My mom and I share a barn and she has a Rocky mountain/ Arabian who foundered a few years back ,we have to keep her off grass. I was wondering if anyone had ever used a grazzing muzzle? She would have it on for 8 hours or less. She moves really well, and the farrier said she should be fine just to limit the grass.We have to keep her in a separate lot right now ,so we was thinking with a muzzle she would have more freedom to run and play.We just want her to be as happy and sound as she can be. There are several styles to choose from ,any experience or thoughts would be great!

We lack grass, so I have no experience, but I have heard good things about them!

Jessi

Several horses at our farm wear them, no problems when out on pasture for 7 hours+.  A couple things -- make it fits close enough around her nose that she's not going to be stepping into it while grazing.  Also, the kind that have their own headstall seem to stay on better. 

They are very effective and don't seem to bother the horses (other than annoy them because they can't pig out!).

Thanks for your comments, we was hoping this would be a good alternative to being separated from the other horses. She does ok alone threw the day while the others are out ,but we would rather her be out with the others.

 Grazing muzzles are a good alternative, though I don't think the horse would think so! 

I also like the ones that come with the headstall attached and is usually breakaway just in case the horse gets into trouble. The muzzle gets the horse out into the pasture to enjoy important social interaction and allows for that all important movement to promote good hoof health.

I figure we can give the muzzle a try and see how she does with it, she is a pretty easy going mare. They look kind of annoying so if it does bother her we'll try something else.She has a 2-3 acre lot she is in largest part of the day.The breakaway sounds like a good idea. Thanks

 I've used a muzzle for the past 2 years..  I spent the extra money to get a muzzle that was padded.  He eventually stopped throwing his head so that we could get it on.  He hated the fleece we put on it to soften it.  He finally found a way to get the muzzle offf, and in the process ended up with a lump on his nose that took quite awhile to get rid of. 

The upside is that it did work, (while we could keep it on!).  Just like us, it takes two weeks to put the weight on, but much longer to get it off.  By the end of the summer, he was back to a good weight.  

We're probably the only ones benefitting from the drought last summer.  So far the pasture hasn't gotten to the point where we need to muzzle him.  

I'm not too crazy about muzzling, only because I don't think horses get enough to drink. Yes, I know that many muzzles were DESIGNED to let a horse drink, but most horses I've seen are reluctant to do so.

Unfortunately, Stewie is so fat right now that he has to wear a muzzle in his stall to prevent him from eating his bedding, but he wears it a limited # of hours, and as long as people are in the barn. We turn out at night right now, so he comes in, eats some breakfast, has a nap, and then wears it for a few hours before it's taken off and he has dinner and goes back outside again. He doesn't wear it in the field anymore because we are turning him out in a smaller area in which the grass is not too lush. I would hate leaving it on overnight because I don't think he would drink at all.

I recommend them but like anything else, they aren't perfect. Some little houdini's DO figure out how to get them off, and resent having them on, I'm sure it is frustrating to be at the "all you can eat buffet" and not be able to get a proper mouthful. LOL But it sure beats a dry lot and no buddies to hang out with! To ease the "I don't wanna" attitude, try putting a horse cookie in there once in a while to sweeten the deal. Not every day, just occasionally.

For drinking water..you don't leave the muzzle on 24/7 anyways and horses WILL drink if they are thirsty enough. If they prefer to wait until you take it off, that's their choice. I've never seen one dehydrate himself because there's a muzzle on. But besides that, horses many times don't drink as often as people do..they do it 3-4 times a day, and can do fine if they get to less frequently than that (though I'm not condoning rationing water access!). So going 8 hours is not going to harm your horse if he chooses to hold out until the muzzle comes off.

I would say the biggest drawbacks to a muzzle is they come off sometimes and you have to hunt for them -(try spray painting part of it neon orange or white!) and they can rub the hair on the face sometimes. But I feel the benefits far outweigh any of that. I'd rather my horse be out in pasture with his buddies and get to work for the grass he gets than have to stay in a dry lot, lonely.

Thanks for all the great suggestions!