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Grazing muzzle 24/7?

I have an old retired mare who has lived out with the same little herd for several years, she has developed Cushings in her old age and I need to limit her grass, I don’t have the heart to separate her from her herd mates and I don’t really have the option to move any of the other horses. Would you leave the muzzle on 24/7? What type? I have only ever used the black nylon basket type. Any advice is appreciated! I just want her to be able to stay out with her little herd & be happy.

Two horses at my barn require muzzles 24/7. They don’t have any issues with them. I do have sheepskin pieces on the muzzles so there’s no rubbing.

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Over last spring and summer (I’m in Australia) I muzzled my QH 24/7 for most days. He got a couple of days off from it here and there to let small rubs heal until I worked out a system of padding that prevented rubs. I used the GreenGuard muzzle, which he tolerated very well (unlike the black basket ones which made him not want to know me after Day 1). I always put carrot pieces in it when I put it back on his face after his dinner.

With this regime he stayed happy, healthy, active and lost weight.

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If you’re concerned about rubs you could get an alternate and switch them out - like a greenguard for daytime and a thinline flexible filly for nighttime (both padded, of course, if your horse is prone to rubs).

Yes, but they need to come out of it for a bit to get salt at the very least.

I do it every Summer.

Greenguard is soooooo much more breathable and lighter, and transformed my horses from eye rolling and raised heads and trying (often successfully without contraptions to prevent) rubbing them off, to quietly accepting and leaving them on.

Flexible Filly is another lightweight breathable one, I just haven’t tried it yet

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My guy is muzzled 24/7. I have the kind that attaches to a normal halter and I use a leather halter. The original one I used was the nylon ‘breakaway’ muzzle, where the whole headstall and muzzle is one piece and it has the Velcro ‘breakaway’ cheekpieces. My dude got the headstall stuck on a bucket while scratching and the headstall did not breakaway.

The leather halter I use is purposefully older and a little more fragile. I want it to snap easily if he gets in a bind again. I have fleece on the noseband(all the way around), the crownpiece and one that goes over the clip on the throatlatch.

I also do allow him to have time with a salt lick while it’s off for feedings. He knows his life and doesn’t really fight it going on anymore.

Yup. I have several Icies muzzled 24/7. Green Guard And Thinline. Swap between types when necessary to mitigate rubs. They will live in them until End of October.

I would worry about the wear on her teeth and depending on length of grass if she can get enough decent nutrition. If the grass is green and kept short then she may be ok.

I personally would set up a dry lot situation she can share part of the time with a buddy so she can eat hay, get salt and get a break from the muzzle.

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I personally wouldn’t do it, but I gather people nowadays think leaving a muzzle on 24/7 is perfectly acceptable.

All you can do is try it and see what happens.

grass should be mowed to 6" give or take, depending on the species, for its health anyway, and that height isn’t a problem for grass. If someone is regularly letting grass get 10"+, they need to practice better pasture managment

Well, sometimes it’s 23 hours a day, or in the stall, or an obese horse, take your pick

No, it’s not ideal. But when you don’t have unlimited options, it’s the lesser of the evils many times.

In the ideal world all of us with air ferns would be able to set up a great track system and provide hay year 'round. But that’s not reality.

So it’s “acceptable” to have a horse in a muzzle with full time turnout, rather than stalled 12+ hours a day.

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