Grass and laminitis

[RemarkableOwl21]

First time horse owner here and I have a 9 year old gelding who lives out 24-7 in a 3 or 4 acre pasture. No health issues currently.

I attended an equine first aid class and the instructor said that every turned out horse should wear a grazing muzzle in the spring to prevent laminitis.

I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone put a muzzle on their horse this spring at my farm. I haven’t either. However, with all the rain we have been having, my guy’s pasture is looking pretty lush with grass. He is just sharing the field with one other horse at the moment.

I’m wondering if I do need to muzzle him. I don’t want to if it is not necessary. I guess I think it would really annoy him. Would love to hear what others think. Thank you in advance!

[quietann]

That is kind of bizarre advice IMO, given the number of horses who live on pasture, year-round in some areas, and are never muzzled.

A muzzle or limited grazing time in the spring when the grass is first up would be advisable for a horse who isn’t used to eating grass. There you do want to introduce it slowly. But if they are out in the pasture and gradually increasing their grass intake as the grass comes in, the grass is kind of already introducing itself slowly.

[malriis]

It really depends on the horse - it’s definitely not ALL horses. Many easy keepers do need a muzzle to keep them from getting too fat because obesity is a major risk factor for laminitis. IMO it’s probably the biggest risk factor in horses that are already used to being on grass. Breed also plays a role - ponies and breeds such as Morgans can have more problems. Exercise helps lower blood sugar, so a horse that is in consistent work will have a better tolerance. If your horse isn’t overweight and they’re used to grass I don’t see a reason to start using a muzzle.

I have an easy keeper Chincoteague Pony that is currently muzzled about half the day because he’s not currently in consistent work. I’ve seen mixed info about whether part-time muzzling is actually effective for weight control, but full-time was way too limiting for him. When he was in heavy work, the work alone was usually enough to keep his weight reasonable. Although I do have pics of him looking especially chunky in lovely lush knee-high pasture that make me cringe a bit now thinking how much luck played a role in him not developing laminitis back then.

[mmeqcenter]

Does the instructor own or have stock in a company that makes horse muzzles?

[lenapesadie]

Is your instructor kin to my farrier? Guy would rather all horses lived in dry lots and ate hay.

If your horse is overweight or has risk factors or known issues with IR EMS or similar a muzzle might be a great tool.

In general, I don’t agree that every horse needs a muzzle when grazing.

[Loosie]

Hi, it depends muchly on the type of grass too - eg cattle fattening ‘improved’ pasture varieties have been cultivated for high sugar. Modern cereal grain grasses are high sugar. Also nutritional balance - too high iron, which is a prob in a lot of areas, and too low Mg & chromium for eg have been attributed to horses at higher risk of IR & lami.

I do get where the instructor is coming from - the current ‘normal’ horse management & feeding practices often aren’t the best, horses live on rich pasture, fed grain etc, and IR is NOT a disease - it is a normal bodily function, which enables our bodies to store fat in the ‘good times’ to last us through the ‘hard seasons’ - trouble is, we (domestic animals like humans, horses, dogs, cats…) don’t tend to get regular ‘hard seasons’ to use up the fat stores regularly & that’s where it becomes a health issue.

So… if your horse is not overweight, or he gets regular ‘hard seasons’ to use up that extra he’s carrying, if he’s on well balanced nutrition & relatively low NSC diet, I wouldn’t personally worry, but there are many risk factors & it’s definitely best to avoid laminitis if possible, than waiting to ‘shut the gate’ afterwards, if there are any concerns.

Oh also, grass gains sugars with photosynthesis, so is highest in the afternoon/early evening of a sunny day - so if concerned, I’d be inclined to muzzle at midday until night & consider not muzzling in the morn, unless there’s a burning need for full time.

[S1969]

I don’t think it’s bad advice, but may not be necessary. In general, horses do not need to gorge on spring grass. Throwing them out on lush spring pastures is definitely a quick way to cause laminitis, even in horses that may not have IR issues.

That said, another way to manage it is not to put horses out 24/7 in the spring. Also, it is recommended to let grass grow for a while and/or mow it once or twice before letting horses on it.

If you can’t do either of those things, then yes, I think muzzling is a great suggestion, even if your horse doesn’t need it. From a general health perspective it is probably the safest thing to do.

BUT - as with everything to do with horses - it depends. Your horse might be just fine. I have one that would definitely be foot sore, 1 that would just get fat, 1 senior TB who needs a few pounds so it’s great, and a pony and mini that would be dead.

Evaluate your own horse and act accordingly.

[Peggy]

Given that my vet has said that, in his opinion, all horses should be on some form of an IR diet, I can see where this advice might be coming from.

It’s not just foundering. An IR horse can have ouchy feet.

Noting that this vet has a sport horse practice in an area with little to no pasture so the possibility of pasture didn’t even come up.

[candyappy]

I do everything possible to keep my horses from needing a muzzle. Despite that, I do have one who is currently wearing one the whole time she is out, at least for now. My horses are dry lotted with some hay 12 hours and out 12 hours on pasture.

My other 2 horses are about as well fleshed as I would want ( unmuzzled) but they are fine otherwise grazing as normal. The majority of horses do just fine grazing and as the grass matures and summer comes and ( hopefully) the rain slows the pasture quality will decrease and they will slim back down ( as usually happens).

I always watch my guys for any evidence of laminitis no matter what the season or living conditions as it can happen for a variety of reasons. If tyour horse isn’t obese or gaining a bunch of weight on pasture I wouldn’t muzzle him.