grazing muzzle/head shaker

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mtj

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Does anyone have experience of using a grazing muzzle on a head shaker. My horse is a very good doer, but I'm concerned a muzzle will distress him.

He is currently lame, awaiting xrays, so I'm worrying about how to manage a long lay off if that is recommended. He is already using the "skinniest" paddock at the yard

Any suggestions?
 
Yes, to control his grass intake.

There is zero chance of any yard in the area allowing a track system to be set up. Most of the yards are very precious about their fields and close them for winter/any wet weather.
 
Yes I have a Welsh D who is a head shaker :( When I got him he was absolutely obese but I was lucky in that I got him in November so had a chance to get the weight off over the winter.

He is now a perfect weight (according to the vet) unfortunately I have the same problem as you regarding yard owners not wanting their fields grazed down to a bare patch which would suit my boy. We are moved onto new grazing on a regular basis and the little devil will not let up from the minute he is turned out until we get him in.

I had the same concerns as you re the headshaking and a muzzle but my hand was forced when he got colic due to stuffing himself silly :(

If anything I would say the headshaking has improved :) I can't explain why but there is a definite difference (I've probably done it now by saying this :()

He accepted it very quickly and he is such a little piggy that he just stuck his head down and started trying to work out how the muzzle worked.

He did paw the ground a fair bit at the start and would rub his nose when it was first taken off in the morning having been out all night but that's all stopped now.

It did rub him to start with but I (at great expense) bought the real sheepskin liners etc and treated the sores with sudocrem, the skin seems to have toughened up now and the rubbing has stopped.

The other benefit is that he no longer gets a sunburnt nose :)
 
my horse isn't a headshaker per se, but definately has a problem with his nose and will throw his head up and down if the pollen is bad,
have the same grass and weight issue as you.
He is on treatment for the pollen, but I haven't had to give him anything for the last couple of days, not sure if its a coincidence, but he has had the grazing muzzle on for last 3 days as they have gone into a new very grassy field.
 
I have an IR horse who is prone to mild headshaking (more so when her 'blood is up') - and when she is able to go out on grass (not often) she wears a grazing muzzle without problem (other than the usual proneness to small rubs). Certainly I've never found that wearing a grazing muzzle causes her to headshake more, and in fact the 'sting on the nose' reaction she sometimes displays is not particularly evident with a muzzle on. But I have found that the headshaking and any footiness etc improves drastically when not on the grass at all at key times of year (like now) and she is kept well exercised on a low-stress regime - which makes me think that the former might not be due to pollens etc more that her reaction to the grazing she is on causes inflammation which could be affecting her respiratory/sinus systems as easily as circulatory and digestive...

Would be very interested to know whether this resonates with anyone else? Or whether I might be barking up the wrong tree!
 
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