Laminitis and grazing muzzles

S

samuelhorse

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 May 2007
Messages
698
Location
saltburn by the sea
Visit site
My boy a chronic lami who gets footy most springs when the grass starts to sprout has moved to another yard that doesnt have a starvy paddock and is in a shared paddock with another horse.
Since moving there in May he has had a grazing muzzle on. I had let him build up slowly to not wearing the muzzle but got warm feet and a palpable pulse in his near fore.
Just at the same time the paddocks got refertilized, the grass shot up. This made me change my management to wearing the muzzle through the day and in at night (6pm - 8.30 am)
He is quite happy with this and his feet have remained cold.

However, girls on the yard are starting to talk, that they feel sorry for my horse with a muzzle on, now im starting to worry that im being cruel,
none of the girls, i believe, have had experience of lami, and would anyone agree with me, this is better than letting him get laminitis. One of the other liveries just keeps saying i read that if he's going to get it he will.
But cant seem to understand - 1 - no reason not to do any thing to prevent it.
2 - she doesnt really care (after all it aint her horse)
3 - she wouldnt be paying the vet bill/ her horse in pain

I agree there isnt a lot of grass, but he doesnt need much of an excuse to get footy and the grass is bright green and about 2" long. However, it is fertilized (he has had it on unfertilized very short grass)

Sorry for the rant, but Im angry, upset and worried.....
 
My horse is out at 6am and in at 8pm. All the time he is out he is muzzled. He has been muzzled since April when he first started to show signs of lami. He too is chronic laminitic and he'll no doubt remain muzzled till at least october if last year is anything to go by. Don't listen to the 'talk' it sounds like you are doing fine. I'd rather have my boy muzzled and out in company than in a starv. paddock on his own.... he was in one for about 4 years! Better safe than sorry! They wouldn't understand fully unless they have been there themselves and learned the hard way!
 
Take no notice of the other girls at your yard, you are doing all the right things for your horse! you know what to do and it sounds as though you are looking after him well, grazing muzzles are not cruel.

They obviously don't understand as much as you do, so I would find something on the net about laminitis -print it off- and give them a copy to read. That should shut them up
cool.gif
 
You are right to be concerned and are managing him the right way. I have a laminitis prone cob myself and after her spedning the whole of last summer (April - September) on box rest and seeing the pain she felt - it was he one and only attack and fortunatley not really bad in the scheme of laminitis - I watch her like a hawk and manage her as needed and don't give a stuff what anyone else thinks. Her welfare, as you horse's rightly is to you, the utmost priority.

As you say it is very difficult for those who haven't had to deal with laminitis just how serious it is as a condition and how good managment is the single best thing you can do to prevent it. Laminitis is a medical emergency - as urgent as colic - and should be treated as such. I'm afraid their ignorance could do untold damage to a horse with laminitis. ITs hard but ignore them or tell the to go and read The Laminitis Trust/Clinic website - failing that print off the pages and stick it up in your yard by your boys stable asking them to read and bog off!!

By the way heat in the feet is no indication of the onset of laminitis as it will fluctuate throughout the day and night especially if unshod - much more important to monitor the pulses as you are doing.

Good luck - you are doing the right thing.
 
Ignore them. People at my yard critise those who muzzle for being 'mean'.

One of those girls now has a horse who cannot walk from lami. She tried muzzle but horse 'didn't like it' so took it straight off. Of course he didn't like it!!! But they learn to adapt and you are doing the kindest thing by keeping him safe from lami by whatever means neccessary.
 
Just ignore them, you are managing your horse well and chronic laminitis is a condition which can be difficult to manage. If their talk gets to you, think how much worse it would be if your horse got another laminitis attack because he wasn't muzzled. If they don't shut up, just tell them your vet adviesd this regime.
 
Which is worse? A horse having to wear a muzzle during the day, but able to nibble grass, enjoy the sun on his back, tootle about with his friends OR a horse shut in his stable for 6 weeks, alone and bored, in pain and with the prospect of being put down if things don't improve.


Yes a muzzle can cause rubs on the face, but these heal and the skin hardens. Horses were designed to eat tough, rough grass with a very low nutrtional content. It is our fault that we give them rich, dairy grass to eat instead, underwork them stuff sweet, sugary treats (and that includes carrots!) into them every day. So we have to make the best of a bad job.
 
thankyou everyone. In my heart of hearts I know I am right, just when others say Im not I started to wonder If i was obsessed by it. yes I am paranoid by grass.
He is happy to wear his muzzle and obligingly puts it on when he goes out and grazes quite happily with it on.
 
I muzzle my horse just to keep the weight off as he can get porky in the summer and I try and encourage other people on the yard to muzzle theirs too as some of the horses are so fat. Allowing a horse to become obese or laminitic is far more cruel than muzzling. I have padded my muzzle out with antirub lining under the chin and Harry has mastered the art of grazing with it on. Stick with it you are definitely doing the right thing....
 
Stick to your guns and don't let their nonsense worry you. I have a lami and she wears a Shires muzzle all summer, many years ago at the old place we had a supposedly horsey neighbour who used to come and take it off and leave it on the gatepost as she thought it was cruel. I tried to be tactful and polite until she started claiming she'd had her vet out and he'd said the muzzle was cruel - that's when I gave her the number of MY vet along with a little letter telling her she'd be paying any vet's fees if she ended up with laminitis.
Some people are just plain dumb.
mad.gif
 
Why cant people BUTT OUT! my yard is the same, oh poor horse out in that muzzle during the day, they hang around when the vet is here, its a nightmare, might charge them for viewing! ignore them, its your horse, tell them to butt out! your doing the best thing for him, mine is muzzled during day and is in small bare paddock with my other horse so his grass intake is reduced t poor grass, cos he can live on fresh air! your doing right thing with muzzle, they wanna pay the vet bill when he gets laminitius? i doubt it! you do wat YOU wanna do for your horse, and to ignore them, well some good music on an mp3 player never fails!
 
I have been considering a grazing muzzle for my daughters pony who is laminitic, so I am glad I've read all of these positive comments! Thankyou!

I have so far managed to keep the weight of him and laminitis free this year but I opt for out at night and in in the day. I remember reading that the offending sugars in the grass are lower at night?? Any truth in this?xx
 
At my old yard there were no "fatty" facilities so my old retired pony used to have a grazing muzzle 12 hours a day. He wasn't laminitic, but he does have arthritis & I didn't want to put extra strain on his joints. The grief I used to get from this stupid woman who had several horses & nearly always had at least 1 with laminitis. The message just couldn't force it's way into her head.
 
[ QUOTE ]
One of the other liveries just keeps saying i read that if he's going to get it he will.
But cant seem to understand - 1 - no reason not to do any thing to prevent it.


[/ QUOTE ]
Well imo this just shows how little this person knows about laminitis!!!
If the yard doesn't provide facilities for horses that need no or reduced grass intake them imo you are definitely doing the best thing for him. Even with facilities sometimes horses have to be muzzled as well.
Laminitis if unchecked can lead to horses being pts not to mention the pain and suffering they have to endure!!
 
ignore them, or tell them to speak to a vet if they want to hear WHY your horse has to have the muzzle on. it would be "cruel" to let him stuff his face and cripple himself agonizingly. you are doing absolutely the right thing. they are ignorant busybodies.
 
Short, bright green, fertilised grass is the worse grass possible for a laminitic, you are doing entirely the right thing by using a muzzle. I have two ponies (live on fresh air types) that wear a muzzle all year round after the year they got it in December. Unless the temperature goes to below 5 degrees (I think it's around this temp) the grass keeps growing.

I bet if you looked at their horses they would have loads of event lines on their feet which they would put down to a 'change in grazing' (actually a sign of inflamation in the hoof) and they would probably have pulses as well.

I'd hold you head up and ignore them!
 
Mine got it badly on rich fertlised grass and wore a muzzle a lot. That was two years ago. I moved yards to a place with no fertilised grass,poor grass, strip grazing and he has been ok since. I would wear the muzzle never mind what the others say. You have to deal with the pony if it gets sick, not them. Once you have a laminitic you will do anything to avoid it. Those who are unaffected know nothing of the worry.I am so glad I got out of that crap yard where he got it. We love it where we are now and he has been so well . Touch wood it continues because it could happen again.
 
Ignore them!! You are doing everything you can for your horse and you obviously love and care for him deeply, and if they can't see it then more fool them! I have been battling the awful condition with my mare since a sudden and very nasty attack lasy year, and if I listened to every comment or remark that has been said about me I would be in constant tears - but, my girly is still here and still crazy, and more importantly happy. She goes out during the day with her muzzle on and apart from the inital snort&grunt of disgust in the morn, her head is straight down attacking what she can get of the grass until I bring her in to do some work later in the afternoon.
You have to do what is best for your horse, and I know it really isn't easy as nothing is straight forward. Unless you have a lami prone ned, it can be difficult to comprehend just how much effect simple things like rain/frost.stress has on these guys, so keep up the good work, ignore them and enjoy your horse!!!x
 
My mare doesn't have laminitis but she has a greengaurd muzzle on 24 hours and believe me its one of the best things I have brought as if she didn't have it on she would be so fat. It makes me so made with all the over weight horses on my yard and there is no need for it.

Keep using the muzzle it makes a lot more sense then vet bills due to being over weight or in pain due to laminitis.
 
i have a sheltandy/dwarf pony who after 1st bout (stress related i reckon) was fine for 3 yrs, but this yr, he was spending so much time in, that i bought a muzzle. i couldn't bear to watch him for 1st day, but he settle down, and loved being out with the others. it did create sores, so i used it 2 days out of 7 and put sudocream on. luckily, that seems to have done the trick, and we're on a out at day with the others, in at night alone routine which hes settled with. a dressage judge i wrote for the other day, said muzzles are plain cruel, and i thought - i take your point, but - far, far less cruel than being shut up alone. trust your instincts. i think they are worth their weight in gold, and will continue to use it when needed.
 
My pony is currently in a 16 x 12ft pen with overnight soaked hay, because he is so sensitive to grass flushes, now. I'm considering putting his muzzle on 24/7, so he can have free access to the paddock (and his companion have access to the stable!!). You're damned if you do, and damned if you don't. Personally I think it's cruel to have obese horses in fields 24/7 because the owner is too lazy to ride except once a week and the same horse is expected to wheeze his way around a speedy hack with pals, in the name of entertainment.

Sorry, I'm just bitter. I did everything right this year and he still came down with it (although I caught it earlier and so less damage). The people on your yard would get a mouthful from me, I'm afraid.
frown.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top