Putting a grazing muzzle on a windsucker?

floradora09

floradora09

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Has anyone had any experience with this? My TB is out 24/7 and windsucks while in the field, but is looking rather fat at the moment! He's ridden quite a bit (but will be upping this still) and the only feed he gets is a handful of chaff with balancer. There's not loads of grass but this is the only place he could be getting fat from. I'd only have it on during the day, but I'm worried that

a) He won't be able to windsuck in it and therefore will spend all night windsucking when it's off and not grazing

b) Won't eat in it and therefore will be starved during the day and colic...

I'll probably just get one anyway and try it, but just wondering if anyone has any experience?

Thanks! :) x
 
Goodness, i have never thought about that. Mine has 'the habit' too but never has been tubby. Not sure, i think he will eat but i think he might stress if he can't windsuck. Does he need to lean on something to do it?
Could you maybe put him out overnight and keep him in daytime to reduce grazing time?
 
Yep, he has his 'favourite' wobbly posts around the field! :p He's not drastically fat but has rather more belly than I would like! Am leaving him naked all the time now so perhaps he can shiver a bit off...

The thing is I don't really want to stop him windsucking as it will only make him more anxious to do it, and if he spends a proportion of his day windsucking anyway then I don't want to dangerously limit his grass intake!
 
I don't think I would risk it tbh. Can you not bring him in for a while in the day and soak some hay to reduce calories.
If you up his exercise you should make a difference too. Poor wee thing with his shivery wobbly belly :D
 
bj666 said:
Sort the windsucking out .... problem solved ! Have you treated for stomach ulcers ?
Click to expand...

Never that simple with a windsucker/cribber. There a million reasons why they 'might' do it, and even if the initial problem is resolved, the habit is usually so ingrained they will do it for life.
If he's a windsucker then he will do it with muzzle on, although it sounds like you mean he cribs, as he uses something ie the posts. Personally I wouldn't use one, as I think it would stress him out more if he cant do it. Are you able to section him off a smaller area of grazing which he can eat down a little and then strip graze it a bit?
 
doris2008 said:
Never that simple with a windsucker/cribber. There a million reasons why they 'might' do it, and even if the initial problem is resolved, the habit is usually so ingrained they will do it for life.
If he's a windsucker then he will do it with muzzle on, although it sounds like you mean he cribs, as he uses something ie the posts. Personally I wouldn't use one, as I think it would stress him out more if he cant do it. Are you able to section him off a smaller area of grazing which he can eat down a little and then strip graze it a bit?
Click to expand...

Yeah, he's just turned 16 now and he's done it since he was a youngster (know his full history), so even if there was a physical cause I expect he would still be doing it! Sorry, always get the two confused, I've only just found out that some can actually do it without a post! Always thought the names were interchangable... bit slow on the uptake here!

Chestnutty mare- I feel mean now it's going to rain and I've left him naked haha! As he's not overly fat I think going down the muzzle route will cause more problems than it's worth, so for now will up work and rug less! Honestly he is a wimp, had to put his MW back on the other day when we'd had nearly 24hrs constant drizzle/rain, so hopefully the shivering shouldn't take too long to have an affect! :p
 
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