Horse biting pasture mates. Solutions?

[nativehiro]

Wondering if I could get some advice. I over worry and I am maybe making myself anxious for no reason.
I’ve been at my current barn for over eight years. I’ve never had many issues.

It’s one of the best places in the area and it’s so close to home but today I got a message that my horse must wear a now wear a muzzle because of his biting. I agreed because he is causing decent gashes. They said it’s mostly him wanting to play. He’s only 5 and off the track. This is now his third pasture mate hes done this with. I spent well over $2k last spring treating for ulcer so I cannot fathom throwing a muzzle on him and the cage ones scare me with the metal.

Has anyone had success with the cribbing muzzles? And I’m just being over paranoid?

[trubandloki]

By cribbing muzzle you mean one of these?

With the metal corner edge I would worry that he might do more damage with this than with his teeth.

I would probably want to go with something like the green guard or thin line grazing muzzle, making the holes a little bigger for easy eating.

[anonevent]

My primary concern that removing that outlet would cause him to start doing something more dangerous, like kicking/wrestling.

My horse loves to play and was turned out with a horse responded with severe bites (open wounds on my horse’s throat, for example), so I understand the barn owner’s position. I had to turn my horse out alone until we could switch barns. He hated being alone. I hated doing it to him. Sometimes that’s the most safe option.

[trubandloki]

I am not sure how a modified grazing muzzle will restrict him more than this will.

Back in the dark ages, I ended up with stitches in my face because I walked by a horse wearing something like that and just as I walked by it tossed its head and nailed me above my eye. Impact split the skin open.
Clearly that was a freak accident. (A messy blood everywhere freak accident, because I needed to finish what I was doing before I got my wound addressed.)

[luvmyhackney]

For my biting younger horse, I coated a fly sheet with riplast and put it on his buddy layered with a fly sheet under it. He figured out real quick it wasn’t fun. Then I put out toys they could play with appropriately.

I don’t use metal muzzles. Have you thought about the thin line muzzle and cut the hole bigger.

[luvmyhackney]

@nativehiro

When they toss hay they usually throw one big pile for the horses to share.

And they wonder why he’s biting other horses!

Seriously that’s ridiculous, small piles spread out keep horses from fighting and getting defensive.

[Simkie]

@nativehiro

When they toss hay they usually throw one big pile for the horses to share.

Poor guy They set up The Hunger Games: Equine Edition and then are upset he gets sharky?

I know finding a good boarding barn is awfully tough, but this would have me looking elsewhere.

[cnd8]

Oof, I’d have a hard time with that. My gelding is the pasture leader and he does bite and will kick. It seems to go in phases where his pasture mate will be eaten up a bit. I guess I should be grateful the barn manager doesn’t ask this of me, because I’m afraid I’d look for another place if they could not pasture my horse by himself or deal with it. I’d instantly worry about worse aggression developing out of frustration, weight management, and ulcers.

[Simkie]

@nativehiro

This is honestly the best area that feeds decent amount of hay in the morning. But my Horse inhales it by midmorning and then he’s going out on no grass and they’re just digging around with supplementing hay.

So just to restate this, they’re not feeding enough hay, and your horse is beating up his pasture mates because he’s hungry and guarding scant resources.

Their solution isn’t to feed more hay, or to even separate piles so he can “own” his own…they want you to muzzle him, which is going to limit what he can eat even further, and really runs the risk that he’ll switch to another mode of aggression to guard.

If they can’t feed more hay, and he can’t move to a paddock by himself where he doesn’t need to guard resources, this just isn’t a suitable, sustainable situation.

Moving from here doesn’t necessarily mean you have to burn the bridge and never have the opportunity to go back. But if they’re not going to feed him you really have to try something different.

[Demerara_Stables]

I think that everyone’s concerns about the hay being in one pile are correct, but you said he is playing and biting. Is he biting to guard food or is he eating fine with buddies from one pile then playing later? Those are two separate issues.

If he’s guarding food then he absolutely needs to be given his own pile (at the minimum) or separated for feeding time. I put out 2-3 extra piles for herds eating together so everyone can move around as they need to. Each pile is 1/2-1 flake depending on number of horses, how much they need to eat, etc.

If he’s eating fine but playing later, can they put a grazing muzzle (not a cribbing muzzle) on him after feeding time (or remove it just for feeding)? If there are vet bills for bites, IMO, that’s not ok and a sign that horses need to be moved around or muzzled.

[Pico_Banana]

OP, I hear when you say you don’t want to move. If you do want to try a muzzle, I’d suggest the SweetNet muzzle. Get the one with the biggest hole and it won’t restrict him very much at all. It’s super soft and I think easier on them than even the GreenGuard or the Flexible Filly.

Heck, even talk to the owner and see if she can make you one with a larger hole. She makes them all herself and was super helpful when I spoke with her. I know she has other hole sizes than what’s on her website.

[nativehiro]

@Pico_Banana

SweetNet muzzle

I sadly don’t think that will stop him from breaking skin.

[Simkie]

@nativehiro

I pasture board him where I know he’ll be fed plenty of hay till I figure it out.

Sounds like an excellent option.

Boarding is so tough, but compromising other amenities for enough hay is really rarely a wrong choice.

Leaving him in from noon to evening with no hay, and then having him out all night on sparse grazing? No wonder he’s cranky! Poor guy.

[Demerara_Stables]

@nativehiro

When they toss hay they usually throw one big pile for the horses to share.

I thought you meant here that they put out one big pile of hay when they feed hay in the field. Are they feeding no hay in the field at all?

[4horses]

My young horse is super mouthy. I turn him out with the alpha mares and they keep him in his place and boss him around. Unfortunate he still is very mouthy with me. I think it’s a personality trait. I usually carry a stick with me because he needs to learn to watch his teeth. Usually he just goes for the lead rope but he’s not always careful about not grabbing me by mistake.

A muzzle will only make him frustrated. They explore with their mouths.

[greywithchrome]

You could get a thinline muzzle and cut the hole to be big enough so he can eat fairly easily but not so much so that he can get his mouth around another horse.

[nativehiro]

Correct they usually start around this time of the year and they haven’t been. Not one to ask questions there because it has to be on there terms. I’ve been there for 8 years with my previous ottb and I never had weight or health issues because they were always good with giving plenty of hay inside and outside. My new guy just seems sensitive and can’t go that long idk why they are dicking around

[Demerara_Stables]

Sounds like it’s time to have a frank conversation with them and if it does not go well as you anticipate, time to find a new barn. It’s one thing if he is just playing with other horses and they want to muzzle him. But if he is getting four flakes of hay in the morning and that is all the hay he gets in 24 hours, that’s unacceptable IMO.

[nativehiro]

Welp I just got a text that he has a grazing muzzle on the barn had on hand because he bit again. Still no hay supplement nor trying a pasture with more grass I guess this is my sign.

[Demerara_Stables]

I don’t know your relationship with this barn, but as a barn owner, I would definitely move towards muzzling the horse if it’s dangerous, especially since I had informed the owner that was necessary. If you haven’t talked to them about additional hay yet, it might be too soon to jump ship. Just want to give them the benefit of the doubt since you said it is the best place in the area. If they are unwilling to give additional hay then that is the point when I would leave.