Is putting horses in grass muzzles 'cruel'?

[QueenDee_]

Following the thread on whether people have muzzles on yet, i was wondering what peoples opinions on them are?

Having a very good doer I spent the whole of last summer getting her in every day to try keep weight off her, along with her having no grass she still managed to turn into a big ol tubby Personally I think i'll put a grass muzzle on her this year to prevent it, but the horsey people in my family think they are cruel and would much rather have them standing in a stable all day..

Whats your take?

 

[Shysmum]

Much crueller to let a horse get laminitis - they can die in agony ! I really don't care if people think it's wrong - that's their business. Mine is keeping my lad safe.

 

[3Beasties]

Far healthier for them to be muzzled and out rather then in and starved.

 

[CobsGalore]

I don't think they are but my horse will probably tell you otherwise

 

[Wildforestpony18]

Ditto above ^

 

[Elsiecat]

Mine still get grass through it just a lot less than without one!
Far kinder than being stood in a stable or being in agony due to lami.
I'd tell anyone that told you otherwise to swivel and mind their own!

 

[pony&cow]

Hmmmm i wouldnt want to be shut in a sweet shop with handcuffs on and my mouth taped up!!!
I prefer bare fields but know thats not always an option.

 

[Shysmum]

Although with this particular muzzle, he was not too happy, so chewed through the bottom in days ;

 

[Goldenstar]

Far healthier for them to be muzzled and out rather then in and starved.

There is apsolutly no reason for horses who are in on a diet to be starved.
Personally I never ever use a muzzle to control horses wieght but it's not cruel I just find it unnecessary ,and the horses I tried it on found it deeply unpleasant.

 

[hnmisty]

Much crueller to let a horse get laminitis - they can die in agony ! I really don't care if people think it's wrong - that's their business. Mine is keeping my lad safe.

I lost one of mine to laminitis. He'd been kept on restricted grazing, and despite my very experienced neighbour telling me it wasn't my fault, almost seven years on I still blame myself. It was horrific, and something I will never ever forget, as well as being something I hope no one else ever has to go through.

Don't get me started on people who keep their ponies going who are suffering from a severe bout of laminitis, because they are too cowardly to have them PTS. The vet said we could have tried to treat Harry, but that after 6 months of agony, he still might have died. How anyone can profess to love their equine but be willing to put them through that is beyond me. Harry had given up on life. It broke my heart to say goodbye to him, but it would have been even worse to keep him going.

 

[windand rain]

Well as one who doesnt like them I can see their value for those with fatties however I dont like them because they damage teeth, I think it unfair to muzzle 24 hours a day and the horse gorges once it is removed a horse can stuff itself with as much grass as it eats in 24 hours normally in a little over 2 hours if exposed to a lot of grass. I dont think they are cruel though. needs must when the devil drives the bit I dont understand and I suppose it comes down to livery owners is the saving of grass and grazing all winter then having to muzzle because there is too much grass. Mine are kept on the fields all year round the grass is never allowed to rest if they appear to be getting too much I put up a track system for them the center is then grazed by the less good or poor doers and the fatties have to walk a long way for what they eat and drink

 

[3Beasties]

Hmmmm i wouldnt want to be shut in a sweet shop with handcuffs on and my mouth taped up!!!
I prefer bare fields but know thats not always an option.

Horses mouths are not taped shut though, they quickly learn how to eat in a muzzle, they just can't eat as much as normal.

 

[eggs]

Certainly not cruel - laminitis is a cruel disease.

They do need to be fitted correctly though. I hate to see a horse with sores from a poorly fitting muzzle.

 

[mynutmeg]

I've tried them on several occasions but seem to be unable to get them on the horse without them being rubbed raw within a day or two - especially on the point of their chin, so don't use them now. If we need to restrict grazing we try to reduce the size of the field.

 

[Shysmum]

He can even get a carrot through his favourite Shires muzzle, although this one had to be removed for safety reasons, obviously - it got stuck. He does not bat an eyelid when he has it put on, it's just his routine.

Sheepskin padding will stop rubbing - I velcro it on in strategic areas. Keeping the muzzle washed is also pretty essential.

 

[muff747]

I used to feel cruel putting a muzzle on my horse, but I would have felt far worse if I had risked it and he'd have got laminitis. And he would work himself up to a stress if he was kept in and the others are out.
I would much rather he was able to get very small amount of grass, be moving around keeping his metabolism moving and he was with his mates and kept sane

 

[criso]

Given that not everyone has access to grass free turnout or bare paddocks I can see advantages to using muzzles over keeping them in.

1 The horse keeps moving
2 There is a danger when you turn them out after keeping them off grass that they over compensate and eat more in a short space of time than they would have done otherwise. Muzzles slow them down rather than stop them eating.

 

[Shysmum]

How on earth does a muzzle damage teeth ??

 

[pony&cow]

Im not saying im against them but i would never use one on either of my two laminitics. I prefer them on small bold stip grazed patches so they have to work hard to graze without a muzzle. I like to see my two grooming eachother too.
Like someone else said you need to take it off sometimes and horses will just gorge.

 

[Shysmum]

strip grazing can work very well - IF you can guarantee that the pony will not jump over to the richer grass at the first opportunity. Repeat offender pictured a few times above !

 

[windand rain]

They damage the enamel on the surface of teeth one of the necessary evils of muzzles I am afraid

 

[pony&cow]

Yeh my two are both very respectful/scared of electric fence which does make life easier.
If i was on a livery yard where mud/dust paddocks arnt an option I would have to rethink but at home I can manage my fields well enough to not need a muzzle

 

[Shysmum]

Well I'll check with his dentist on saturday, but i have never heard that.

 

[Megibo]

Not cruel as long as the grass is long enough!

I would rather a muzzled horse than a fat one

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

strip grazing can work very well - IF you can guarantee that the pony will not jump over to the richer grass at the first opportunity.!

or go through or under strip grazing fencing - aka Tiny Fuzzy

Muzzle on for 12 hrs+ till next winter now (have 3 muzzles so not one goes on sopping wet etc) then either into a very bare small paddock or a stable with small amount of hay for remainder of time.
Also allowed to have short graze on a lead rope most days

Means I can leave small piggy of a pony out with others much of the time and not worry so much about her getting too much grass or being tired of being on own.

Yes, the muzzle did rub the 1st 3 days or so when I 1st got her one, but I gave a rest of same time then put it back on & no probs since. Perfectly able to scoff through it, but had to work very hard. Always change it if sopping wet from heavy rain.

OP, you might be best as describing a grazing muzzle as a 'dieting aid' to non-horse people

 

[Misog2000]

My girl wears her muzzle in the field all the time and comes in for a few hours during the day to a couple of sections of hay that has been soaked for a few hours to strip some sugar. So she is never on the grass without the muzzle removing the problems of them stuffing themselves when it is removed. My only other option would be for her to only go out for a few hours a day as we aren't allowed to fence off small paddocks etc and have big fields with lush grass - I'd rather she was out and moving around than shut in.

She has a greenguard with copious amounts of fur added to the head collar to stop it rubbing as she is quite thin skinned, and doesn't seem to mind it really.

 

[LaurenBay]

A lady at my old yard told me it was cruel and unnatural. The result? My Horse is turned out daily, muzzle free, pain free and in ridden work. Her Horse is just starting her 7th month of box rest, vet has said the Lami Is so bad she doubts Horse can ever be turned out again.

I know which I'd rather

 

[toffeeyummy]

My pony can still eat through his but just a tiny bit at a time. He comes into a small bare paddock at night with the muzzle off. He actually doesn't mind the muzzle, he will come over to me and drop his head ready for me to put it on be ause he knows it means going out into the big field where he can gallop and play
Much, much better than being stuck in a stable or wandering about on concrete or bare fields

 

[ladyt25]

Personally I don't like them. I also don't actually get how they stop the horse eating so much - it can still eat so why can't it eat just as much as without a muzzle? Can someone explain this to me?

I don't quite understand why there seems to be more instances of laminitis than there ever used to be (that or it's just on this forum)? Over 30 years of horse ownership, having ahd one lami-prone pony, we have never had any problems with laminitis.

I would be really interested to know what sort of turnout these horses who have had laminitis have been on as part of me does wonder whether advances in grass management has actually been detrimental to horse health - ie, having too nice, lush pastures.

We have a field of 12 acres (split in two), it is a mixture of 'rough' grass and some nicer short, cloved parts. A lot of fields I see with horses in look to consist on short green , well fertilised grass and I do wonder if the fields horses are often kept in these days are just too good? Horses should ideally be on quite sparse grass and naturally are supposed to travel some distance for food. Therefore I think the management of keeping horses in small fields of well-tended grass is partly to blame. Sure, it looks nicer but is not good for the horse.

 

[samlf]

I dont think its cruel, well certainly not as cruel as allowing a horse to develop laminitis.

However, I do think it should be a last option after trying everything else - soaked hay, straw, strip grazing, track etc