Hello everyone, I have 3 horses that will be wearing the muzzles, for two of them it will be the first time. My question is how long can I leave them on? After doing some research, I’ve found some people leave them on 24/7; others half days; others a few hours. I get it depends on the horse, but I would like to hear what your experience has been. Thanks in advance!
I have a pony who has worn his muzzle 24/7 in years past. It comes off twice a day to eat his grain then back on. He honestly doesn’t mind it, he knows it part of his life to be out on the pasture. I would never let him out on green pasture without it, he’s used to eating grass slowly through his muzzle and would gorge himself without it - therefore the days on/nights off on pasture isn’t the best method in my opinion. Right now he’s in a dry lot at night, so the muzzle is off then.
He has always worn the Tough 1 Easy Breathe muzzles and they work for him. Cheap, breakaway, he keeps it on, he doesn’t hate it. Lots of people like the Green Guard and the ThinLine muzzles but I’ve never felt the need to try them.
He does have wear on the fronts of his incisors from the muzzle. He is 21 - my vet isn’t worried but it certainly isn’t the prettiest.
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I have used the Green Guard muzzles and found that the horses tolerated them much better than the Best Friends/Tough 1 type muzzle. My two old horses wore them for a couple of months in the spring, and sometimes in October when the grass comes back.
I also have a 10H pony who wears his pretty much all the time; otherwise he’d have to be in a drylot by himself.
I don’t think having them wear the muzzle part of the day is effective; I think they just eat more when the muzzle is off to make up for it.
I do think a grazing muzzle is a great solution for an easy keeper or founder risk. The wear on the teeth from the Green Guard is an issue; but a minor one in comparison to founder risk.
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Mine wear green guards from April to October when they are out, typically 6pm to 10am. They are in a dry lot/stall+run in during the day.
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I’ve had horses wear a muzzle 24/7 in the past. I removed them twice a day for grain and to make sure they’re not rubbing. In really hot or humid weather, I take them off. Same thing with heavy rain, because I think they might rub or be uncomfortable when everything is wet.
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My mini is in his Tough-1 around 16h/daily.
It comes off to eat 2X, but he’s stalled then & it goes back on until 10P. Off until ~7A.
He drinks from the trough & the bucket in his stall with no problems, submerges his muzzle & it doesn’t bother him.
I do wipe it out when it’s off, to remove clumps of grass that would be scratchy if left to dry out.
Muzzle goes on early in Spring, before grass appears, stays on until grass in pastures is long dead, so late October.
Hannibal Lector, Equine version:
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Greenguard 
Mine wear them for 20-22 hours a day, which is the entire time they’re out on pasture, from early May to October, give or take, depending on how the grass is growing in a given year.
They come in for meals, which includes salt, but also have loose salt available if they want more
In years past, I had a horse who was able to have his off overnight when he was in full work. That was 9-10 hours, as I took it off last thing before bed (they’re at home), and put it on after breakfast and riding.
I don’t worry about them being wet. They drink with them on, they splash in the water tub on hotter days, they’re in the rain. I just make sure things aren’t rubbing, and when something does (because nothing is 100% rub-free 100% of the time) I wrap with duct tape for a smooth surface. I don’t use fleece or anything else that’s going to retain water or dirt.
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My mini wears his about 12 hours/day year round. His comes off when in his stall. He eats hay through his muzzle without issues. He has gone 24/7 in the muggle in the past without issues, but I prefer the 12 on/12 off as does he.
He’s been wearing a Tough-1 muzzle for years (his preference), but we recently tried the Flexible Filly which he seems to prefer due to weight (it is so light and breathable). I just ordered the restricted hole size since the standard hole is too big.
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You already know that how long your horses will need to wear muzzles depends on the horse, the grass, and your schedule. But you asked for others’ experiences, so here goes. . .
When my horse first started wearing a muzzle my vet said he could wear it up to 18 hours a day, but I keep it a lot less than that because one horse has wear on his incisors. The short answer is that they wear their muzzles 8-10 hours a day, but this varies greatly over the course of a year. My horses are stalled from dusk til dawn, so that eliminates 10-14 hours of grazing time depending on the time of year. When grass is too short to get through the muzzles I leave them off. If the horses need to actively lose weight when grass is lush they wear muzzles the entire time they’re out. If they just need to maintain their current weight I let them graze muzzle-free 1-2 hours in the morning and up to an hour just before they go in for the night. On long summer days I put them in a dry lot (corral) for 3-4 hours in the middle of the day to give them a break from their muzzles and let them munch a little hay if they’re hungry and lick their mineral blocks (my horses refuse loose minerals). I’m retired and at home so all this managing is not a big deal for me.
Greenguard now has muzzle inserts that are supposed to help prevent wear on the teeth. One of my horses has an insert, and I do think it makes the muzzle easier on the teeth. But, it adds about a quarter inch to the thickness of the muzzle, and I think he is finding it harder (but not impossible) to get to the grass. He seems somewhat frustrated with it (and very disappointed in me for doing this to him).
I agree 100% with this. My horses have to be restricted from the grass by hook or by crook. If they’re not muzzled they have to be in their stalls or in their dry lot, and I’m very careful with their muzzle-free time. I watch their weight and check their feet for pulses every day. Also, during the spring/summer growing season, they’re in a smaller field that I can keep mowed consistently.
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I believe there was a study (likely observational) that said horses will adapt their eating patterns to eat more if they learn that muzzles will always be off for X number of hours a day.
At the start of the season I’ll start 12 on/12 off but quickly go to full time muzzle wearing for my pasture-boarded mare. I use the flexible filly and when properly adjusted, it seems comfortable (I had to enlarge the center hole slightly to keep her from trying to eat out of the sides).
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I have 2 in the green guard muzzles now. I am experimenting with 24/7 access to pasture for the first time and my gelding is in his from 2:30pm to 7am. He could probably go in it a little longer and be a tad thinner but I think he is at his max and I am afraid he would melt down and destroy it.
My older metabolic prone mare is in hers from 10:30-11am to 7am so roughly 20 hours for her.
It is easier to get her muzzle on now that she has grass all the time, her weight is stable and she is moving much better now that she is not dry lotted. They are happy. I am happy and horse chores are non existent
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Thank you everyone for your comments and advice. I appreciate it!
I just put them in the muzzles yesterday, so far so good. I need to take some weight off them, so I’m hopeful this will do the trick. My pastures are green and lush this time of year, I hate to deny them access to all that yummy grass, plus it helps with the bottom line.
I’m going to try 12 hrs on 12 hrs off to see how that goes. They are at home and I’m retired.
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Roughly 12 on/12 off, ThinLine. Horses are all on dry lot when the muzzled horse is without muzzle. I have tried ToughOne (he was ok with it for the first couple years), Shires (nope) and Green Guard. ThinLine is his absolute favorite, but they do wear out more quickly than the others.
Btw, horse is very talented at removing any muzzle when he choses to no longer to be muzzled. He leaves the ThinLine one on about 95% of the time.
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@Knubbsy and @Sue_B Do either of you have automatic waterers? From the images the thinline flexible filly muzzles look smaller than the GreenGuard ones. The GG ones aren’t compatible with the auto waterers (Ritchie ecofount) at the barn where my two chunks are boarded.
I have Ritchie Omni-Founts, and the GG muzzles work fine in them. Just make sure the water level adjustment is appropriate. We get a lot of heat and dry weather in summer, and even this spring (!) and our horses do well in them.
This is how I first tried muzzling my riding horse. He was very overweight. He was out 24/7, and he lost weight with the 12 on/12 off schedule but not nearly enough. The end result was that he had a very serious laminitis attack, and I learned the hard way that it was going to take a lot more than just part-time muzzling to protect him.
Thanks to a great collaborative effort with my vet, my farrier, and myself and a lot of luck my horse recovered and is now slim and trim and completely sound. It’s been 8 years with no recurrence, and I attribute that to the big changes I made in his lifestyle–stalled at night, summer grass hay, a combination of muzzle and dry lot confinement during the day, and diligent monitoring of his body condition.
I’m not saying your horses won’t do well with a 12 on/12 off schedule. Many horses do just fine being muzzled part-time. I’m just saying keep a close eye on them. Learn from my mistake, and don’t hesitate to restrict them more if they stay too fat or you feel pulses in their feet.
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ok I’ll keep that in mind. The ecofounts have the floating thermal caps in them, I don’t think your omni-founts have those?
To be honest, I would start with it on full time. They will eat way more in the 12 hours with it off, than they’re eating in a given 12 hours now without a muzzle, and that will negate a lot of the hours with it on.
Full time monitor weight, and then if they get too thin, start with unmuzzled for maybe 4-6 hours a day.
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The Omni-Founts don’t have the caps, but if the horses are (a) used to using the Eco-Founts, and (b) the water level is adjusted as high as possible without lapping over the edges, your horses should be able to sort it out. Mine have to angle the muzzle in order to drink, and they learned to do that in about 5 minutes.
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Sorry, I should have clarified my answer. The horses will either be in the dry lot or stalled when not wearing the muzzle. I am in the same situation as you were. Over weight horses and one with a laminitis episode. Thankfully mild rotation 5% on the right front.
I have an awesome vet and farrier, to help guide me, but I’m kicking myself in the a$$ for letting them get this way in the first place!
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