Grazing muzzle recommendations, please

[Casey76]

Hello all, I’d like to benefit from your collective experience please.

I need some grazing muzzle recommendations.

Tartine usually wears a Tough-One Easy Breather muzzle (with the rectangle shaped feeding hole) from approx Apr-Oct, basically grass growing season, even though she’s on a grass-less track 24/7 and has ad lib access to forage in slow feeder nets.

However, a couple of weeks ago she was diagnosed with EMS, so we’ve had to re-jig her management. She is now on soaked hay only, on a restricted part of the track with a couple of other EMS horses; now in triple netted slow feeders ?, (no muzzle atm) but is still eating through her allocation far too quickly.

Her exercise has been increased from 5x per week at 45mins - 2 hours each time, to 6 days a week with 30 mins increasingly intensive work each morning; as well as 2-3 longer hacks each week of up to 2 hours... so we’re not just addressing the food issues ( )

Because she can browse on hedgerows and shrubs she is *really* tough on muzzles, she also gets really anxious if her nostrils are covered, so judicious adjustment of the front of the muzzle is usually required to a greater or lesser extent.

I don’t exactly have unlimited funds, but at this point I’m willing to push the boat out a little.

‘Thanks in advance

 

[HappyHollyDays]

My EMS pony wears a Kramer Ferdinand muzzle which also has a rectangular hole and is a very easy breather and after always having had him in Dinky muzzles he much prefers it so I think what you have already for Tartine will be fine. A lot of people rate the flexible filly muzzles but at £75 for a bit of plastic I won’t be buying one. I soak his hay in summer but don’t net it because I find it’s counterproductive. He knows when it’s gone it’s gone and as a result he doesn’t bolt it down but eats enough and then stops although I appreciate some horses don’t have an off switch. This summer he will be on a dry turn out pen by day with about two hours in the field and in at night because he was so reactive to the grass last year and I don’t have access to a track. I have found by trial and error that it is vital to keep the liver cleansed using milk thistle and don’t feed anything with iron in it as it really screws up the whole pancreas/liver/insulin process which in turn shuts the lymphatic system down. His EMS is unfortunately the genetic type rather than just down to the much food and not enough exercise kind and his older sister was PTS at 11 so between now and October he is micromanaged. It’s exhausting but I don’t want him to end up like Vinesse. Fast exercise is the only thing which drains his lymphatic system and reduces the swelling in his sheath so in summer he is worked in canter as much as possible.

That’s probably more general info and less muzzle info than you were after but I hope some of it helps ?

 

[Casey76]

Tartine has PSSM, so her diet is already tightly controlled, so all of the “quick wins” for EMS management (remove grass and high starch/sugar feed, exercise when feet allow etc) have been in place for year. Fortunately she has never had laminitis or shown any sign of ouchines, though she does wear scoot boots on longer hacks as they’re all on forestry tracks and on a highly abrasive surface.

The EMS diagnosis is just adding a layer of complication to her management, her caretaker is being angelic sorting out and amending her yard to incorporate T’s extra needs.

My EMS pony wears a Kramer Ferdinand muzzle which also has a rectangular hole and is a very easy breather and after always having had him in Dinky muzzles he much prefers it so I think what you have already for Tartine will be fine. A lot of people rate the flexible filly muzzles but at £75 for a bit of plastic I won’t be buying one. I soak his hay in summer but don’t net it because I find it’s counterproductive. He knows when it’s gone it’s gone and as a result he doesn’t bolt it down but eats enough and then stops although I appreciate some horses don’t have an off switch. This summer he will be on a dry turn out pen by day with about two hours in the field and in at night because he was so reactive to the grass last year and I don’t have access to a track. I have found by trial and error that it is vital to keep the liver cleansed using milk thistle and don’t feed anything with iron in it as it really screws up the whole pancreas/liver/insulin process which in turn shuts the lymphatic system down. His EMS is unfortunately the genetic type rather than just down to the much food and not enough exercise kind and his older sister was PTS at 11 so between now and October he is micromanaged. It’s exhausting but I don’t want him to end up like Vinesse. Fast exercise is the only thing which drains his lymphatic system and reduces the swelling in his sheath so in summer he is worked in canter as much as possible.

That’s probably more general info and less muzzle info than you were after but I hope some of it helps ?

 

[HappyHollyDays]

You seem to have a tight grip on her PSSM management already so there probably isn’t much more you can do for the EMS and your YO sounds really accommodating. The one non ridden exercise I do is to take him swimming which does wonders for his waistline without being weight bearing so no ouchy feet.