So a lot of COTHers are recommending the GreenGuard Muzzle. My question is, it costs $99 and the diet-restriction insert costs $24. On the website it says the diet-restriction insert may help with wear and tear on teeth. Seems like folks feel this is the best muzzle, even with cost and teeth issues.
I do. My 2 muzzles are old enough that they can’t use the protective insert but I will use the insert when I have to buy new ones eventually.
My mare has been in hers 3-4 years now and has no teeth issues. I will add she is in it about 10 hours a day max and only in the grass growing season April-Nov.
My gelding is in his even less as he is just a weight dependent user and that fluctuates with the grass.
I had the GG and switched to the thinline muzzle. I got the “restricted” version of the thinline which has a very small hole and I enlarged it slightly with a box cutter for my guy. It doesn’t rub at all and he tolerates it very well. The GG allowed too much eating for my horse and also I had to wrap it at rub points. It lasted 18 months and had to be replaced due to breaking.
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I’m not sure what your question is, exactly. I have had Greenguards on two of our horses for 3 years. It’s helped a lot with dietary restriction, as all of ours are on pasture 11-14 hours per day. They don’t wear them in winter, we get a lot of snow and they just can’t get to much which causes a problem. The muzzles have handled hard use well, and neither horse minds them going on. I think it’s taken about 5 minutes for each of them to figure out how to eat with the muzzles on, and that includes eating hay. We get intense heat in the summer, and we haven’t had issues with rubs or drinking. I will keep both horses in GG muzzles during the spring, summer and fall for the rest of their lives!
I have a couple of comments about your questions.
First, about the inserts–you don’t have to use any insert with the Greenguard muzzle. In fact, for a horse not used to using a muzzle, I would first try using only the muzzle. Most likely you will find that alone will sufficiently restrict grass intake. And keep in mind that not all horses have problems with teeth wearing while using a muzzle. Just monitor the teeth and get an insert if you see a problem.
There are only 3 reasons to use an insert: 1.) The horse is wearing his teeth on the muzzle and needs a softer surface. In this case you would need to buy a regular insert. 2.) The horse is still gaining weight or not losing enough weight and needs more restriction. In this case you would need to buy the diet insert, not the regular insert. 3.) An insert might lengthen the life of the muzzle, which would cost less in the long run.
As to the cost of the Greenguard muzzle–Yes, it’s pricey initially, but one muzzle should last 2-3 years, depending on how many hours per day and how many months the horse is muzzled. When I first started muzzling my horse, I used the Tough One Easy Breathe muzzle. I liked the large holes for the nose, and it was cheap at about $30. However, my horse wore through that muzzle in about 2-3 months, so I was having to replace the muzzle about 4 times a year. That ended up costing me more than $100 per year. My first Greenguard lasted 2 1/2 years, so it ended up being much cheaper in the long term. I only started using the insert (the regular insert, not the diet insert) this summer, so it’s too soon to know if that will extend the life of the muzzle.
Also, if you decide to try Greenguard, keep an eye out for sales. They sometimes discount their merchandise 20%, and you might pick up an insert or muzzle at a lower price.
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I have GG muzzles on three of the horses here. In all cases, I will take the bit of wear on their teeth over laminitis. 
Two of the three have worn a flat mark on the front of their incisors, particularly the uppers, but it has not yet proven to be a dentistry issue.
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None of our horses in the thin line muzzle have wear on the teeth. Some of the muzzles are 4 years old- one wears his year around. They are light weight- if you get whacked by it, it’s much less painful. Horses that came to me in GG converted to thin line. Everyone has a different perspective, for sure.
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Stupid question, but what makes the GreenGuard muzzle so much better than others? My mini wears a Tough-1 Easy Breathe muzzle. He hated the best friends muzzle (HATED IT), but really likes the easy breathe. He’s on his second now (first lasted 5.5 years – straps wore out, not the muzzle). He wears it 8-12 hours a day, year round, primarily to eat hay. No issues with teeth.
Obviously I’m not planning to change now, but if I have come across local folks selling used greenguard muzzles and I’ve always wondered about them. I figure the best muzzle is one your horse will leave on/wear happily. But super curious about the GG as they’re always recommended!
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@pompeiii I think it depends on the horse? Mine will not tolerate a muzzle like the one your horse does. I’ve tried several before the GG. It is just so much less restrictive , more airflow etc…
Like so many other people have experienced you put the muzzle on and in about 5 minutes horse has it’s head down eating. Can’t beat that.
In the easy breathe muzzle my mare stood in 1 spot for hours not moving, refused to eat or drink with that muzzle on and I couldn’t get near her the next day or thereafter with anything in my hand that resembled a halter… I do have to treat her for the GG to go on and we have a battle of wills every Spring when it comes out but we do just fine in about 2 weeks.
That is just her.
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Does anyone have experience keeping a muzzle on their horse 24/7 to reduce hay intake? Looking for a solution for a horse in a group living situation. He eats all the other horses’ hay so we need to slow him down but not the rest of the herd. I like the look of the GG for this as it looks like it might be less restrictive for hay.
Also, has anyone had trouble with their horse not being able to bite back if another horse goes after them? This horse plays/scuffles with his herdmates often. He’s not bullied by the other horses, it’s actually the opposite, but I’m worried he’ll pick a fight and end up in a bad situation because he has a Hannibal Lector mask on!
Sorry if this counts as a highjack. Didn’t want to start a separate thread for such a similar topic.
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I have some that have been 5 seasons, 22-23 hours a day, May/June through Sept/Oct. With the traditional style I was replacing them every 1-1.5 years, so the cost savings has been significant
It’s physically lighter than any basked style I used, and I used a lot of them. Not a big deal if it’s on for a few hours a day, but full time makes a huge difference to their poll
Breathability is also superior to the traditional model.
My horses went from raised heads and wide eyes, to not caring at all, and 1 went from trying to immediately remove his halter on a tree, to not.
Not personally, but I have a few friends who do, and they enlarge some holes
I have/had several who did lots of face fighting with their muzzles, and everyone was cool. YMMV
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Personally I would not keep a horse muzzled 24/7. I suggest 12 hours on and 12 hours off and that will reduce the hay consumption but if you need to muzzle 24/7 then I think it would be kinder to the horse to adjust their living/ feeding situation.
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I agree with this. That’s why my horses are stalled at night. They get free choice hay in their stalls, as much as they want. But, the hay isn’t the tastiest stuff. Instead, they get summer grass hay, and I don’t mind if it’s a little stemmy. They also get a forage balancer to make sure they get all the nutrients they need.
Also keep in mind that a horse can’t lick a mineral block while wearing a muzzle.
That’s nice in theory, but not practical all the time. I don’t have a dry lot. I have pasture. If I made a dry lot it would greatly reduce movement.
Just like a choose to blanket and leave out when at allllll possible (which is all the time save for a small handful of nights in the Winter), I will choose to muzzle and leave out full time.
I don’t need the muzzles when it’s hay season, thankfully. But late Spring through early Fall (sometimes very early like end of Sept, sometimes into October a bit), the fatties are out, moving, with muzzles on full time excepting when they’re in for meals. And that’s why the GG is a godsend, for how lightweight it is.
I add salt to their breakfast, and they have a bucket of loose salt in their stall, so when they’re in, they get salt, and have access to more if they want.
Mineral/salt blocks aren’t a great idea for horses anyway, as rough blocks + smooth tongues is usually not acceptable to the horse. Mineral blocks are pretty useless for anything other than salt anyway, so just offer loose salt (or force feed it if loose salt isn’t an option )
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Another benefit of the GG muzzles is that they don’t get waterlogged like some others. Mine are out at night during the warmer months, and would come in with heavy, wet muzzles and rub marks before I switched to GG’s.
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100%. For some of us, muzzles (regardless of type) are a necessity year round. I don’t have much grass and free choice hay during turnout (my guys are happy to spend a few hours eating hay during turnout even when there is grass), but my mini needs that muzzle year round. He does get it off in his stall and them gets limited hay. He’s actually not fat (I need to be very careful about his weight in winter or he drops too much), but he actually foundered in January when he wasn’t muzzled (we had were supplementing different hay while we waiting for our normal hay delivery and might have been higher sugar). It wasn’t as bad as a previous founder (again, nothing terrible but likely from fall grass/some weed he ate), but from here on out he’s muzzled year round.
So, even dry lots aren’t a solution. If my mini can more around and have access to hay and be with my other horses, he’s happy and moves around. If he can’t, he gets bored and stuffs his face (or finds a breaking point in the fence to access yard grass…
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Like anything we have to do what works for us. I have a large dry lot so they move plenty when they need to be confined at night. They are out 24/7 now which they obviously much prefer.
My mare is still muzzled 10 hours during the day for now but has access to the pasture the rest of the time. Along with a little hay am/pm.
Hah! Actually, I consider this one of its best features!
I have an early retiree who goes by the nickname of The Thug for very good reason. However, his modus operandi is trying to bite the crap out of anything, like savage them upon introduction and just generally lead with his teeth once they are established buddies. This is probably because he really is not capable of kicking them or double barreling them, which I’m pretty sure he’d like to do if he could. Obviously he was retired early for good reason!
About the time he was retired I lost my older horse who was the boss since The Thug arrived as a yearling. After that I got a Fjord pony. Introductions were looking pretty grim there for a while until both of them needed muzzles because both of them are incredibly easy keepers.
Not only can The Thug NOT bite the shit out of poor Xan any time Xan is someplace that displeases The Thug, now Xander has learned that he can use his low center of gravity and impressive strength to almost knock The Thug ass over tea kettle when they have the saddest bitey face wars you’ve ever seen aka muzzled bitey face wars. He baits The Thug into rearing then goes right under his neck and knocks him off balance with his fjord neck. 
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