Opinions on Grazing Muzzles/managing grass for lami risk horse

Rjd84

Rjd84

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Hi

My horse is through the other side of a laminitis episode. He was on box rest with gradual turn out until sound. Now hes out 24/7, on grass with muzzle at night and then moved to a woodchip area with hay during the day. Im hoping to be able to phase him back to grass full time soon but wondering what people thought about keeping a muzzle on 24/7? he has a dinky muzzle and seems to get on with it. Also wondering whether to strip graze at night and muzzle during day and would be interested to hear how other people manage there 'good doers'/fatties! hes lost a lot of weight and looks much better, only feed is small handful of hifi-lite to have with is magnesium ox.
We have individual paddocks per horse and if left to his own devices he eats the grass down to nothing!
Thank you for reading!
 
I would never use a muzzle 24/7.

I would also not rush to to return him to full time grazing as he will just end up at risk again. How big is the woodchip area? Personally I would keep him on there part of the time if possible and then out half the day muzzled.

Make sure he has a decent mineral/salt lick too.
 
Thank you for your reply. He does have a mineral lick there and the wood chip area is around the size of 3 standard stables I'd say, big enough for him to mooch around and roll but he can't run about. It's handy as its next to his fieldmates so he's got company. I do appreciate the knowledge of others and won't be rushing him back to grass! The grass is getting really quite long and I'm wondering if that will be safer for him as time goes on?
 
My fattie is out 24/7 this summer as he is much slimmer than last year. He is muzzled for about 18-20 hours of the day. I find that muzzling him 24 hours is too much and he just does not get enough to eat. So his usual routine is that I take his muzzle off at 7am and he has until about 9/10am scoffing in the field until I bring them in and ride. Then he is back out again at about 11/12ish with muzzle on and he keeps it on until next morming 7am. This seems to work well and he has not put on weight this summer despite being in quite lush grazing.

He wears a greenguard muzzle - he ate 1 dinky and 2 aerborn muzzles before I shelled out for a greenguard! With the dinky he soon learnt to push it sideways and was eating nearly as much as without it on - so beware.

My boy has never actually had lami - just been on the brink - we took drastic action to avoid it. I personally think grazing muzzles are brilliant- so much better than shutting them in for hours. And they soon get used to them.
 
Oo thank you for the warning about the muzzle! I will watch out for that, he does not need to be scoffing more at the moment! I know some people use muzzles for longer periods, I guess it's trial and error and each to there own! Thank you for replying its good to know there's eventual hope for managing fatties ;)
 
Well done for being able to get your's out again. I am wedded to grazing muzzles and any other trickle-feeding device available - can still only turn out for max 3 hours, sometimes less depending on weather conditions but that is always with a muzzle. I have never known a horse be able to work its jaws as fast as mine; even the mini-Shetlands can't compete and they are hoovers. So I cannot think of a muzzle as an evil, just as another device which helps me to keep a trickle of feed in front of my horse as close to 24/7 as possible. I have found the basic Shires bucket style the easiest for her to adapt to, but I must get the luxury one as she does get occasional sores under her jawline. The Dinky ones didn't work for her, too restrictive despite being what looked like the nicest for airway relief and lack of rub. I think you have to use what you have to use - some horses, like people, are gorgers - I had hoped that over a period of years that 'gottahaveitallnow' feeling might have dissipated - but fat chance!! On the upside, she looks fantastic so I'm not about to rush and mix things up!
 
Mine get muzzled all the time while out, if they are not then they gorge themselves stupid ! We do have extremely lush grazing though, if the grazing was a bit poorer then they'd certainly have them off, I hate them :( They come in for around 8 hours a day while they are all worked and have the muzzles off with salt licks , trickle balls and a small soaked haynet.

They are all in hard work and very fat, on minimal hard feed- which is more of a token feed now. If they have the muzzles of (which I've tried numerous times) the bellies bloat so much I can't do the girths up and they look uncomfortable and sluggish. But maybe I just have some greedy horses... I have one without a muzzle as he is a chilled out, slow grazer and has weight to put on :)
 
My ponies are all out 24/7 on very short grass I control their weight by making the area they all go in bigger or smaller depending on how much poo I get off the field if I get a full barrow it is about right if half not enough if heaped too much I have four ponies on two acres at the minute they have been there since last july so it is very short like a well mown lawn at the minute. They go on the whole 4 acres after november when the goodness has gone from the grass and it is just like standing hay
 
My little mare had laminitis about 5 years ago. When she was finally sound and able to move she lived for a while in a woodchip paddock, gradually being allowed access to small areas of grass. She now lives out 24/7 on grass with our other three. We make sure they all come out of winter lean so they can take a bit of extra weight, and they spend the summer on a 2 acre paddock of poor sparse grass that is never fertilised. They come in every day for anything from one to several hours and have hay in their stables. They have a daily feed of TS Lite balancer, micronised linseed and a handful of alfa oil. She is ridden quite hard 3-4 times a week and is fit and trim. I do have a smaller paddock she could go into if needed but she can't be stabled alone as she stresses badly when stabled.
 
Re muzzling 24 hours, I think it depends on how greedy your horse is and what the grazing is like, and the type of muzzle. Mine is muzzled 24 hours a day in a greenguard unless ridden or in being fed. If he has time without it he just gorges. He's even gained a little weight with his muzzle on all the time so I daren't take it off!
 
windand rain said:
My ponies are all out 24/7 on very short grass I control their weight by making the area they all go in bigger or smaller depending on how much poo I get off the field if I get a full barrow it is about right if half not enough if heaped too much I have four ponies on two acres at the minute they have been there since last July so it is very short like a well mown lawn at the minute. They go on the whole 4 acres after November when the goodness has gone from the grass and it is just like standing hay
Click to expand...

This ^^^^ While the 'experts' tell you not to put your lamanitic on short grass because it's stressed and has the most sugar in it - it is the quantity of grass that really does the damage and if you can keep grass to billiard table length then you'll have no problem.

My Clydesdale only has to breathe in around longer grass and expand - I've now managed to keep her weight spot on for 18 months by grazing her on very short grass - She has to work her butt off to get sufficient grass to live. Keeps her happy - she hated being brought in and fed on hay in a trickle net.

She's happier and I no longer stress about her weight and risk of Laminitis.
 
This is all really helpful, thank you!
I know what you mean about short grass/long grass vs managing quantity/quality. My grass is getting very long and I'm strip grazing AND muzzling so he's having limited access to the longer grass, he struggles to eat the very short, sweet stuff in his muzzle. I can't emphasise how much of a gorger he is! He literally stuffs his mouth full of grass like he's never been fed if I let him graze without his muzzle, always has but I've recently moved yards so I didn't take this into account with his spring grass management (old place had poorer grazing). Feel very guilty and daft for not taking precautions with new grazing sooner, don't want to have to go through this hell of laminitis again so if he has to stay muzzled so be it!
 
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