Muzzle cut off and destroyed. Any other experiences of this?

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Rose Folly

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My friend went to check her pony this morning, which runs out with others 24/7. One of the others is a seriously laminitic elderly pony, with several health problems, whom they have to watch very carefully.

When she got to the field the elderly pony was grazing without his muzzle. She then discovered that someone had cut it off during the night. The muzzle had been cut through in two places, suggesting that it had been actually cut off his head, as the Velcro fastenings were still all in place and the clips still done up. The muzzle had then been effectively trashed.

They have told the police, and I have spread the word via bridleway and neighbourhood watch. The field is overlooked by several houses, whose occupants keep a kindly eye on the ponies - nobody had seen anybody about.

I wondered if anyone else has experience of this? It could lead to such damage and, in the case of the pony in question could have been fatal. We assume it is a person who thinks muzzles are inherently cruel and doesn't understand that the animal can still eat and drink.
 
Yes. I've had that on several occasions. Firstly the muzzle used to be removed and hung on the fence, then when I kept putting it back on it was cut through and destroyed. The ponies were 200 yards up a private track from the road so someone had come a long way to do this. Same pony was also let out of her starvation paddock and into the hayfield causing a massive laminitis attack.
 
It is more likely that the pony got the muzzle off during the night and a fox has chewed it. It has happened a few times at our yard. Believe it or not, foxes can cut through tape and leather and it looks like a knife has done it. We kept losing ropes from our x-country course fences and thought that someone was cutting them off until we found a load next to a den, and the nylon rope looked the same as if cut with a knife! Someone also left a bridle on the floor next to the gate and that was found in pieces scattered across the field a week later.
 
No experiences but is it worth near the gate having some sort of explanatory polite brief note put up about the use of the muzzle? I know you shouldn't have to resort to such things but people who don't have horses or don't have horses with problems that they don't understand will be ignorant. If the pony is prone to laminitis/colic on too much grass etc it could be critical to their wellbeing if someone does that again.
 
Blimey, i would go bonkers if that happened to me ! How awful. But you do get some idiots who think muzzles are cruel, and have no idea what they are used for.

I hope you manage to get it sorted - possibly start by putting a sign up that removing the muzzle may lead to death of the pony, and offer a reward to whoever has any info on the person. ?
 
I haven't seen the muzzle myself, but apparently there was a clear knife mark (thought to be Stanley knife type) on some part of it.

Yes, they are going to put up a laminated notice explaining the situation. But I think some nutters are hard to stop. Hic, like yours, these ponies were 100 yards down a muddy bridleway, and invisible from the lane (though not from the neighbouring houses). My friend is really worried now, as her pony is also a laminitic. And I have two muzzled mini-Shetlands here so I'm anxious too. Fortunately these go off to their owner's little stables elsewhere at night, otherwise I'd be out with my torch and a long-pronged stable fork!!
 
Just looked at the picture on facebook, looks just like a fox has chewed through it, same as the ones in our fields. One of the horses is a ****** to catch, no way a stranger would get near him to take it off, but his was chewed just like this.
 
If the pony has never got the muzzle off before and it looks like it has been cut its unlikely to be a fox. They may have chewed it if it was already on the ground but I don't think many ponies would let a fox chew a muzzle off their face?!
Bit harsh to call people eejits as they probably did it for the right (if misguided) reasons, so a polite notice is probably the way forward. Hope the pony is ok x
 
confirmedponyaddict said:
If the pony has never got the muzzle off before and it looks like it has been cut its unlikely to be a fox. They may have chewed it if it was already on the ground but I don't think many ponies would let a fox chew a muzzle off their face?!
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More than possible that another horse has pulled it off, of course the fox chews it once it's been lost, wasn't implying that foxes actually chew them off their heads! Make no mistake though, foxes teeth cut as straight and clean as a knife!
 
How old is the muzzle? I had a year old Shires one fall to bits in storage, never ever used at all. I would have put money on it having been cut with something. That was the muzzle part not the straps though
 
I've had a few cut off my lami mare. I know its well meaning hill walkers, as it only happens when she is in the field beside the lane the hill walkers walk along. If she is in a further away field it does not happen. I plait the muzzles on. There are always neat straight cuts at the headpiece. Very irritating as it costs me a fortune to continuously replace. To a non horsey person it probably does look cruel.
 
It would be a clever fox to have chewed the muzzle off my girl then hung it up on the same fence post twice. Or perhaps he brought a step ladder along with him as well as the Stanley knife.
 
Well I can understand some busybody doing it as I had a villager constantly removing my horses blindfold at one time ( fly mask ).
 
I put a polite but strongly worded laminated notice up on my fence after someone was seen removing the muzzle twice. It seemed to work.
 
We've had similar things happen twice

Less serious but still annoying was an elderly couple , they'd lure them to the gate with carrots and remove fly masks and pony's grazing muzzle but never damaged them. I know it was them because one day they saw me bring the horses in for the farrier and they had a right go at me, they honestly believed we would blindfold the horses to stop them running away! I was taken aback but luckily my daughter was there and able to explain why we used these things for the beneift of the horses.

More serious was some school girls letting the pony out of his fat pen, caught them red handed after a number of unexplained escapes, not just of the pony, but of the horses onto the lane too, extremely dangerous. I caught them, made them believe I was a bit mental (which may be true) and basically scared the beejeezus out of/into them. We also padlocked the field gate and got a grazing muzzle (see above)

The perils of keeping horses on a farm lane now surrounded by houses (though it wasn't when we first moved there!)
 
it could've been pulled off and bitten by one of the other horses. l had this with a horse, his headcollar was off and buckled up though it was field safe and sliced in two places - looked like a knife but in middle of nowhere and horse very headshy so no way was it a person. Caught his mate in the act with his next headcollar, pulled it off(field safe) and was throwing around and bit through it again- horses have razor sharp teeth at the right angle! Though l suppose it might've been a person, you get all sorts!
 
one of the fields has a footpath running through it, I have had walkers having a go at me for muzzling- how it is cruel and prevents natural interaction blah blah. I pointed out that it also prevents them getting very ill (we have very very lush grazing all year) . When that explanation fails, I assume they know very little about horse management and tell them they also bite, so we have to protect public on the footpath- they seem very accepting of that completely made up reason! When it comes to the winter and the horses are clipped..dear god, the fluffy bunny have-no-idea-about-horses brigade go mad :D Luckily no one has removed the muzzles, but I can see how some people would be inclined to, having spoke to them!
 
My elderly laminitic was let out of a stable and had a whole bale of hay left out and opened for her!! I left a VERY angry letter in several places around the gate and fencing explaining about laminitis and stating that when I discovered who was responsible they would be receiving any vets bills caused by their reckless and stupid behaviour. Never happened again. I think I know who did it.... a family who lived a little way up the road. Eldest daughter rode at a posh riding school once a week and they thought they knew it all (rolls eyes). The day I noticed what had happened, I saw them cruise past a couple of times in their Range Rover.

It makes me every so angry. Why don't people just ASK if they don't know why you do things a certain way?!
 
Why would someone cut a muzzle off with a Stanley knife when it would be easier to undo the buckle ? It seems a bit odd that someone would approach a strange pony's face with a sharp blade when unbuckling it would be quicker and safer ?

My horse was wearing a field safe nylon headcollar with Velcro straps. She got it caught and the strap was sheared right through with a clean cut. Worryingly, the Velcro didn't give way. No human could have made the cut as she wouldn't let anyone near her.

The explanation of the muzzle being cut off in OP's post doesn't make sense.
 
It may have been cut AFTER removing as well - if a person is so inclined to save the poor poneh, it would seem to them as a reasonable measure to warn the evil, evil owners.
 
Rose Folly said:
Update. Apparently 'the fox' had taken the muzzle off on one or two occasions before, but had kindly hung it on a fence post. Obviously felt his / her message wasn't getting through!
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No need to be snotty, maybe the previous times someone put it on the fence so it didn't get lost and on this occasion the fox got to it first? I do believe that people can get a bit paranoid about things happening when often there is a less sinister explanation, same as the wind plaits.
 
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