GRAZING MUZZLE USERS - Check in!

[sublimequine]

Now that Spring is slowly beginning to crawl up closer (in central IL we can have snow in April, so I'm not gonna jump the gun here! :lol: ), thoughts of grass and pastures are beginning to come along. And for a lot of us that means digging out and dusting off the grazing muzzles. I thought we should get a thread going on them, to share tips, pros and cons, problems and solutions with them, types of muzzles, etc, etc. :)

So, muzzle users, get on over here and lets share info!

Type of muzzle you use (brand?):
Time horse spends in muzzle (24/7? 5 hrs/day? etc):
Why you use a muzzle:
Pros about the muzzle:
Cons about the muzzle:
Any tips or tricks?:

COTH is the only place that I ever really get to talk to a large number of folks who use grazing muzzles, so maybe I can get some helpful tips! I'm a "muzzle newbie", my mare only started wearing one last year due to a colic episode, and she will most likely need it this coming spring as well, to keep her tummy happy. :)

[Woodsperson]

Type of muzzle you use (brand?): Best Friend Deluxe Grazing Muzzle
Time horse spends in muzzle (24/7? 5 hrs/day? etc): 12 hours/day during spring
Why you use a muzzle: to keep horse from gaining excessive weight and foundering
Pros about the muzzle: horse keeps it on
Cons about the muzzle: rubbed sides of head
Any tips or tricks?: There is one hole in the center/bottom of muzzle for grass. I drilled extra holes around the outer edge for increased air flow and water drainage. I added shipping fuzzies to keep halter from rubbing off hair.

Woodrow absolutely hate the muzzle and I hate putting it on him, but when the new grass is coming in he needs to wear it. As it gets hotter I take it off.

[sublimequine]

Type of muzzle you use (brand?): Best Friend Deluxe Grazing Muzzle
Time horse spends in muzzle (24/7? 5 hrs/day? etc): 12 hours/day during spring
Why you use a muzzle: to keep horse from gaining excessive weight and foundering
Pros about the muzzle: horse keeps it on
Cons about the muzzle: rubbed sides of head
Any tips or tricks?: There is one hole in the center/bottom of muzzle for grass. I drilled extra holes around the outer edge for increased air flow and water drainage. I added shipping fuzzies to keep halter from rubbing off hair.

Woodrow absolutely hate the muzzle and I hate putting it on him, but when the new grass is coming in he needs to wear it. As it gets hotter I take it off.

What a great idea for adding extra holes for better airflow! :) Are they small enough that the horse can't get more grass through them or? :confused:

[joharavhf]

Type of muzzle you use (brand?): Best Friend's Deluxe Grazing Muzzle/Halter

Time horse spends in muzzle (24/7? 5 hrs/day? etc): Anytime they are out on grass

Why you use a muzzle: I used to use it for my old guy who was cushings/laminitic. Now I use it to conserve the grass. I have found that the horses a. eat less and b. don't destroy it as easily. I have limited field, so I try to make it last!

Pros about the muzzle: Safety release mechanism, you don't have to use a halter!

Cons about the muzzle: ALL of my horses (3 in total) have chewed the hole BIGGER in the bottom of the muzzle, so the muzzle has to be watched so the fatter pony doesn't get too much grass. One also rubbed my old guy's nose raw :(

Any tips or tricks?: Add a sheepskin fleece on the nose area to prevent rubbing!

[sublimequine]

joha; I also have issues with rubbing with my mare. She gets callouses on the bottom of her muzzle, under her nostrils. :(

They don't seem to bother her any, they certainly aren't sore to the touch or anything and literally just seem to be callouses, but I feel bad in either case. Anyone know how to prevent those? :confused:

[monstrpony]

I use the Best Friends Deluxe, as well, for the donkey-girls. I"d love to have DP wear one, but he is the undisputed master of getting out of one, and then will take everyone else's off, too, just to spite me.

The girls wear theirs whenever the group is out on the pasture, so most of the day when I'm at work. The group tends to come in the barn mid-afternoon to escape the bugs; I do not turn out at night or DP would explode. My other horse is not such an easy keeper, so I don't worry about him as much.

During April, I will probably run home from work at noon to put everyone up to limit grass time. After that, I leave it up to the flies. The donks are so plump that wearing their muzzles all day doesn't even begin to put a dent in their waistlines.

Monstr used to wear one, and had minor rubbing issues; the donks don't seem to have any such problems. The muzzles hold up well (probably looking at their fifth year of constant use during the summer), fit the donks pretty well, stay on, and do their job.

[George Myers]

I have an aged pony here who was kept muzzled for years before he ended up here. the muzzle had rubbed a patch of his nose raw repeatedly. This scarred area always burns in the sun and he has recently developed a nasty looking warty thing that bleeds - which I am hoping is just a sarcoid. Am getting it looked at next week. I wondered if it was connected to the scarring caused by the muzzle. He's also a very sad nervous little fellow - probably psychologically scarred from being locked up and muzzled for months every year. He tootles around here with no muzzle and is fine as long as he keeps active.

[TheOtherHorse]

Type of muzzle you use (brand?): Best Friend Equine Deluxe
Time horse spends in muzzle (24/7? 5 hrs/day? etc): whenever she's on grass in the spring, at night only in the summer
Why you use a muzzle: IR
Pros about the muzzle: allows her to go outside on grass with friends
Cons about the muzzle: she hates it! also, she can't eat hay with it on
Any tips or tricks?: she caught it on something (intentionally) and broke the release snap. For a quick free repair I just tied a small loop of baling twine through where the plastic clip on the crownpiece had been. Works just fine, and will still break if it needs to.

[CoolBrook]

Type of muzzle you use (brand?): Best friends grazing muzzle (and the deluxe..i use both)
Time horse spends in muzzle (24/7? 5 hrs/day? etc):12 hrs/day (getting weaned off it though)
Why you use a muzzle:she's a chronic choker (couldnt eat hay outside w/ other horses)
Pros about the muzzle: I actually like the regular muzzle better than the deluxe. What a great muzzle!
Cons about the muzzle: The deluxe fits big on my fine TBs head. NOT GOOD using when theres a lot of snow. Plugs up the hole and i would think it makes breathing hard. We have to go out ang unplug it avery hour or so.
Any tips or tricks?: since my horse is now STARTING to be able to eat hay again (not that she's re-learned how to eat SLOWLY and CHEW, we cut the hole larger and larger so she could now get more hay. she's almost waeaned off it now and back on hay.

[Scar Face]

Woodsperson, where exactly do you put the fleece and how do you keep it in the muzzle? Sounds like a great idea, I just don't want to screw it up!

[grayarabpony]

Type of muzzle you use (brand?): ordered from Stateline; fastens with four pieces of double velcro onto a halter with leather crown strap
Time horse spends in muzzle (24/7? 5 hrs/day? etc): 10 hours; spends the rest of the time eating hay in paddock
Why you use a muzzle: to keep pony from getting fat and laminitic from grass. We have endophyte-free fescue, so it's green all year except during a very cold winter or drought.
Pros about the muzzle: keeps her weight down; the opening is big enough for her to get grass but not too much.
Cons about the muzzle:
Any tips or tricks?:

[scpezold]

Type of muzzle you use (brand?): BF Grazing Muzzle/Halter

Time horse spends in muzzle:24/7 except when they come in for feeding or she is in due to bad weather. I do take it off her couple times per week to give her a break (leave off for day or so).

Why you use a muzzle:25yo TB "Air Fern". I call her "my founder case waiting to happen".

Pros about the muzzle:The sheepskin is a must for the nose and cheeks. My mare really beats up on my gelding. With the muzzle she can't bite him but that does not stop her from trying.

Cons about the muzzle:The muzzle rubs the chin but this year I am going to get sheepskin for that area.

Any tips or tricks?: I always give my mare treats through the muzzle when I put it back on. This way she is happy and I do not have to chase her around the pasture!

[scpezold]

Woodsperson, where exactly do you put the fleece and how do you keep it in the muzzle? Sounds like a great idea, I just don't want to screw it up!

you can purchase the fuzzies separately. I got the one for the nose and cheeks. I do not believe they make one for the chin area but looking at how the nose is made I will make this part myself. Really you could do all the pieces yourself as all it is is sheepskin and velcro.

[Woodsperson]

Scar Face- put the fuzzies on the cheek pieces because that is where I was having rubbing problems. Didn't bother with them anywherie else because there were no rubs. Mine are actually sheepskin that I stripped off of a shipping halter that I wasn't using.


Sublimeequine-the holes I drilled are about the size of a nickel and I drilled about 6 of them. They are definitely big enough for grass but they are on the ouside edge of the bottom flat piece of the muzzle so he doesn't get much if any additional grass

[Horse with No Name]

Type of muzzle you use (brand?): BF grazing muzzle
Time horse spends in muzzle (24/7? 5 hrs/day? etc): Whenever he's on pasture he has his muzzle on although sometimes I will give him a rest from it and break feed him, maybe 1-2 days in a row every 2-3 weeks. Edited to add: he is yarded at night and some days depending on weather or vet/farrier visit so has the muzzle off for this time.
Why you use a muzzle: otherwise he'd pop! He literally does not stop eating if there is smething (anything!) to eat. When I got him he was HUGE and for the first two years I had him I used to breakfeed him except he used to make a mess of his paddocks on account of pacing.
Pros about the muzzle: it keeps his weight managable and his lifestyle is greatly improved by the fact that he is able to wander around in a paddock rather than being break-fed in a different little patch every day. If my mare is home he gets to hang out with her which they both like for a short while til they get on each others nerves then he stands at the gate and says "get me outta here" :lol:
Cons about the muzzle: he gets rubs on his face/chin, currently looking at ways of preventing/minimising this - any ideas anyone?
Any tips or tricks?: No tips or tricks but they do get used to it. I felt I was being such a mean mommy at first but my horse has a much better lifestlye now because of his muzzle and these days he even dips his head for me to put the muzzle on.

[deltawave]

My Shetland is the only one who wears one, and it's all the time while she's out on grass, but never when she's in the sacrifice paddock. I have an all-in-one type (the typical Best Friend brand) but I have it zip-tied to a rather tight regular halter underneath, because she's a wizard at getting it off. :mad: It's actually a PITA to put the thing ON, but she doesn't object--she knows MUZZLE = GRASS, however pitiful the amount.

She rolls and rolls and rolls and ROLLS trying to get the darn thing off. I figure that counts as exercise. :p This year I want to try the kind that just velcros onto a regular halter, maybe it'll be a little less clunky.

[Melelio]

All three of mine wear one:

Type of muzzle you use (brand?):

Weaver full muzzle (not the velcro on kind, my guys would have that of in a flash)

Time horse spends in muzzle (24/7? 5 hrs/day? etc):

Average around 6 hours/day. The rest of the time they're in stalls or the drylot.

Why you use a muzzle:

3 IR horses and one is also probably Cushings

Pros about the muzzle:

About the Weavers, I get them decent priced. Rubber rubs out of the bottom of any of them. Allows my horses to be on grass.

Cons about the muzzle:

Heavy, really hot in summer, rub black off on their noses, cause calluses (esp. on the lower jaw of the pony....don't fit her right)...rubber on bottom wears out.

Any tips or tricks?: Yeah, don't get an IR horse! :no:

[sublimequine]

All three of mine wear one:

Type of muzzle you use (brand?):

Weaver full muzzle (not the velcro on kind, my guys would have that of in a flash)

Time horse spends in muzzle (24/7? 5 hrs/day? etc):

Average around 6 hours/day. The rest of the time they're in stalls or the drylot.

Why you use a muzzle:

3 IR horses and one is also probably Cushings

Pros about the muzzle:

About the Weavers, I get them decent priced. Rubber rubs out of the bottom of any of them. Allows my horses to be on grass.

Cons about the muzzle:

Heavy, really hot in summer, rub black off on their noses, cause calluses (esp. on the lower jaw of the pony....don't fit her right)...rubber on bottom wears out.

Any tips or tricks?: Yeah, don't get an IR horse! :no:

I use the Weaver Leather ones too. I like the leather breakaway strap. :)

Have you figured out any way to minimize or avoid the calluses? I have that problem too. :(

[appychik]

Ditto to almost all the other responses (Best Friends Deluxe Grazing Muzzle w/ attached Halter). Ditto for the reasons (not IR but a VERY EASY keeper... and definitely needs to stay on the thin side due to an injury) listed. And, he's got a lovely callus on his errr, chin? Right where the bottom top of the grazing muzzle hits the bottom of his head. Thankfully it never bled or got that bad, but I added some gauze and vet wrap. Seemed to help a bit, we'll see as the spring progresses if he gets any calluses or not (hoping not). If the vet wrap trick doesn't work, I think I will add some sheepies :yes:, but those seem to be more of a hassle (i.e. needing to constantly change them out as they get dirty, cause that can cause more issues).

[Texarkana]

Type of muzzle you use (brand?):

Currently using the Grazing/Cribbing Muzzle (http://www.bigdweb.com/detail.aspx?id=19477) available through Big Dee's. (the muzzle at the bottom of the picture)

Time horse spends in muzzle (24/7? 5 hrs/day? etc):

Usually about 8-12 hours between AM & PM feeding. In the worst of the new grass she'll wear it 24/7.

Why you use a muzzle:

To prevent any founder mishaps in a fatty young WB who blimps up the second the grass appears.

Pros about the muzzle:

Durability-- my mare was going through about 1 muzzle/month until I purchased this style at the end of last season. It has lasted me 2 months so far. (She had previously destroyed a BF muzzle, a BF knock off, a Weaver leather muzzle, and another nylon muzzle that attached to a halter.)

Replacement discs-- part of the problem I was having with other muzzles was my horse will creatively enlarge the muzzle hole herself, or remove the bottom altogether. Instead of purchasing a whole new muzzle, I can just reorder a new disc (http://www.bigdweb.com/detail.aspx?id=75748) for $3. I've already gone through one replacement.

Attaches to halter-- I don't like the one piece muzzles.

Affordability-- even if she does destroy it, it was only $30.

Cons about the muzzle:

It's HEAVY! The metal grill makes it heavier than a normal grazing muzzle.

It rubs just like every other muzzle on the planet.

I do worry that my horse might pop out the insert. Knock on wood, she hasn't figured it out yet.

Any tips or tricks?:

The replacement discs come with little tabs for some reason. You need to cut them off. Save the original insert disc as a template.

The muzzle attaches to the halter with velcro, which I understand is for safety. However, my horse figured out velcro long ago. I attach the muzzle to a thin leather halter and duct tape around the velcro closures so they can't be undone. Well oiled leather halters that are kept clean seem to rub less than nylon in my experience, too.

I try to keep my muzzle really clean. I scrub the inside as often as I can. It seems to cut down on the rubs.

[Laytian]

Type of muzzle you use (brand?): I don't recall, but it's the type that is an all-in-one halter and muzzle. Possibly Weaver brand.
Time horse spends in muzzle (24/7? 5 hrs/day? etc): While he's out, which is generally most daylight hours, around 8 to 12 hours a day. He does get a day off once in a while when he doesn't have to wear it, just to give him a break.
Why you use a muzzle: He puts on weight too easily, don't want him to founder.
Pros about the muzzle: Cuts down his grass intake at least a little. :rolleyes: He does seem to still get quite a bit of grass!
Cons about the muzzle: He doesn't like it.
Any tips or tricks?:

[Snowyfjord]

I am afraid Ill have to use one this time when the grass shows up. I honestly love winter and that is one of the reasons! I've never had to use them in the past but over the course of last summer, pony got too fat!

I am a newbie to restrictive grazing and so nervous about this new contraption....

[sublimequine]

Just bumping up this thread so more folks can see it! :)

[Auventera Two]

I have the Best Friends, and Weaver. I like Weaver better because it's not so heavy. Libbey is the only one who wears them. She's foundered and it cuts down grass consumption and helps keep the weight in check.

I buy those memory foam, covered in suede, seat belt cushions at Walgreens and Walmart. They're a few bucks each, and they velcro on. I attach those to the whole halter, because sheepskin gets sticks and dirt embedded in it. The smooth suede things just brush off. I also sew one into the top of the nose where the basket rests on the bridge of her nose.

Libbey wears it half the day, the other half she's in the dry lot. I do let her graze unrestricted at certain times during certain weather for an hour or two at a time and that's never caused her any problem.

Never had any problems with it, except she got it off twice in the last 2 years.

[SunshineRose]

I hope I am not "highjacking" this post. I don't mean to. But I have a question for those who have their horses out 24/7. How do you maintain control of grass intake with a grazing muzzle? I have read that you should not have it on 24 hours. I have an air fern mare on pasture 24/7 with one other pasture mate. I am trying to figure out how do you contol grass intake if there are on grass 24/7? How do I give her a break of the muzzle without her "stuffing" herself once the muzzle is off? I don't have access to a dry lot or a barn, just run in sheds.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[Melelio]

For those who have the muzzles on ponies, and it's rubbing their lower jaw, I have a solution. I was using the pony sized on a 13.1 POA and it was snug around her little nose, creating a bad jaw rub. She's also proven to be expert at getting hers off, and rubbing the rubber on the bottom into a bigger hole.

So I found someone on this board linked to where you get replacement discs, and got 3 for each horse :lol:

I decided to put a Horse size muzzle on the pony and a new disc (since my other used muzzles were worn through). The height of the basket on her seems to keep her unable to shift it off (even though it's wider around). And the wider width stays off her jaw, which also may make her happier and not want to get it off as badly.

So far so good. It's been over a week now and she hasn't gotten it off once.