Walkers taking grazing muzzle off horse in field?

DreamingIsBelieving

DreamingIsBelieving

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Someone told me today that sometimes walkers will take grazing muzzles off of horses in fields, I'm guessing because they think they're being kind to the horse by doing so? I'm slightly suprised people can be this stupid:confused:, but I think I've heard about this being a problem from somewhere else (probably a post on this forum).

Has anyone had this problem? How did you rectify it? I was thinking maybe a simple sign "This horse is muzzled for medical reasons" would be enough?
 
I've heard/seen all sorts of stories online and in magazines; from people unrugging horses as they think it's too hot.
Buying sacks of horse feed and feeding random horses they think might be hungry.
Letting horses into adjoining fields where there is more grass
Feeding horses sandwiches, again thinking they're hungry

They must think they're doing good when really it's most likely harming them!

Putting up signs should help do-gooders :)
 
I'd make a sign saying that the muzzles are put on so the horses don't get too fat, and that they cause no distress to the horses. I'd emphasise that they can still eat and drink with them on, in case they are worried that these horses are standing around unable to eat or drink. Put one up at either end of the field and somewhere along the middle too.

You can see that they think they are doing good... like people who think it's cruel to turn a rugged horse out in the winter. They have good intentions, but not the knowledge.
 
Why oh why do the public think they know better than the owners of the horses???

Last year we had this problem plus.... feeding muesli, carrots, apples, potatoes, peelings of indeterminate origin over the gates... someone opened the get separating the geldings from the mares... dogs loose chasing horses... letting off fireworks in there...

This is what you get for living near the cotswold way :rolleyes:

I laminated a few notices on the two gates and the stile which said: "Please do not feed these horses. They are diabetic!". We stopped seeing peelings by the gate and no more evidence of muesli!
 
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I've heard many comments about mine and surrounding horses, we have a busy public path alongside and people are always feeding them (thankfully mine are over a hedge so don't get the worst of it) with comments like 'have you seen how cold those horses are?' 'those horses must be starving, they've got no food' (do people not even know horses eat grass?). 'they're coming over, look they're starving'...

They don't bother about the cows do they!

I think a sign saying muzzled for veterinary reasons is best, or health reasons, if you say 'to stop it getting fat' people just think you're really mean and don't like the look of a fat horse (obviously because they don't know what they're talking about but don't let that stop anyone judging you).

I have debated trying to educate people via a sign. 'do not feed the horses, overfeeding can cause severe illness' or 'do not feed - google laminitis instead' :-)
 
Yes someone kept taking one of our ponies off and then pinning it on the gate!!!
I left a note saying please do not bla bla and got like a 4 page letter back stating why they were doing it :/
 
I was once told it was cruel to have muzzles on them, I briefly explained laminitis and told them that if the muzzles were removed the horses would end up very ill and being shot.. did the trick! for the even stupider walkers I simply told them it was because they were aggressive and bit people , so as they were on a public footpath they needed to wear them :o this was equally effective !

I also had a phase where a group of 13-14 year old kids would stray off the footpath, round the fields where the horses grazed. I told them enough times that it was dangerous to go off the footpath as the horses could kick them (very unlikely, most placid bunch of horses you'll ever meet but it was VERY annoying ) the 4th time I saw them halfway down the field I was trying to catch a very cheeky pony- he galloped off and all 5 horses stampeded towards the kids :D funniest thing I've ever seen and they didn't return!
 
Basically said she her self had horses and that I was stopping him from interacting with the other horses, he always looked so sad as he was muzzled 24/7 ( um well he came in at night and was ridden everyday :/) that she had noticed a few things about the way all horses were kept and if she was allowed she could pop up and teach us some horse management... She also said that she didn't agree with Rugging a donkey but could not catch the donkey to un rug her..

Luckily yard has security and they were put on high alert fir crazy lady!
 
Em123 said:
Basically said she her self had horses and that I was stopping him from interacting with the other horses, he always looked so sad as he was muzzled 24/7 ( um well he came in at night and was ridden everyday :/) that she had noticed a few things about the way all horses were kept and if she was allowed she could pop up and teach us some horse management... She also said that she didn't agree with Rugging a donkey but could not catch the donkey to un rug her..

Luckily yard has security and they were put on high alert fir crazy lady!
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At the risk of being shouted out she had a point although I appreciate she shouldn't mess with other people's horses.....how do you imagine horses managed for centuries when there were no muzzles and I for one would never use one. It's like everything else, someone invents something and suddenly it becomes the must have item.......
 
I was once accosted while riding by an irate motorist saying it was cruel and dangerous to ride a horse on the road when I had deliberately blinded him , I was stunned ( she was scarily irate ) until I realised she was referring to the fly mask one was wearing because it had an eye infection.
 
bonny said:
At the risk of being shouted out she had a point although I appreciate she shouldn't mess with other people's horses.....how do you imagine horses managed for centuries when there were no muzzles and I for one would never use one. It's like everything else, someone invents something and suddenly it becomes the must have item.......
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Bonny....
Horses evolved through the centuries on very different grazing than most are on today. Muzzles can be a life saver for some... not a fashion accessory:cool:
 
_HP_ said:
Bonny....
Horses evolved through the centuries on very different grazing than most are on today. Muzzles can be a life saver for some... not a fashion accessory:cool:
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What grass is different today ? Muzzles are a new invention and yes, I would say they are becoming a fashion accessory.
 
bonny said:
At the risk of being shouted out she had a point although I appreciate she shouldn't mess with other people's horses.....how do you imagine horses managed for centuries when there were no muzzles and I for one would never use one. It's like everything else, someone invents something and suddenly it becomes the must have item.......
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Yes but the 'they don't get muzzled in the wild' is a completely mute point - they are not in the wild. We have domesticated them and put them in pretty fields which we fertilise, poo pick etc.

Don't get me wrong I'm not a great fan of muzzles (can completely understand why people use them) although I'm not sure they should be on all day unsupervised but that's another story.

Nobody has the right to touch someone else's property and this includes feeding horses - you wouldn't throw a steak at someones dog would you? (which is what I told a lady at work who took her daughter down to feed the ponies carrots every day) and I have contacted WHW about a possible education campaign for people after I had reports from the neighbours that someone was feeding my fatty cake over the fence every day. Honestly if I'd caught them I'd still be locked up now.
 
Horses evolved to walk miles on scrub and sparse grazing not on a couple of acres of lush rye grass meant for fattening dairy cows (there are many species of grass) it might seem a fashion accessory but then there are also many more fat horses with metabolic disorders too.
Em correct me if I am wrong I am not a donkey expert, that lady clearly had a high opinion of herself and is quite mad, but are donkeys coats not waterproof therefore it's very necessary to rug them.
 
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bonny said:
What grass is different today ? Muzzles are a new invention and yes, I would say they are becoming a fashion accessory.
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I can't believe that you are not joking , if you honestly don't know why modern grass types used on many if not most farms are totally unsuitable for many horses to eat freely you really should do a bit of study.
 
It happened to me on a livery yard of all places! Pony in question had EMS and was very lami prone. She was in a small, bare paddock during the day with a muzzle on and every day id arrive and the muzzle would be hanging off the gate! No body admitted or saw who it was. So next she went in a sand pen with a bit of soaked hay so the muzzle wasn't required, Then haylage started appearing in there! I was so furious I moved her the next day.

My friend has also had muzzles taken off her lami pony. No idea who was doing it as her yard was down a long lane with gated access and the kind of place you didn't know was there unless you knew.
 
bonny said:
What grass is different today ? Muzzles are a new invention and yes, I would say they are becoming a fashion accessory.
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I'm assuming that you are not being a troll tho I am wondering.......Horses evolved in mountainous arid regions with very poor sparse grazing, that is what they are designed to eat. In previous generations horses were kept either to work day in day out and so burned off any extra calories and more, plus they only lasted until they were 8-10 on average, or they were stabled all the time and fed little grass so the sugar issue didnt arise. If you look at pics of horses from the twenties and thirties they would be regarded as welfare cases now, they were lean to the point of skinny. Any that did founder ie get lami would be shot immediately. there was no artificial fertiliser to send the grass mad.

These days we keep horses in fertilised fields eating too much and doing too little. We want them to love long lives. We rug them. We feed them hard feed and shoe them even if they are natives who are not designed to cope. They get lami but we don't want to shoot them. We have the technology to help them get exercise and companionship by using muzzles so we do. Tho I saw one as a wee girl in the early seventies so they ain't new by any means.

TBH given most horses in the UK are reckoned to be overweight I would prefer to see MORE muzzles and not less in the UK.

There are many good books on horse nutrition and digestion if you wanted to learn more.
 
I really don't know why people think it acceptable to do things to other peoples' horses. I have had people telling me I should rug and that my ponies were cold as their backs were covered in frost and they had icicles hanging off their whiskers. I did try to tell them that the fact they were covered in frost and icicles was a good thing, that it showed how well insulated they were, and that if you stuck your hands in their coats they were toasty and warm :)

While I hate grazing muzzles there is a need. Fat Lad would have exploded last year without his, and he will be wearing it again this year. Todays grazing is just too rich for some horses, especially the natives like mine, who would be better on scrubby rough grazing, if it were around.
 
lachlanandmarcus Very well explained. I can only assume the person who posted the comment is trying to be controversial or knows very little about horses.
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
I'm assuming that you are not being a troll tho I am wondering.......Horses evolved in mountainous arid regions with very poor sparse grazing, that is what they are designed to eat. In previous generations horses were kept either to work day in day out and so burned off any extra calories and more, plus they only lasted until they were 8-10 on average, or they were stabled all the time and fed little grass so the sugar issue didnt arise. If you look at pics of horses from the twenties and thirties they would be regarded as welfare cases now, they were lean to the point of skinny. Any that did founder ie get lami would be shot immediately. there was no artificial fertiliser to send the grass mad.

These days we keep horses in fertilised fields eating too much and doing too little. We want them to love long lives. We rug them. We feed them hard feed and shoe them even if they are natives who are not designed to cope. They get lami but we don't want to shoot them. We have the technology to help them get exercise and companionship by using muzzles so we do. Tho I saw one as a wee girl in the early seventies so they ain't new by any means.

TBH given most horses in the UK are reckoned to be overweight I would prefer to see MORE muzzles and not less in the UK.

There are many good books on horse nutrition and digestion if you wanted to learn more.
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Blimey, I am very old and fully aware of all that !! I was hardly talking about horses in the wild ! Most horses today are on livery yards, standing around doing very little and being pampered in every way.....Manufacturers will keep coming up with new horsey gadgets because everybody has to have the latest thing and recently that seems to include muzzles, that's all that I was saying !
 
Yes they do not have waterproof coats.. Plus she has a skin condition meaning that she spends dry days out in a fly rug to stop her itching!
 
Fashion accessory ? seriously? last time I checked they didn't compliment my horses features :rolleyes: I hate the things but they keep my horse healthy- I think most owners who use them would agree, and much prefer to not have to use them !
 
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