Grazing muzzle or bare paddock..?

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diddy

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Evening everyone!!

Quick question for those of you with fatties :) I bought a dinky muzzle for our chubby welshie but the little blighter just won't keep it on! I can't make it any tighter without strangling him (the thought had occurred, believe me!) I did a search on here & people have suggested a headcollar over the top or plaiting it into the mane. Just wondered if you think that's a good idea or whether you'd worry about him not being able to get it off in an emergency..?

My other alternative is to put him in a bare paddock at least part of the day. He'd be able to see my other one but it seems a bit mean to keep them apart..? Unfortunately the other one - while usually a bit on the porky side himself - currently needs feeding up a bit after winter so don't want to keep him off the grass just yet although I will probably be able to put them both on a bare paddock in a few weeks.

What would you recommend? Or any other ideas?!

Thank you :) Half-eaten but huge bar of galaxy on offer :)

D. x
 
Swapping between a bare paddock and one with grass will just make him gorge when he gets onto the grass - unfortunately. Its the same as stabling them for parts of the day, they just stuff themselves as soon as you let them out.

For me personally I'd persist with the muzzle
 
I'm doing bare paddock this year but in the past have always plaited the muzzle on, only tiny weeny thin plaits, one on the forelock and one either side of the ears, thin enough that they would pull out in an emergency
 
I ironically had a Dinky muzzle for my big-fat-far-from-dinky Ardennes - he ate it! And before that he could certainly eat almost as much as without it on!

I would highly recommend investing in a Greenguard muzzle attached to either a knackered old leather headcollar or a field-safe one. Even my fattie hasn't managed to remove/eat his Greenguard. Seems like a big investment but actually costs less then replacing eaten dinky/aerborn muzzles! And they work!

I'd advise half the time to start off with in the good field with friend and muzzle on - the the other half on the bare paddock. Then when he's got used to the muzzle just wear it 24/7 in the field with his friend. When I say 24/7 I mean bring in for a few hours each day when you ride etc to give him a rest. And obviously check him often to make sure muzzle ok.
 
I go with bare paddock for my haffy. He is out 24/7 with hay. Has friends over all fences. Its so much easier on us both than muzzling and worrying as he WILL get it off the second I leave the yard. He is happy and I have a slim haffy!
 
Its so difficult knowing what to do for the best, I have in the past stripped grazed, muzzled and now in during the day with copious amounts of very soaked hay and then out at night on short grass paddock unmuzzled. I am just seeing how this goes but to be honest in summer they tend to put weight on no matter what I do. In the winter they are not fed any hay supplement and just feed of the field of whats left of it and dare I say lose a little weight. If my memory serves me right, when they were muzzled on good grazing the amount of dung overnight was the same count as now unmuzzled and short grass:rolleyes:
 
dare I say lose a little weight. If my memory serves me right, when they were muzzled on good grazing the amount of dung overnight was the same count as now unmuzzled and short grass:rolleyes:[/QUOTE]
you count pooo!!!:D
 
QR: my mare gets (or used to) her muzzle off and what I do now is plait a plait with some sections in front of the headpiece and behind it... So the headpiece is caught I between the plait and keeps it in place! It works really well I do it fairly loosely and it's a safe muzzle in terms of being velcro so will come off in emergencies etc
 
Tiny Fuzzy has her muzzle on overnight in a sparse paddock & then off during daytime.
'If' she balloons too much, then she will be back in overnight & out in the sparse paddock with muzzle on in daytime.
I find one of the 2 methods works for tubby ponies :)
 
My Welsh D is kept on a bare paddock & soaked hay 24/7. She seems happier on this regime & I don't worry about her getting her muzzle off.
 
Thanks guys - very helpful as always :)

Hm, which way to go?! I think in the first place I'm going to try the plaiting. Hadn't thought about that of course, the muzzle has velcro so should come off anyway in emergency. He just rubs it off at the mo - the velcro's still intact when I find the muzzle in a corner. Or floating in the water bucket as it was this morning!

If that doesn't work, he'll just have to go on a bare paddock for a while. He's more respectful of the electric fencing than he is of the muzzle so hopefully I can keep him contained if needs be. He's a little monster - he lets himself out of the stable too so have had to improve my security measures :) Just as well he's such a poppet otherwise he'd be in big trouble :D

D. x
 
Our little ponies (including the sec a we have now) had a bare paddock and we used to give the small hole hay nets. Winny the sec a is still out with the others as we dont have much grass yet. We let the others take it in turns to be her companion when she is in the paddock. Helps keep them trim as well.
 
I have a welsh D and for him it works best to keep him in at night on soaked hay throughout the entire year. During the day he is out on a bare paddock but there is plenty for him to nibble on, just not anywhere near enough to stuff his face. He is happy and it works for me as I can maintain his weight well on this routine.
 
I am struggling to know what to do as well. My TB is over weight, lives off fresh air. I have still kept him on his winter paddock and just given hay at night as I want him out 24/7 now, after such a long winter and working nearly every day, its lovely to not go down in the mornings to turn and muck out. The grass in the winter field is still growing so he has more than enough, looking at the summer fields and how lush they are worries me. BUT, I am keeping an eye on the ground, a friend lost her horse to grass sickness just down the road from my yard and the vet thought it was from being in a field that was too poached, that the horse was pawing the ground for roots etc and released bad bacteria from the soil.
 
Muzzle everytime. My boy fine with his but sadly have a new herd member biting the ***** out of him so cant even think about putting it on yet this year :(
 
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