Muzzles - Nylon bucket type vs Greenguard?

[Bounty]

Is the greenguard muzzle worth the extra £££? And does it *have* to be used in conjunction with the special headcollar?

Do the nylon muzzles get horribly hot and sweaty? Does it take them long to figure out how to drink with them on?

Sorry for all the questions!

For anyone who's not sure what I'm on about, pics of both types below...

Nylon muzzle

or...
Greenguard muzzle

 

[bensababy]

I have the nylon one on my Ex Laminitic. It doesnt get sweaty and works a treat with him. And looks less like a Hanibal Lecter mask. lol

 

[piebaldsparkle]

I've used both and think the Greenguard ones are better if you need to restrict the grazing of a bigger horse, but don't (IMO) restrict the grazing enough for small ponies.

Yes I would get the proper headcollar as stops the nose flopping.

If you go for a shires one go for a size bigger than you need then they don't seem to rub.

One advntage of the Shires is due to the bucket shape it does seem to help stop pink noses from burning!

My cob sulked for a couple of hours, then grazed fine - she had a shires one as really need to slim down, now has a greenguard as just doesn't need to put any weight on rather than lose any.

 

[eggs]

I have both for my horse. He does not like wearing either but does seem a bit better in the Greenguard. It took a while to get the fitting correct (I have the old style one) as he quickly learnt to push it to one side so he could stuff loads of grass into his mouth. Tried for two years after that with the bucket type muzzle. I had two, both of which he managed to break as he learnt to rub them off on anything handy. They both rubbed him quite badly and his breathing seemed more laboured in them than the greenguard. I have ended up buying the headcollar but all you get really is a strap that runs from the headpiece down the front of the face to the noseband so it would be easy to just add that to your existing headcollar. Drinking doesn't seem to be an issue with either type.

 

[Bounty]

Thanks

The other thing is that I can get hold of a shires one today, but would have to order a greenguard one, so maybe I will buy one of the shires ones and see how we get on?

How generous is the sizing? Indi is a chunky full size, so I'm a little worried that they may not even be big enough!

 

[piebaldsparkle]

My mare take XL in Shires. She normally wears a Full Size bridle (but slightly big is better as then they don't rub).

 

[Tallante]

I have bought both types but for different purposes.

I have a large size shires muzzle on my 13hh Welsh Section C, it doesn't rub, he can eat and drink and he hasn't got it off yet. He's actually off the grass at the moment and is only allowed out for up to one hour a day with the muzzle on. Harsh I know, but better than laminitis. We have taken to calling him Hannibal.... the poor chunky lad.

However, the downside is that when he's worked in the field (he's a driving pony) on long reins he would have his head down and be eating all of the time without the muzzle over the bridle and Liverpool bit. It saves a lot of arguments.

I have just bought the pony sized Greenguard and to be honest, it's a bit snug on his broad nose and I'm concerned that it might rub, I have only tried it for size so far. I'm hoping to use it with the bridle to discourage eating when working and to give him much more air. I'll probably secure it onto the browband with string if the noseband doesn't support it properly.

He can work very well with the Shires one on but I'm not really happy about the way it obviously limits fresh air. Incidentally, he can gallop around the field like a lunatic with the Shires muzzle on when turned out with the other horses, so it really doesn't bother him very much.

The Shires one is cheaper, give it a go and see what happens. Spend half an hour with him when he first goes out and see how he reacts. If he sulks, leave him for a while and then go back. My pony got REALLY angry and took off round the field a few times before getting a sulk on and waited by the gate to be let out. I fed him some grass through the hole and the next time he went out he got the hang of it.

 

[bethg1910]

My friend got the shires one last weekend for her horse as her previous one was rubbing, although the shires one is a lot comfier and well padded, it only has one very small hole in the centre. This would be fine if the grass was a bit longer but our fields are quite short and the horse just stood all day at gate as she wasn't getting anything through it.

So we've since customized it with a stanley knife and cut a few more holes so she can at least get something. Certainly a good one for starvation and it is very padded. Depends what you're looking for.