Laminitis Prevention Advice

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Beth E

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My 14 year old connemara x mare is very over weight due to good grass growth and reduced work because of me doing A levels. The field that she is in is the smallest of the farm (12 acres) with another horse and a few random sheep.
My farrier advised me to put her on the barest field that we have... unfortunatly there are non, apart from the fells which are blocks of up to 1000 acres!!!
I am wondering about using a grazing muzzle, but i am not sure how long she should have it on a day?? Or which type are best to use??
I am also worried about her getting herself caught on a fence or something as she is extremely acident prone!!!

Any advice wanted !!

Thank you
 
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I like the dinky rugs ones - cheap but I found don't rub like rubber bucket ones do. They are also field safe.

If the fells are like moorland... That's where I'd put her!!! My two thrive on moorland - it's what they are built yo survive on - and I suspect you'd find shed come to call pretty quick for a hay net or bucket feed!!
 
Thank you will look at those.

The fells are heather moorland. It can take a day to go round each on a quad, so i think i would worry about her too much.

Are the sizes good for the dinky rugs ones?
 
Much better than the others - look onthe site and it tells you how to measure (or it uses to) if not, email them and they will tell you what size based in nose size measurement :)
 
A very good grazing muzzle hint from another HHO is to plait some hair into the brow band (or whatever) to stop them rubbing it off.

If your horse is accident prone though, do this a controlled environment at first until she understands she can't get it off ..... as she will definitely try!
 
I like the Shires grazing muzzles, but whichever ones you choose to use, do make sure they have some kind of safety breakpoint. The shires ones have a 6 inch long velcro strip as part of the headpiece, which would come open if the pony got the muzzle caught on a fence or something. Some others may have a breakable rubber ring (but I never got along with those).

Many people don't recommend muzzles be on for 24/7 because they limit a pony's normal social, grooming activities, and also there is the problem of rubbing (Jackie Taylor's metabolic horse email group has lots of good info on laminitis and its prevention).

Also, worth being aware that there's some recent study which shows that muzzles can slow a pony's eating rate down, but if they are then allowed out without their muzzle (or get their muzzle off), they do tend to gorge:

http://www.equinescienceupdate.com/articles/rcegm.html

But mainly you need to find a way to give the pony more exercise, because while he's overweight, he may well have metabolically active fat which is going to increase his risk of laminitis. It'll probably take more than just a grazing muzzle to make enough of a difference to his weight.

These are two websites I find really useful when thinking how to slim down a fattie, whether they are currently laminitic or not:

http://www.dodsonandhorrell.com/help-advice/laminitis.html

http://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/information/right_weight_advice

Sarah
 
If your horse lives on a farm then you are bound to have electric fencing. Make a much smaller paddock for her to live in.
 
The only problem I've had with grazing muzzles is they need to be cleaned out and washed regularly and checked. They tend to get a bit grotty inside and rub a bit, despite the fact it's a perfect fit. I don't use them anymore. It would be better to try to restrict grazing another way. We have a problem with a Shetland, we keep him in the garden now; he even has to be restricted in there too (the greedy little git)
Loads of work is the best way to prevent laminitis for sure.
 
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