shires grazing muzzle - support needed!

H

Hettie

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 March 2007
Messages
305
Visit site
I know there have been posts about this before, but I could really do with some moral support! My fat little pony has been wearing his shires grazing muzzle for 24hrs and has as far as I can tell, not figured out how to eat or drink yet...?!!! He is not the brightest bless him... Anybody have any experiences as to how long it takes? And at what point to I give in and take it off??

Thanks
 
have you tried pushing grass in so he figures it out?

my little un can not get the hang of it so we have her in instead
 
I have been advised that they should only be on for around 12 hours at a time - certainly not 24/7.

He will get the hang of it.
 
How about trying to pop a few carrots thu the hole so he can figure out he can still eat, and perhaps cut an apple into little pieces and float them in his water bucket to encourage him to dip his muzzle into the water so he might realise he can still drink ? Might not help but u never know! My boy wears a muzzle & doesn't hv a problem but he's a bit of a clever clogs (escapes from his stable all the time, even undoes the chain!!) and a greedy guts so reckon he would manage to find a way to eat even if I taped his mouth up with gaffa tape !!!
:-o
 
prob bein that if I take it off and let him eat where will the motivation to try with it on come from?? Although have to admit was weak and gave him some hay etc this morning before I put it back on...
 
How long is the grass he's on? If it's too long they can struggle to eat as the blades of grass bend when he presses the grazing muzzle down on them. They work better on grass that's not too long.

My Shetland took a few days to get the hang of eating, they have to rock their noses backwards and forwards slightly to straighten blades of grass which makes it pop through the holes.

Even when Dinker was struggling to eat, he still managed to drink effortlessly. As others have suggested, try poking some grass through the holes.
 
Mke the hole a little bigger. I went through three muzzles till he got used to wearing it.
First one, I cut round the large thick band round the hole. Second one, I cut it a bit smaller, and now he's wearing the normal sizd hole. He can now eat and drink normally.
 
would use it every other day if I were you otherwise their noses get sore....

Get some grass, sit in field with neddy, and gradually get neddy to nibble grass through the whole but make him do it from down on the ground.

it took our munchkin 2 days to figure it out. Once they do there is more friction with the muzzle and you may have to line the edges with fluffy material to stop rubbing.
 
thank you! when I took it of this morning he didn't rush to get a drink or anything so hopefully he has managed over night! How long do you leave it on for?
 
I leave Dinker in his Shires one from about 9am till 8pm. He then wears a Greenguard overnight. I do the same with my Section A. They can eat a bit more with the greeguard, when the grass isn't growing. Not to mention it stops them getting sore spots if I swap them around.
 
I leave mine on 22 hours a day. But then I don't have access to anything but long grass. And he was very overweight. I take it off once every day so he can have a couple of hours 'freedom', and then take it off every two nights for about 12 hours.
 
I tried mine for several hours a day for a week and he still wouldn't eat tho' might have to try it again or he has got to start coming in during the day
frown.gif

Has anyone else had to admit defeat?
 
My pony wears his greenguard 24/7. It did take him a while to get used to it, but I think a lot of the 'I'm starving' performance was for my benefit, as lots of green poo was still coming out the other end.
I did try a Shires but felt it limited him too much, but the greenguard was a lot more expensive.
 
My pony who is out on loan used to wear one...I would take it off at night but she would still be on limited grass then. When she was over weight I could quite easily catch her and put it on while tempting her with some carrots..as soon as she started to loose the weight she would be a nightmare to catch and I would have to ask the hubby to come and help....
Are there any human ones for sale...?
 
Gus refuses to demean himself by attempting to eat/ drink with it on. Instead he stands and rams the gate /attacks the other horses until we give in & put him in the starvation paddock
smirk.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top