I have a mare with a very cresty neck. I put a grazing muzzle on her and it is annihilated. What have you found that works? She is a cow and not having it.
What brand grazing muzzle are you using? And what do you mean by āannihilated?ā Is she chewing through the basket? Destroying the halter?
I use Greenguard muzzles and halters. These work well for my horses, although they do occasionally snag one and break either the muzzle straps or the halter breakaway fuse. Greenguard has muzzle inserts that help extend the life of the muzzle. They also have solutions for other common problems, such as horses getting out of the muzzle.
If this is your mareās first time wearing a muzzle, you just have to have a hard heart until she gets used to it. Every year when I first muzzle my horses they spend an hour or so trying to take each otherās muzzle off.
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Itās just in pieces destroyed.
I second Greenguard. My mare has no problem with it at all and it is pretty strong. I have not tried the inserts but plan to this year.
I use a GG on 2 of mine. I know some horses can get them off but I really donāt see them tearing them to pieces. One of those basket type muzzles I can see it.
My mini has to be muzzled.
He wears the basket version & once I fitted it so he couldnāt rub it off, the destruction is limited to wearing out the rubber so it becomes a āsuggestionā 
Nobody sells an insert for mini-size, so I cut down a horse-sized or just replace the muzzle.
Usually just once a year.
I get cheap muzzles - usually under $30.
Someday I might shell out for a Green guard 
But for now:
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Another here for GG - I put all three of mine (ranging from 3 - 21) in them for the first time last summer. They were fairly mad for a few weeks, but got used to them and did fine. They were all wearing one, so I didnāt have issues with them getting pulled off. Not that they didnāt try.
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Iāve had best luck with Greenguard -horses seem to mind it the least and they have withheld and survived the longest -also the halters that you can buy from GG are very adjustable in the throat latch area to help prevent them slipping them over the ears ā¦they sell alot of different straps and attachments for Houdini types and are very helpful ā¦I donāt like the ones with just one hole in the bottom ā¦the Thinline Flexible Filly was destroyed in day ā¦the all in one types mine get off easily.
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I cannot recommend the GG muzzles and halters enough! We keep a GG muzzle on my SOās horse. He doesnāt have too many issues losing the muzzle, but he gets really bad rubs all over his face. And his eating style is veryā¦ ermā¦ aggressive, so he puts the poor muzzle through hell. Weāve had to do A LOT of experimenting with different halters, padding, etc, but I think weāve finally found a system that works. He has a GG halter and muzzle with a leather insert. He only really wears one spot on the insert, so we rotate the insert when it gets worn. That, combined with a lycra fly mask underneath, has pretty much eliminated all rubs. And the muzzle seems to be lasting much better.
Iāve been really impressed with the amount of knowledge on Geeenguardās website as well. They have a lot of information about how to do low budget versions of their custom equipment. But learn from my mistakes and just buy the GG accessories! Itās expensive at first but will save you money in the long run.
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I wrap the halter in duct tape to prevent rubs. The nylon can be pretty abrasive when it gets dirty. Iāve thought about trying a biothane halter, but havenāt done that yet.
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I tried a biothane halter and it didnāt make much of a difference. The fit was never quite right though, so it might make a difference if it fit correctly! I havenāt had luck taping the halter because the greenguard needs to be attached in the middle of the nose and I havenāt figured out a way to tape over that without making it bumpier.
We use the leather and cotton halters both Dover and Smartpak sell, along w the Flexible Filly muzzles. We never have rubs. The only time we had a muzzle damaged, someone had misadjusted the crown piece. It only broke the muzzle where the hole was attached to the halter. We have several horses in them- all different shapes and sizes.
Iām ordering a GreenGuard muzzle for my fat mare - they are currently having a March Madness sale that is saving me a few bucks, if anyone else is interested.
ETA - I saved $22.00 on the muzzle and a few accessories. The halter is not on sale.
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Another greenguard user. My one mare is very polite about it and never destroys stuff. My other mare is a destructo-bot. GreenGuard is the only one that she hasnāt been able to demolish. Maybe once every couple weeks she can get it off all the way but itās still mostly in one piece after 2 years, just a little bent
Adding my recommendation of GreenGuard. Just ordered another one for another mare this year. Riding Warehouse has them on sale for 15% off and they are over the free shipping amount.
I have a horse who makes it his life mission to destroy grazing muzzles. He has tried the basket ones the Thin Line clear plastic one and the Green Guard. Iāve spent probably hundreds of dollars on muzzles.
Hands down, the GG is the best. He only breaks two a year. He wears it from May to October and is out 16 to 18 hours a day. All parts are wrapped with duct tape and he has a nylon with fleece halter, so minimum rubs.
On most muzzles he bangs/rubs them against his shed or he steps on a piece of it and yanks his head up. The barn owner didnāt believe me at first, but now she just shakes her head at him. I have the setup with the strap that goes down the face and thatās made a huge difference because he cant rub or smack it off.
On normal horses, like the two other fatties he goes out with, they last forever. Pretty sure that one of them is 3 years old and still kicking. I donāt even bother with the other muzzles and he has a backup GG sitting in his trunk for when he destroys this one. Fingers crossed it makes it through this season.
So another vote for GG.
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Try using Velcro instead of the strap or the zip ties we all end up using when the strap breaks. Also I wrap the nose with vetwrap which helps (and itās easy to leave a little room/ gap for the strap to fit through, and itās even easier to just cut it off and replace it if you need to). But to be honest, thatās the chestnut TB. Sure, reasonably speaking, that should be the delicate flower. But as it turns out, itās the hardy Norwegian fjord that suffers from rubs because he is also the most aggressive about getting every last little bit of nubbin of grass in his face. He just has fleecies all over his halter and they do a pretty good job, itās a losing battle over the course of the season, but itās a slow loss 
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Do you mind my asking if you find that he gets much grass, or why he wears one?
Iām just asking because the horse that Iām caring for is quite heavy though she isnāt fed grain and does not get much forced exercise at the moment, so I am just feeling a bit helpless at how to keep her as healthy as possible.
He gets a ration balancer and hay in his stall. The grass is super lush where he is. So from him to be in the big pasture, he has to wear the muzzle. Otherwise its the tiny dirt lot. He gets worked 5 to 6 days a week.
He has always been a very easy keeper. Without the muzzle he turns into a blimp and will gorge himself on the grass to the point that he wonāt even eat the hay in his stall. I just donāt want a founder situation so the muzzle goes on.
Another vote for the Thinline Flexible Fillyās and thank you @NaturallyHappy for the recommendation.
Iāve used muzzles for 20 years and my horses tolerate this one the best. They can breathe, itās light in color and weight and itās gotta teeny tiny hole.
I just pulled insulin on my IR/PPID mare who looks GREAT in weight and thank God I did because her insulin is at 73. Not good.
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