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Discussion: Grazing muzzle as a slow feeder?
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tangledmanes |
Grazing muzzle as a slow feeder?
Oct 30 2011, 11:16 AM EDT
(Passing this along for a new member)My wife & I live in Shepherd, MT. We have 3 Tennessee Walkers, age 23, 10 & 8 years old. I am 74 yrs old and lucky enough to still be riding. I just started to read and think about slow feeding, since the 8 yr old seems to be showing signs of insulin resistance. And I wanted to run this idea past you & other members & I am open for all opinions. I use 100 gal. fiber glass water tubs to feed hey in . Why couldn't I take a grazing muzzle cut the hole in the bottom as large as it needs to be & put the hey in the tank loose? Thanks again, Joe 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you?
Keyword tags:
grazing muzzle
IR
slow feeder
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tangledmanes |
1. RE: Grazing muzzle as a slow feeder?
Oct 30 2011, 11:35 AM EDT
| Post edited: Oct 30 2011, 11:38 AM EDT
That's good thinking, Joe. In fact, you probably wouldn't want to cut the hole in the muzzle any larger because many horses do already use them with hay. The problem you might run into with having the horse wearing a grazing muzzle all the time is chafing. It is difficult to get the fit just right so they can't rub off the muzzle without rubbing their face. There are merino wool covers which help, but are probably not the best long-term solution. Grazing muzzles are brilliant for allowing a horse to spend time with buddies, but very few of us have found them to be a practical 24/7 solution. There is also the danger of getting hung up; like with a halter. Grazing muzzles come with quick release closures, but many horses break those just trying to scratch their faces, which results in owners working around the quick release. I would use a muzzle with Velcro quick release, since it can be re-attached.There is an excellent source of information about insulin resistance in horses online at http://www.ecirhorse.com/. But the short of it is that IR can be controlled through diet and exercise. See if you can arrange a little extra regular exercise for your 8-year old and see if that does the trick. I think old water tubs are fantastic for feeding hay, by the way! One of the easiest to put together and most effective (in my opinion) slow feeder designs is putting a square bale of hay in a small mesh hay net (which can be purchased or made from hockey goal netting) inside an old water trough. Don't even cut the hay strings -- it makes it more fun for the horses! ~JoAnn~ Do you find this valuable? |
