Grazing muzzle or limited turnout - which?

[Spyda]

I have a horse which will need limited grass intake this year so do I invest in a Greenguard muzzle (expensive and it's bound to rub) or do I limit turnout time. If I limit turnout, how many hours should I be aiming at keeping in? I am assuming if I keep him in with a bit of soaked hay - he'll just stuff as soon as he hits grass. I can't strip graze so the only other alternative would be a muzzle. Which would invariably rub (VERY sensitively skinned horse).*Scratches head*

 

[Slightlyconfused]

My lami is on 6 hours aday turn out and will have soaked hay in the summer, vet said about muzzle but he is so accident prone i dont want to risk it. When i explained that he once got his front hoof caught in his fly mask and was stood there in the field for god knows how long before i came up he understood and said no just limit turn out and soak hay.

Xxx

 

[mystiandsunny]

I use the bucket (Shires type) muzzles on my lot, and come May/June will have all 5 muzzled during the day at least, and out 24/7. One of those is VERY thin skinned (over-reach boots rub on her so can't use them), but has been fine in her muzzle. I don't use them as they come though - sew fake sheepskin or the lining of an old coat to cover the whole of the top of the 'bucket' and replace as necessary.

 

[Montyforever]

My mare is on limited turnout as she nearly kills herself getting her muzzle off. She's out for 1-3 hours a day at the mo occasionally longer depending on how she is and im going to start lunging her a bit more as she is a bit hyper at the mo!

 

[Littlelegs]

Muzzle because they can keep moving round, they don't pig out & muzzle means the blades they can eat are the older longer ones. Also I prefer horses out as much as possible.

 

[loz9]

definately a muzzle for me! & i have found the dinky grazing muzzles rubbed less than the shires/roma style ones, however every horse is different! I was also warned to stay well clear of the greenguard one by my dentist as it can cause more damage to the incisors than the softer dinky ones.

I say muzzles over restricted turnout time because there is a scientific paper somewhere (sorry cant rememeber the title!) which states the the horse can adapt to eat a huge quantity of grass/forage in a limited period of time (think it was something like 80% of its daily requirement in 3hrs) if it is kept in a routine, ie turned out at the same time everyday. At least with muzzling they can never have the opportunity to stuff themselves!

 

[Honey08]

Bit of both!

Ours are stupidly good doers and had Shires muzzles on last year. My mare did get rubs, so we brought them in five or six hours in the evening and took the masks off. I don't like the idea of putting sheepskin etc inside as it would just get sodden when it rains and probably rub more.

Even with masks on they managed to get fat on fields with average to good grass, so I would semi-restrict grazing too!

In summer I long for a poor doer! Ours are still fat despite being on poor meadow haylage and no feed all winter!

 

[acw295]

I do both too

From approx April:

Turned out overnight with a muzzle (approx 12hrs), stabled for approx 10hrs (less at weekends) with 12hr soaked hay in a trickle net and ridden 6 days a week.

They do rub for a bit, I pad out with sheepskin - sudocreme helps and the skin toughens up eventually - they get over it! Sounds harsh but needs must.

It is blimming hard work though!

 

[Dab]

Muzzle because they can keep moving round, they don't pig out & muzzle means the blades they can eat are the older longer ones. Also I prefer horses out as much as possible.

^^this^^

 

[Tifferss]

My fatty will be getting her muzzle back on soon, i have a bucket muzzle and i prefer these as they keep moving about and they cant get to the shorter sweeter shoots.

Bucket myzzle all the way

 

[Bobby Boy]

I invested in a greenguard muzzle a few weeks ago, it was the best thing I've done ! I tried to use a shire muzzle last year but the pony went mad, couldn't even get him out of the stable
The greenguard hasn't rubbed at all, been using it about 4 weeks now, first 2 he didn't want to try eating but after that no problem and we have had to buy a smaller girth already

 

[MrsMozart]

My laminitic pony is managed by being in for a day and a night and out for a day and a night. The fatty Trad cob is joining him as he got far too weighty last year.

It seems to be working well.

When they're in, they have hay mixed with straw. They also have Baileys Lo Cal Balancer. If the cob comes back into any sort if work, he'll be on Saracen's Shape Up as it has natural Selenium and Vit E - he's become prone to tying up for some unknown reason. Will keep the same in/out regime. Started it about two weeks ago with him, though have followed it before for the little lad. The grass around here has cows on it, so is rich; he won't eat with a muzzle on; can't strip graze; fence hops if the grass is greener on the other side

 

[noblesteed]

Muzzle works for mine, he is an 'outdoor' horse who doesn't cope well with being in on his own. I found the shires one rubbed even when I lined it, but the greenguard is good. I think it depends on the shape of your horses' face as to what fits best. He does try and get out of it and manages to remove it about once a week but I have used it for the past 2 summers and it's worked very well though I have to have a supply of spare straps as he has learned to chew through them!!! We have cow grass too.

 

[ponypilotmum]

grazing muzzle. I've used both shires and greenguard, and they both work depending on the horse. Had more success with shires because mine are all natives. I no longer bother with strip grazing because I have one who doesn't respect fencing and it can get dangerous when he's just blatantly walking through fencing.
Limited turnout is useless because they still get the shoots and gorge themselves silly.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

One of mine will be in his greenguard in the next few weeks & will be wearing it until mid September I expect. He is turned out from around 7.30am to around 2pm daily. I also limit the amount of grass he has access to.

He is happy with it, his weight is maintained at the right level & the mask doesn't rub him. He's been using a greenguard every spirng & summer for the last 5 years or so.

His physique is great, he's muscled up & his fitness level is high.

There's no real definative answer about grazing, it depends on your horse, his metabolism & ther degree of work he does.l Sometimes a mask is the answer, sometimes limiting turnout is right, sometimes limiting amount of grass available is the way to go. There again on occasions you have to mix them together to get the answer you are looking for.

 

[chestnut cob]

I do both!

I've got one of the cheaper Shires grazing muzzles which I've found rubs if it's on too loosely - I have sown some soft material around it (satin from an old top I found in the wardrobe!) which helps with that. Once spring-proper is here he'll be in all day on soaked hay.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Muzzle definitely, there has been some recent proper research showing that restricting turnout can result in pony eating about 80% of what they would have eaten in a days grazing in as little as 2 hours, so it doesnt achieve very much - and of course when they go in you then have to give them forage as well!

The only exception would be in actual laminitics where they sometimes need to be off grass, but thats completely off, not limited turnout.

I have issues with rubbing with my muzzles, I just have to switch different ones round and line them with soft stuff and if it gets too bad she is in for a couple of days as she has had one lami episode.

 

[Janesomerset]

I used to find Shires muzzles lasted well but had a tendency to rub. Roma muzzles are less hardwearing, but not one has rubbed in the slightest, so I buy those now. I'd rather pay out slightly more often for one which our pony actually pushes his nose into! They smell VERY rubbery at first though...I tend to buy them and put them out to air for a few days!

 

[Lark]

The best solution to weight management in our experience is the Pasture Paradise system. A fancy term for putting a track around the perimeter of your paddock, field or fields. A corridor around the headland.
It is extremely easy to setup with electric fencing.
If you can get some cows or a few skinny ones to strip it first that would be best.

In this system they are constantly moving to forage which increases activity while restricting their intake. It removes the boredom issues posed by starvation paddocks and strip grazing while you can also maintain the inner paddock for skinnies or hay.

 

[Spyda]

Think I am going to have to go down the muzzling route as every other horse on the yard is going to be turned out 24/7 shortly and mine will be the only one stabled for any length of time. Several in our 8 horse barn are already living out so it wont be long till mine's the only one coming in. I might also ask if I can put a strand of electric tape across his paddock to reduce the access to grass once it starts coming through properly. I walked the paddock yesterday as I want to collect grass samples for analysis but I think I'm going to have to wait a little bit longer. The grass pickings are very slim. Although the spring grass is starting to poke through it's too short for me to pick for sampling.

Just worried about the rubbing now as I noticed a couple of rub marks on his face this morning and that's just from wearing a well fitting Cushion Web headcollar in the field twice, for 8 hours, over the weekend.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

The best solution to weight management in our experience is the Pasture Paradise system. A fancy term for putting a track around the perimeter of your paddock, field or fields. A corridor around the headland.
It is extremely easy to setup with electric fencing.
If you can get some cows or a few skinny ones to strip it first that would be best.

In this system they are constantly moving to forage which increases activity while restricting their intake. It removes the boredom issues posed by starvation paddocks and strip grazing while you can also maintain the inner paddock for skinnies or hay.

It does....but does rely on electric fencing containing them....which thanks to lami restrictions it no longer does for mine (no rug on, high charge, 3 lines she doesnt care...).She used to be fine with electric until lami meant restrictions on amount of grass. But great for horses whose desperation hasnt reached that stage!