Wondering if anyone has used this muzzle. If so can you let me know what you thought of it. Pros and cons.
Information will be greatly appreciated.
It looks pretty similar to the GreenGuard muzzle, which I just purchased for my TB gelding. He seems much happier with it than the webbed kind, which he despised.
Anyone? Hoping to hear from people regarding this muzzle.
Here is a link to the muzzle for those, like me, who have never heard of it and are interested in seeing what it looks like.
I look at both designs and wonder if they will stay on. BO has had great success with the Best Friend design, These others seem outrageously expensive as well as easily slid aside.
I saw them at the Horse Expo this year - thought that they were ridiculously overpriced (I could buy 2 Best Friends (with the halters) or 3 Easy Breathes for about the same amount of money). Walking the field looking for a $25 Easy Breathe is annoying enough (and I can replace those really easily) - I’d be really upset if my pony managed to lose an $85 muzzle that I had to “custom fit” to her.
I also don’t really like all the little gaps (that you can use to customize the amount of grass your horse gets) - they seem like they’d be more likely to irritate the horse’s nose/lip than the smooth surface inside the other styles of muzzle.
I bought four and am using two so far. I’m having trouble getting them to fit correctly, or, when they seem to fit correctly, the hole doesn’t appear to be in the right spot. I wrote the company for help, but so far, I’m not thrilled.
Has anyone found the magic secret to shaping them right?
Dr. Harmony would have to pay me, and I still wouldn’t put that thing on my IR horse.
She wants $85 for the horse size.
I will stick with my 20-some dollars “Tough 1 Easy Breathe” from Chicks that has lasted three years and is finally falling apart.
My horse has to wear a muzzle ~10 months so three years is quite a feat.
For those who have purchased the Harmany muzzle, how durable is the plastic?
My air fern has learned to destroy Easy Breathe muzzles in less than 30 minutes with brute force. She also does the same to Best Friend-style basket muzzles. She hates muzzles so much that she puts all her effort into destroying them now, which she has learned to do quite successfully.
I’m curious if my mare would hate the Harmany muzzle less. But the plastic looks so flimsy I’m worried that she will rip it to pieces. $85 is a lot to pay for something that may literally only last me minutes.
I’d like to find a way to be able to keep her out in the field with her friends without blimping up on grass, but so far she’s her own worst enemy!
Ridiculously overpriced. Not great reviews. Sorry Dr Joyce, but I am not buying it.
OK, I have one.
Let me start by saying I am not very open to grazing muzzles in general. I consider them just this side of barbaric. I totally understand the need for them; but I am not committed to using one.
So, with that in mind:
The thing is made out of Kevlar, not plastic. It comes to you flat. You dunk it in steaming hot water, then shape it as you desire.
First problem: I’m not a potter. It is not as easy to shape as you would think.
So after fiddling with it for a long, long time, I took it out to my pitiful little donkey. And it wouldn’t even go on his face.
So back to the steaming water to try again.
The second time, I got it on him. I wanted to make further adjustments, but it is not easy to heat and change the spot that doesn’t work without heating and changing the parts that already fit.
Once it cools, it is as hard as a clay pot. It has absolutely no give. Not that the other brands do. (I hate them too, and I have every brand.) But you have to mold it perfectly.
Pros: It is very light weight. The horse is not breathing into a bucket like with the other brands. His nostrils are mostly (but not perfectly) clear.
I needed to punch another hole in it. The holes on the mini model did not line up with his mouth. But it is not easy to cut more holes! If you try using a dremmel tool, the friction heats and melts the Kevlar, and you end up with goop rather than a hole. (My son did add a hole eventually, but I don’t even know how he did it. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.)
I didn’t leave it on him. It’s raining here. When it clears up, and I can observe him better, I’ll try again. But I did not love it.
[URL=“https://www.facebook.com/LifeWithOden/posts/789020674549666”]
Here are pictures. If you “like” my page, you can see further updates. I’m going to keep working on this.
Thanks for the info, Cindyg! The fact that it is made of tough Kevlar is reassuring. But it definitely sounds cumbersome to fit!
For horses who destroy the rubber muzzles, even if they need 3 every 2 years (one of mine), that quickly adds up, even if you find $25-30 muzzles that fit, that adds up quickly. In 2 years you’re at $75 and will still be spending more.
This one is still $16 cheaper than the cheapest place to get the Greenguard muzzle, and if it cannot be “eaten”, then…
However, I don’t like the sound of having to fit this thing - lots of hot water and shaping? I don’t think the Greenguard is like that?
I wish both of these - H and GG - would elminate any sort of holes on the backside - that’s got to start rubbing chins? I can certainly all but eliminate that issue with liberal use of duct tape.
I’m still debating on the GG but might just bite the bullet. I don’t know if this one (the H) is worth the $16 saved for all the work it seems to do the fitting 
I think the Green Guard is made of leather (which would be better IMO).
The holes are not going to rub if you get it shaped right. Nothing but the halter and the velcro straps should touch the horse. Oh, and the velcro itself is a minus. Velcro is cheap and won’t last.
I believe it’s been said it’s a really really hard plastic but I’d have to double check
The holes are not going to rub if you get it shaped right. Nothing but the halter and the velcro straps should touch the horse.
snork you haven’t met my 2 LOL
Even in the pictures from the website, the holes look like they’re going to rub on the chin as the lips open and close to bite grass
Oh, and the velcro itself is a minus. Velcro is cheap and won’t last.
That’s ok - heavy duty velcro isn’t that much $$ at Lowes 
[QUOTE=JB;8145067]
snork you haven’t met my 2 LOL
Even in the pictures from the website, the holes look like they’re going to rub on the chin as the lips open and close to bite grass [/QUOTE]
You’re absolutely correct that I should have said they won’t rub if you manage to mold them perfectly, and then if the horse just grazes quietly.
I put it on my little donkey today, and he scraped his face against the muddy ground for 20 minutes. When I went to look at him, the basket was FULL of mud. (Remember, the thing is rigid, so it worked like a little shovel.)
Had he put that energy into trying to graze, I’m certain he would have gotten some grass and would have been fine. 
[QUOTE=Cindyg;8145104]
You’re absolutely correct that I should have said they won’t rub if you manage to mold them perfectly, and then if the horse just grazes quietly.
I put it on my little donkey today, and he scraped his face against the muddy ground for 20 minutes. When I went to look at him, the basket was FULL of mud. (Remember, the thing is rigid, so it worked like a little shovel.)
Had he put that energy into trying to graze, I’m certain he would have gotten some grass and would have been fine. :([/QUOTE]
Your donkey and my mare would get along. They must have read the same instruction manual on how to make their owners feel extra guilty about muzzling them. :lol:
I don’t know why, but she refuses to even attempt to eat with a muzzle on anymore. She used to wear one daily without issue when she was younger. Now she puts all her effort into destroying them. If she does not succeed in destroying the muzzle, she stands around sulking and refusing to eat or drink. Usually the hunger strike goes on so long that I start worrying about negative consequences like dehydration or colic. Then I end up removing the muzzle.
She definitely has my number. :lol:
Awww poor guy!
So I do have a Harmany Muzzle. I saw them for the first time at Equine Affaire, and thought they were pretty cool and decided to try one out for my mare. Now, I will say my mare is not an escape artist and tends to tolerate whatever I strap on her. However, I felt terrible because she looked miserable in the basket muzzle I used on her last summer!
I was a little intimidated with the whole shaping process, so I watched all the videos on the website before diving in, and didn’t find the process too difficult. I was careful not to get the water too hot, which I think helped make sure that the plastic didn’t stick to itself.
For the holes on the bottom, I just used a pocket knife to cut the little tabs on the bottom after it had cooled, which worked fine.
Overall, I’m liking the muzzle so far. My mare seems happy with the fact that she can breathe and is staying at a healthy weight!
I think the only con would be the price-- while it was hard to spend that much on a muzzle, it’s worth it to me if it lasts and works for my chubby little mare!
After several re-shaping attempts the horse wore the muzzle for part of the day. I then found him with one side in his mouth and the other side under his chin. Poor guy couldn’t eat at all. (so I guess it works) The owner decided to go back to her old Best Friend muzzle. I am not sure whether there will be another attempt at shaping it. (not my horse, one of my boarders).
Thanks for all the replies, I was curious to see how others made out.
