Grazing muzzle - feel so cruel :(

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Clare85

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Our little 3 year old cob has been starting to look a bit porky over the last couple of weeks, what with the autumn grass coming through at an alarming rate. Today we have bought her a grazing muzzle to try and combat the weight gain before we end up with a major problem. The thinking is that she can still have her turn out without gorging herself and then we'll bring her in for some hay.

I've just popped it on her and turned her out.....she HATES HATES HATES it!!! Poor girl is rubbing her face on everything she can find and leaping around in temper. Please tell me it gets better?! For anyone whose pony wears a muzzle, how quickly did they get used to it/did they ever? I feel so cruel :(
 
I felt cruel but laminitis is worse. He got used to it pretty quick. I lined it with sheepskin to it didn't rub his face. Everytime I was in the field he would pretend he couldn't eat with it on and was starving, but this was a lie!
 
Agree with copperpot - lami is definitely worse. Our shetty was muzzled which worked but she did get rubs. She's now in a starvation paddock with soaked hay - if the muzzle doesn't work, is that an option?
 
I felt awful, mine hated it! I posted on here about him headbutting and then barging out of his field and taking the fence with him! Hes settled down now thank god! Grazing happily and no longer headbutting. He very quickly settled to grazing in his field, and just saved the dramatics for when he could see me or the yard staff, but even thats stopped now :)
 
i always feel awful, but its cruel to be kind. its better than the alternative. pony got used to it after a few days, doesn't love me for it but gets on with eating as he knows when he has it on he goes out. put some treats in it so she knows when she gets it on she gets a treat. :)
 
Thanks all. Yes agree, lami is definitely worse. Just feel like such a meany :(

It's a Shires Delux Comfort muzzle, so has the sheepskin on it already. Fingers crossed we don't get too much rubbing. My sister was helping her to try and understand how to get to the grass through the little hole when I left the yard. She was completely against sticking her head in the water trough. She's coming in again tonight and we'll pop it on her again tomorrow for a while. Hopefully she'll slowly get used to it.
 
Some horses won't take to them, we've had the a Shires comfort muzzles and found they just caused too much frustration and wee ones ended up quite depressed, we switched onto greenguard muzzles and they are far better, they give hem a sense that they can actually get something through them (when in reality they aren't) and they are much happier. The greenguards are expensive but they are worth it.
 
I think it is far crueller to allow them to stuff themselves into laminitis, EMS, etc. There are other ways of managing weight, but if you choose to use a grazing muzzle they'll just have to get on with it.
 
Mine took a couple of days to get the hang of eating in it properly but after that he honestly didn't care. He soon worked out that muzzle meant grass and no muzzle meant either stable or bare paddock with haylage! The one I used was the dinkymuzzles one as it's very lightweight and doesn't seem as claustrophobic for them as some of the bucket ones
 
I felt the same, but it is being cruel to be kind! Lami would be far worse. Mine has his on in spring or when the fields are rotated in summer and every year he pretends he's forgotten how to eat through it and has a little panic run round but soon settles. Mine is the Greenguard one and I do like it, although it rubs his chin a bit so we put vaseline under there.
 
I've got both of mine in a very mean paddock for the same reason - I also feel cruel but the weight tape after a week shows it's working. I will give them soaked hay before they get good grass again before winter. We do have to be cruel to be kind sometimes.
 
I think of the grazing muzzle as a life saver for my pony. i have never been on a yard where there has been a starvation paddock so he has had to wear his muzzle a lot in order to go in the fields with the others. He is exercised 6 days a week as well to try and keep him slim.

Over time the hole does tend to get a bit bigger so less restrictive.
 
Thank you all, I think I'll have a look into the greenguard one. I shied away from it as it just looks a bit uncomfortable tbh and the Shires one is all lovely and padded out with sheepskin, but if she can't/won't get the hang of eating with it on then obviously I will look at alternatives :)
 
Bless her, you're doing the right thing by her, though. Hope it works out.
They need to be out on the Russian Steppes with rubbish grass and hard ground to keep their hooves in condition! And predators to run away from. Tricky recreating that in UK.
 
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