Muzzling on short grass

Hormonal Filly

Hormonal Filly

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My mare is a very good doer and our yard has good grass. She is sharing a paddock with a little pony, it’s a good size for 2. Both were muzzled until a week ago, I took my mares muzzle off as her weight was perfect and the grass is now short but she was coming in full, her poo instantly went loose and she’s put a bit of weight on.

I put her muzzle back on last night, she nibbles through it (Flexible Filly and I made the hole slightly bigger last year) and she is in during the day, but she comes in starving. She gets a weighed haynet and feed.

Would you continue with this? I guess the grass is growing.
 
Put the muzzle back on and leave it on because although you think the paddock looks bare it won’t be becuase they are eating it down continuously. If you are worried she isn’t getting enough forage drop the feed and up the amount of hay you give her. They can eat hay perfectly well through a muzzle so leave a few piles around the paddock at night so they have to wander between them rather than just standing in one place and eating it.
 
SEL said:
I just read somewhere that an arena sized field of grass (20x40) is producing the equivalent of 3kg of competition mix at the moment the grass growth is so strong.

My PSSM mare is muzzled during the day with a pile of hay if she gets hungry.
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:O that is crazy! I did notice our winter field that’s been rested for a month has suddenly grown a LOT in the last week.
 
Hormonal Filly said:
My mare is a very good doer and our yard has good grass. She is sharing a paddock with a little pony, it’s a good size for 2. Both were muzzled until a week ago, I took my mares muzzle off as her weight was perfect and the grass is now short but she was coming in full, her poo instantly went loose and she’s put a bit of weight on.

I put her muzzle back on last night, she nibbles through it (Flexible Filly and I made the hole slightly bigger last year) and she is in during the day, but she comes in starving. She gets a weighed haynet and feed.

Would you continue with this? I guess the grass is growing.
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I certainly wouldn't be giving additional feed. Why not give her a bit of extra hay instead? I would also offer plain oat straw chaff while she is inside, to fill her up before she goes back onto the grass. In fact I would probably wait to give hay until later in the day and let her eat straw chaff when she is hungry.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I certainly wouldn't be giving additional feed.
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She has been doing a lot work wise, her weight has been perfect at around 485kg for 15.3h. She’s fit and looks well, she gets a handful (dry) of speedibeet soaked to eat her balancer, protein and vitamin E. I’m just really paranoid about her getting fat.

Since removing her muzzle she put on 10kg in just over a week. :|
I think we’ll start putting some hay in the field over night and I’ll up her hay while in.
 
Hormonal Filly said:
She has been doing a lot work wise, her weight has been perfect at around 485kg for 15.3h. She’s fit and looks well, she gets a handful (dry) of speedibeet soaked to eat her balancer, protein and vitamin E. I’m just really paranoid about her getting fat.

Since removing her muzzle she put on 10kg in just over a week. :|
I think we’ll start putting some hay in the field over night and I’ll up her hay while in.
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I am down a girth hole on one of my cobs too and he's in a lot of work.....
 
SEL said:
I am down a girth hole on one of my cobs too and he's in a lot of work.....
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Crazy how fast some can put it on, then my friend has a mare out in the main field of 6 acres on extremely good grass and she stays the same weight all year. Never gets fat. Jealous!
 
Hormonal Filly said:
She has been doing a lot work wise, her weight has been perfect at around 485kg for 15.3h. She’s fit and looks well, she gets a handful (dry) of speedibeet soaked to eat her balancer, protein and vitamin E. I’m just really paranoid about her getting fat.

Since removing her muzzle she put on 10kg in just over a week. :|
I think we’ll start putting some hay in the field over night and I’ll up her hay while in.
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But if she is putting on weight she is obviously eating more of something than she needs. I would cut back on bucket feed, rather than on forage/grass
 
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