muzzle my miniature horse?

[sunnydazed]

i have read comments about using a muzzle on miniature horses to let them out of drylot longer periods of time any suggestions? and how often do this?

 

[jyuukai]

If your horse is on a drylot they shouldn't need a muzzle as there is no grass for them to eat as it is. A grazing muzzle is used when you want to turn your horse out onto a nice lush grassy pasture. As for how long it truly depends on your horse and the type of pasture but I would start with short turnouts and go longer.

I used a grazing muzzle on my mare when I first bought her, but now she is out on pasture 24/7 in the summer without one. She has a habit of walking several steps while she chews each mouthful and she keeps her weight down admirably that way.

 

[sunnydazed]

thank you for ur reply! i may have to purchase a muzzle if i plan to thurn him out for longer periods of time now im letting him out 2 hours in the evening on grass

 

[jyuukai]

I got one from weaver like http://www.horseloverz.com/Weaver-Grazing-Muzzle-with-Crown-pr-478447.html that for her. I had to order an x-small as she was just a few months old when she arrived, I'm not sure what size she would wear now. I couldn't find one to purchase in person (I had measurements that I wanted to compare) but the local feed/tack store was happy to order one in XS and S for me to look at. If you can't find one nearby you might try asking your own feed store if they can order tack for you

I prefer that one as it has a leather breakaway crown just in case the horse gets into trouble. I've used the same muzzle (in a larger size) on an insulin resistant arabian mare and an insulin resistant welsh mare as well and it's always worked well. The welsh learned to wear it out after a few months but both mine and the arab mares muzzles lasted for years.

 

[sunnydazed]

how long do u leave it on them timewise? a few hours or longer?

 

[sunnydazed]

this is suppose to help them from overeating on lush grass what about fresh mowed grass? not as bad on their tummies?

 

[Sandee]

Are you referring to clippings? That is not good to give them as they can grab big mouthfulls and choke.

 

[sunnydazed]

so just leave the grass alone use muzzle

 

[sunnydazed]

untill end of june when grass stops growing

 

[Sandee]

OK, I wasn't sure if you meant to throw them the grass clippings. That's bad for them or if you keep it in big piles for them to eat as it will mold from the moisture and the heat.

You need to mow your pasture to help the grass to grow and keep the weeds down. If you want your mini out on pasture all day then I'd invest in a good muzzle. I know some people say that they have their horses out 24/7 on pasture. However, almost all of these are not showing those horses. The minis will overeat and definitely have a tendency to get very fat.

The other option is to let them out for a few hours a day on pasture and keep them in a "dry lot" the rest of the time where you can weigh and control the amount that they get to eat.

 

[sunnydazed]

im not showing horse this is just my pet horse i just worry bout founder n colic

 

[earthchild]

You can leave the muzzle on all night while turned out on grass, then take off during the day and turn out in the drylot, or you reverse the order. When I muzzle my big horse, I put the muzzle on in the evening and remove it mid morning while I groom and work her out, then turn her loose to graze until the evening again. Of course I don't have access to a dry lot and I don't want to leave the muzzle on ALL summer. She seems to keep her weight down this way very well.

 

[Mona]

Just so everyone knows, this is the same person/situation I posted about in an earlier post. I posted the photos of her pasture there for her, that she wants to muzzle the horses in. Photos are here: http://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/index.php?showtopic=128511

 

[jyuukai]

What we like to do is wait for the spring grass to grow in and start to mature (which happens early here) Then we mow the pasture, wait a week, and put the horses out on it. If my mare were a very easy keeper, or showed signs of insulin resistance, I would put a muzzle on her for turnout and only leave her out from mid morning (say 11am) to evening feed (say 6pm)

As I am lucky she is out 24/7 with no muzzle, but this is really not a situation many minis can be in.

 

[wingnut]

I muzzle 5 of my 6 mares. All of the muzzled horses are super easy keepers. Right now, they would spend NO time on the spring pasture if it wasn't for their muzzles. As it is, they're only spending a couple of hours every couple of days. I like that when they're on the pasture (vs. the dry lot), they are MOVING. The muzzles make them move even more.

Even during the height of the summer, they will all (but the easy keeper) where muzzles, they'll just get to be out there for more hours per day.

Additionally, we only have 1.25 acres of pasture right now, so muzzling keeps the pasture from being chewed down too fast. Of course, I supplement with plenty of hay.

 

[AnnaC]

From the pictures of the pasture I can see no reason to muzzle. For a horse to get any grass through a muzzle, the grass has to be pretty long, plus there is always the danger of even a breakaway muzzle not coming apart fast enough. Of course muzzles can be extremely useful in allowing some minis get time out on lush good grass if they are really good doers, but I feel that the posters two minis will be fine on her pasture during the day and return to the safety of their dry lot at night.

 

[sunnydazed]

thank yaw for all the good advice and help!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I see no reason at all to muzzle on that grass, there is far less there than I have and all mine are out permanently. Unless there is a health reason to muzzle I would never muzzle any horse, sorry.

 

[REO]

I would Not muzzle!

 

[wingnut]

By comparison, my pasture is MUCH, MUCH lusher (sp???) than what's shown in those photos. I wouldn't muzzle for that either.