Muzzle saga

[PC Steele]

My 24 yr old has Cushing’s he has been intermittently lame due to the hard ground but has to be out as he also has arthritis. So because of the laminitis risk with Cushing’s he wears a muzzle. He is not currently overweight at all. In fact he is a bit on the light side at the moment. Last night he slipped his muzzle off and gorged on grass and I found him in a grass coma this morning. This scared me a bit so what I have now done is reduced the size of his field to a strip and I’m going to leave the muzzle off. He is not a pig and will not just keep eating, but with the muzzle on he is very hungry hence the gorging if it comes off. My theory is he will regulate his own eating. I’ve owned him for 20 years and have never muzzled him but due to being at a muzzle obsessed yard and Cushing’s he now has one. Am I doing the right thing? Or would you put muzzle back on? Just scares me if he slips it again. Sorry to bleat on xxxx

 

[dorsetladette]

If what you have done for the last 20 years works - keep doing it.

If he is on the light side and not showing any signs of lami then I don't see the need for the muzzle.

 

[bonny]

I think at his age and being on the lean side the last thing he needs is a muzzle.

 

[HelenBack]

Is he medicated for the Cushing's too? If he is and that's working then he shouldn't be at any more risk of laminitis than any other horse. Does he put on weight without the muzzle or is he fine? If not then I would be inclined to leave it off too. If you have control of how you manage your field you could always strip graze though and maybe put out some extra hay for him, which might help with your own peace of mind.

 

[PC Steele]

Is he medicated for the Cushing's too? If he is and that's working then he shouldn't be at any more risk of laminitis than any other horse. Does he put on weight without the muzzle or is he fine? If not then I would be inclined to leave it off too. If you have control of how you manage your field you could always strip graze though and maybe put out some extra hay for him, which might help with your own peace of mind.

He is on Prascend and no doesn’t put on too much as luckily he does have a stop button when he is full

 

[ester]

The stop button on mine has never been great but have stopped muzzling has his teeth aren't at there best anymore. I think it depends a bit on what ground you are on (soil type makes a big difference to amount of grass) and what you can do management wise.
I'd just see how he goes, being aware that there is sometimes a september flush.

 

[oldie48]

My old tb was medicated for cushings and I didn't muzzle him. He was a sensible weight and grazed with the other horses. He never had laminitis and died at 28 of something unrelated to his cushings.

 

[Griffin]

I have cared for a Cushings horse in the past and never muzzled. If anything, we need them to eat more than they did because they lost weight very easily. If you have kept him happy and well for 20 years, don't doubt yourself.

PS: I wouldn't take any notice of other liveries.

 

[Pedantic]

If it aint broke dont fix it

 

[Mucking out - still]

If you've experienced laminitis or are coping with a condition that raises the risk of getting it, it makes us paranoid, not without good cause. However, if you're controlling weight without a muzzle, then it's miles better to reduce access rather than risk gorging after muzzle removal. Trust what you've always done - it sounds as though you've had a worse experience by changing anyway xx