Our widdle one is just so sad in the sacrifice turnout ‘only’ when my guy is in another spot having grass…but she ALSO hates her halter and will rub and rub it on the post to try to get it over her ear! AACK! Can only imagine what she’d do in a muzzle. I know others have told me theirs hated the muzzle so much they’d run the other way, became very difficult…I would expect being ‘on’ the grass, and not able to eat it something that would drive her nutz. But at the same time, I’d love to allow her a larger romp with a friend once in awhile! Any mini managers with this experience on a farm shared with big guys, please chime in!
I’ve actually had to using a grazing muzzle twice. Once, for a fat pony who thereby became completely uncatchable (even with grain!) after three days because she KNEW I was going to put it on her. The other was a Warmblood who needed it just until he acclimatized to 24/7 pasture; he couldn’t care less.
Suspect the higher the critter’s IQ, the more they will resent it. Have to try and see.
My little fat girl isn’t crazy about the muzzle, but after a day or so of pouting she eats just fine. When the grass is lush I leave it on pretty much 24/7, with short breaks to clean it and give her a chance for a good face scratch. She sometimes walks away when I go to put it back on, but if I don’t make a huge issue out of catching her she gives up pretty quickly and accepts it willingly enough. I always put a carrot or apple chunk or two in it when it goes back on.
What’s the question exactly?
Keeping her separated is probably the issue, not the “having grass or not”. I mean granted, some horses, like my large pony, really do keep score over who gets to eat and who doesn’t, but the old guy doesn’t think like that at all, he’ll run in circles in his pen knocking his buckets full of luscious senior feed over into the dirt if he decides the pony is too far away and he won’t pay no never mind to the neighbor mare 40 feet away. If the pony had luscious senior feed he wouldn’t lift his head till it was alllll gone.
If the mini tries to scrape off halters then a muzzle might be a worse problem that way, I know for horses they get some terrible rubs some times and I can’t imagine it’s any better for mini’s.
Best of luck working this out for your guys.
First thing is to quit calling using a muzzle “cruel”. Thinking that way is TOTALLY your feelings, not the mini’s feelings, though mini doesn’t like wearing it.
With certain animals, in good grazing, their intake MUST be controlled to keep them healthy. If you think you can’t take their staring at you, feeling guilty about it, probably best to sell them on instead of cursing them to founder and other painful problems for the rest of their lives because YOU won’t use muzzle or keep animal off grazing.
Managing the animal to optium health, is the job of human owner, whether we are talking pony, mini, small dogs, large equines. It is GOOD horse keeping, whatever you want to read in their eyes.
A while ago, Deltawave wrote a method of muzzling her small equine, had photos, said equine could NOT get muzzle off doing things this way. Evidently her pony/mini was able to remove muzzle quickly without such precautions. Maybe a search will bring this up for you to view and prevent a mishap for your mini.
Sorry, I got REALLY tough after our small dog had some issues, and ANY quantity of fat ingested would cause an attack, had to stay at Vet several days, use IVs to keep hydrated, since she could not drink or eat anything during the attack. In her best health interests, she got NOTHING with fat, all treats were forbidden, food was limited and she was in EXCELLENT shape, weight for her size. She lived a LONG time after, with no problems, ignoring what you THINK she was saying. Cheerios, dry bread crusts, were about her only treats allowed, in TINY quantities.
You do what is best for the ANIMAL, don’t put thoughts into their head that never happened. If Mini learns she can’t go out with no muzzle, she will probably be more cooperative in being caught. Make it part of the routine, they come to accept things they don’t actually “like” for the reward of leaving dry lot.
[QUOTE=goodhors;7831125]
First thing is to quit calling using a muzzle “cruel”. Thinking that way is TOTALLY your feelings, not the mini’s feelings, though mini doesn’t like wearing it.
With certain animals, in good grazing, their intake MUST be controlled to keep them healthy. If you think you can’t take their staring at you, feeling guilty about it, probably best to sell them on instead of cursing them to founder and other painful problems for the rest of their lives because YOU won’t use muzzle or keep animal off grazing.
Managing the animal to optium health, is the job of human owner, whether we are talking pony, mini, small dogs, large equines. It is GOOD horse keeping, whatever you want to read in their eyes.
A while ago, Deltawave wrote a method of muzzling her small equine, had photos, said equine could NOT get muzzle off doing things this way. Evidently her pony/mini was able to remove muzzle quickly without such precautions. Maybe a search will bring this up for you to view and prevent a mishap for your mini.
Sorry, I got REALLY tough after our small dog had some issues, and ANY quantity of fat ingested would cause an attack, had to stay at Vet several days, use IVs to keep hydrated, since she could not drink or eat anything during the attack. In her best health interests, she got NOTHING with fat, all treats were forbidden, food was limited and she was in EXCELLENT shape, weight for her size. She lived a LONG time after, with no problems, ignoring what you THINK she was saying. Cheerios, dry bread crusts, were about her only treats allowed, in TINY quantities.
You do what is best for the ANIMAL, don’t put thoughts into their head that never happened. If Mini learns she can’t go out with no muzzle, she will probably be more cooperative in being caught. Make it part of the routine, they come to accept things they don’t actually “like” for the reward of leaving dry lot.[/QUOTE]
^^^This.
OP, your little bugger may be irritated, frustrated or otherwise uphappy. But that happens to people all the time. We get that way when things happen to us that we don’t like. That doesn’t mean we file cruelty charges.
I also have a little dog with issues, not like Goodhors’ dog, but my little gal will eat all day if I let her. She’s never been happy with the little bit that goes in her dish. But she weighs 11 lbs, which is still a bit rolly-poly for her, and the other dog weighs 90 and will eat until he throws up, then I have to clean the floor…
So I put my Mommy pants on and they each get fed according to their needs. They don’t like it, always want more – but I think to myself what I used to tell my daughter. "What part of ‘NO’ don’t you understand? The ‘NNNN’ part of the ‘OOO’ part?
So for your little mini, I’m thinking your choice is find a way to keep the halter on, or keep him in the pen and tell him to suck it up.
When I owned two mini’s I made the largest dry lot I could for their daily comfort. They had plenty of room to run around. Their “treat” turnout was for me to put my big horses out on the grass paddocks and turn the mini’s out on the horse bigger dry lot.
I’m not a fan of grazing muzzles, I prefer to control the turnout situation.
My neighbor’s mini next door lives in a dry lot. I bring her over sometimes to babysit my horse, so she goes in a grazing muzzle. She loves to come over, and since she associates the grazing muzzle with getting to be on grass (and visit!) she happily lets me put it on her. Since your little one is currently in a dry lot, I bet you will get the same association and she will be fine with it.
Grazing muzzles are not cruel. Letting your mini founder is cruel.
I don’t know jack about grazing muzzles, but I see another angle here:
When you say the mini is sad, is she pining for your gelding? And that is why you’re asking about muzzles, so they can be together on the grass?
If that’s the case, shut that crap down NOW. I am dealing with massive herd-bound issues in my horses right now and it is SUCH a royal pain in the ass. In fact, Dove is out alone for the second day today, and everyone is on a “get brought into the barn and be groomed at a minimum” daily plan. The workable horses are all getting worked somehow and the retired mare goes on a little walk around the property, too.
If mini is all “woe is me, my friend is OVER THERE and I am HERE! Woe!” then leave her where she is until she doesn’t care where your gelding is, THEN consider some time on grass with a muzzle. Because GAH is the herd bound stuff terrible.
(Bringing in your filly won’t solve the problem, either, if the mini and the gelding are joined at the hip. I thought with four horses, I wouldn’t have problems. HAHAHAHAHA. They are ALL idiots! Fun!)
Keep her in the sacrifice area. Yes, many people do it safely but we NEVER turn our littles out with the big guys. One misplaced kick and the mini is a goner. It won’t kill her to stay in the dry lot. Even if they do get along, if she gets the muzzle off you’ll never forgive yourself.
Wow- tough crowd!
HI Ayrabz-- Its been forever, How are you? 
I think they are pretty equal and doing whichever works best for your and your situation is the answer.
When I put the grazing muzzle on any of mine I put a small treat inside, I have yet to have one not want their muzzle on. They dive right into it looking for that treat.
HA! gotta love it. Gloriginger frantically waving back at you! I’m older, and feeling it every day! but how about you!??
To all others: ok, lets try? to clear this up right away. My mini is on a dry lot. I know this is important for her health. MY QUESTION WAS: for those of you with minis you have on your own property, and would like? to turn out with big horses on grass (not to eat, but for a change with a muzzle on)…do you feel it is better for their frustrations in ‘HOW YOU MANAGE IT’ for "THEIR BEST’ to limit them to the dry lot, or to allow them turnout with a muzzle. Geeze guys…I’m new at this and I HAVE enough awareness of founder to know it MUST be managed. That is truly why I asked. I’m not going to turn her out on lush grass 24/7. That will never happen. I wanted input in the two management scenarios: first: do you prefer drylot. Alone. Second: do you prefer muzzle. with others. on grass.
I’m very aware these are my personal? situations—and really only two choices. this is precisely why I asked. Its about her best well being that I am responsible for orchestrating and anyones suggestions about my only options.
goodhors: you so totally misread my question. I didn’t need a tutorial on what a mini needs to protect their health in grazing… I just can’t really? believe how this morphed as the entire question revolved around my being VERY aware of what the differences in care were my obligation to protect for her. It was only to do with people sharing with me what they thought / found/ experienced would be best to not only protect her, but be a way that may frustrate her less out of my two options.
thanks…she’s a lil’ dickens but she’s very kind…just very frustrated.
I have mini’s as well, and keep them on a dry lot. They do get turned out in back yard while I am feeding the others, not for long, maybe an hour. I felt bad about the dry lot too, watching them watch the big horses on the pasture. My answer was to get small hay nets for them - http://www.busyhorse.com/busysnacker.html
It made me feel better knowing they could ‘graze’ on the hay as long as they wanted. Not just eat what I put out and then stand and stare at the others eating. It keeps my boys busy and I can keep a handle on how much they are getting. I have had mine for 3 years now and they are still in good shape. There is no way my two boys would leave halters, let alone muzzles, alone; to them a halter is nothing more than something to torment your brother with
kcmel: thanks for that input. I would love to think she could so enjoy the occasional romp that the muzzle would be an accepted evil in her mind to go cavort ! that would be a perfect scenario!
saje and trub:: I think I’ll need one for her anyway…even if only occasionally? so I’ll definitely remember your treat in the muzzle loading trick!
luvmy: thanks too! I think as the grass is totally gone, the ‘hay’ will have an appeal, but right now, while given in abundance, it does not. Also, some? of the issue is the fact she has no company in the dry lot, so that too? with other minis is hard to decipher since she has none. 
I have been known to bring my big horses up to thier paddock and let my boys have some fun time in the pasture, but never over a couple hours ( depending on time of year and what the grass is like).
[QUOTE=ayrabz;7831745]
Also, some? of the issue is the fact she has no company in the dry lot, so that too? with other minis is hard to decipher since she has none. :([/QUOTE]
ah-ha!!! she needs a buddy! problem solved!
Luv my: not gonna happen. My sacrifice area? will hold all of mine in deep winter and water and hay needing protection. This mini will have company to nose across the fence or even one turn out away if not able to be together. I won’t bring another mini just for her to have her nose up that particular mini butt. I don’t have enough room for that, and she’s already ruler of the roost, anyway that lil’ stinker. The times I do (!) (and I DO!) allow my gelding in the sacrifice area with her? she runs him off the water and the hay…so I let him be with her quite seldom…because she’s da boss!
