Stopping using a grazing muzzle

[Horsegirl25]

I think I’m ready to stop (forced to?) using my horses grazing muzzle. His front teeth are starting to wear from it sadly.
He is at an amazing weight, ribs felt easily no fat pads etc.
I started using it 2 years ago as he was a chunk! He is in a lot of work and is pretty fit ( we event when they aren’t getting cancelled due to bad weather )
He is out at night with my mare and she has fairly eaten my field down, this is what has kind of prompted me to think about removing the muzzle.
Now my question is can I just remove it or does it have to be a gradual thing? He gets it off for an hour or 2 in the morning while I potter about doing jobs for context.

 

[saddlesore]

What muzzle have you been using? The newer designs like the foible filly and lite bite don’t cause the same issues. One of these would hopefully solve your issue

 

[Horsegirl25]

What muzzle have you been using? The newer designs like the foible filly and lite bite don’t cause the same issues. One of these would hopefully solve your issue

A greenguard which I’ve heard other people saying they are bad for teeth due to the hard plastic. I have seen the flexible filly’s about however not so keen on the small hole, do you find they are still able to eat easily?

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

A greenguard which I’ve heard other people saying they are bad for teeth due to the hard plastic. I have seen the flexible filly’s about however not so keen on the small hole, do you find they are still able to eat easily?

I Made the hole in my FF slightly bigger. Took me all of 2mins to do so. Lucky if I added about 1/1.5cms to it. Once I could fit a full treat through it I thought I big enough.

 

[Surbie]

I use the Flexible Filly on my horse. We're now in year 2 and zero impact on teeth, which are checked often as he's missing one in front.

I haven't made the hole any bigger and he has never protested at wearing it.

I'd be wary of taking the muzzle off at the moment if he needs restricting as the grass seems turbo-charged. The grass in the resting fields here is over knee high and nearly waist high in places.

 

[ycbm]

I wouldn't leave him without a muzzle but Greenguards are well known for tooth wear. Have a look at the new one from Doncaster Plastics, designed by a forum member. You can say what size hole you want.

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[maya2008]

Any muzzle that isn’t green guard should be fine. We’ve used bucket muzzles for years with no issues at all.

 

[pistolpete]

Mines teeth have been badly damaged in a fine filly muzzle it depends on the soil type and how dry the ground is. We are on chalk and when it’s very dry it causes a sand paper effect. Good news is equine dentist says it’s causing him no difficulties.

 

[MuddyMonster]

I'd be wary of removing a muzzle at the moment as other's have said, so a different muzzle might be the answer? I've had good results with Dinky muzzles, where horse has not tolerated others.

We tend to rotate between Greenguard and Dinky muzzle.

I'm not sure if your's is out 24/7. If should, you could try muzzle on in the day and off at night as sugars are lower at night - but you need to weigh that against the volume he'd eat!

I really like the Flexible Filly muzzle in theory but my hooligan has trashed a few so they don't work for us. The Ultimate grazing muzzle was also very lightweight. I saw the Doncaster Plastics advertised on FB but in all honesty, couldn't see how it was that different to the Flexible Filly. Could be worth a try though?

 

[Highmileagecob]

My cob lived 24/7 in a Tough 1 Easy Breathe. Tried the Ultimate, but it came up to his eyes and didn't fit properly. He's now out of a muzzle due to aging teeth, and doesn't pile weight on like he used to.

 

[ycbm]

. I saw the Doncaster Plastics advertised on FB but in all honesty, couldn't see how it was that different to the Flexible Filly.

It's a totally different material which should be much more difficult to trash. It also holds itself out from the horses face and has been designed especially to give a lot of breathing room to a horse with compromised breathing while not allowing him to eat out of the sides (a common problem with the FF).
.

 

[poiuytrewq]

It's a totally different material which should be much more difficult to trash. It also holds itself out from the horses face and has been designed especially to give a lot of breathing room to a horse with compromised breathing while not allowing him to eat out of the sides (a common problem with the FF).
.

Interesting. I did see them on FB and have screen shotted. I'd wondered if the fact they seemed to hold out further from the face might make the side eating easier.
Oddly, because I've not changed anything but my littlest pony who was a pro at side munching has stopped completely and is just eating normally (years on!) Mine are currently still going strong but I'm going to give one of these cheaper ones a try next time.

 

[MuddyMonster]

It's a totally different material which should be much more difficult to trash. It also holds itself out from the horses face and has been designed especially to give a lot of breathing room to a horse with compromised breathing while not allowing him to eat out of the sides (a common problem with the FF).
.

Thanks.

If it's further from the face, I think it'll make it easier for mine to trash though!