, ours has just had a flourish.

You don't really have that many options, exercise and restrict intake. In during the day on soaked hay and plenty of exercise if you can't muzzle. This is maintaining the weight on mine but not losing any.

 

[Horsegirl25]

Similar kind of situation to you, my welsh D used to wear a muzzle (greenguard) as we are on an ex dairy farm so grazing very good however over time it the muzzle has now worn down his 2 front teeth quite significantly. Spoke to the vet about it as she was quite worried about how much they have worn down and basically said if he continues to wear that muzzle in the coming years he may need his front teeth removed!!
Anyway I have taken his muzzle off and it's been off now since end of May/start of June, he goes out overnight with my other horse and in through the day with 2kg of soaked hay (12 hours) his weight has stayed great he has put on a bit but not a massive amount and it has stayed the same now for a few weeks. He hardly touches his net, comes in through the day mostly to sleep then back out at night.
Him and my mare alternate between both my fields (one field rests for 4 weeks etc) so it isn't like he is eating a bare paddock to keep the weight off, it can be done on good grass.
He is in medium work I would say although that may be debated as I know people have different opinions on work load etc. He events 1/2 times a month so is cross country fit.
I would say you definitely have to stay on top of it as the weight will pile on very easily but it is definitely doable

 

[SEL]

I'm strip grazing two cobs without muzzles but I'm needing to work them a lot to keep their weight under control. My younger one hasn't done much canter work in June due to the weather and he's down a girth hole.

Their field mate is muzzled 24:7 but I swapped from green guard to flexible filly. She's retired and tbh something else will get her before her teeth give up.

 

[bz88]

Update
Hello! I thought I’d update you all here. Pony had vet today. Upon examination he was very sensitive in his tmj. His teeth were checked and they are fine no need doing yet. He’s on Bute trial for 21 days and after that he might need xray and his tmj to be medicated. This might also contribute to how he’s moving as he’s been a bit off for past couple of months or so, he’s been struggling in canter transition) and had flexion tests, trot ups, been lunged ect. teeth were checked and they are ok and no need doing. Vet cannot pinpoint what contributed to lump on his face but isn’t worried about it, lump got much smaller since muzzle is off. Vet recommended to avoid over muzzling and grass for muzzle should not be longer than 15-20cm because if longer that’s how damage happens. That’s not only for my pony but any muzzled horse. Vet said he would benefit from being strip grazed or previously grazed down pasture by other horses who need more grazing. He said in peak times in spring and autumn to muzzle but not on very long grass and don’t muzzle all the time. Every other day/week or even month.
Spoken to yo and it seems like he’s taking it seriously and ordered to split the herd, good doers to stay on downgrazed part of the field until it’s time to move to winter fields. In winter herd can join back with poor doers going first to graze down the field.

 

[dorsetladette]

Hopefully the new routine will help your pony. Nice to see that the YO is actively working with your all for the benefit of the ponies. The idea of putting the poor doers on a new field worked well for us with a couple of lami prone Shetlands. We'd put the rest of the herd on for a couple of weeks and they would be left in the old field (usually only next door) they wouldn't need to be restricted as the grass was already eaten down. Then when the main herd had taken the best of the grazing off the Shetlands moved joined them. It worked well for us and we rarely needed to muzzle or restrict them.

Just an aside. After recommendation on here I have started feeding my fatties barley straw during the day. They are considerably slimmer after three weeks (I think) of being restricted during the day with just a net of straw to eat. Maybe you could mix his day time hay with some straw to reduce his calorie intake.