My mare had to be muzzled this spring. She was huge and really risked the chance of founder. Then I had bloodwork done and she has cushings. She is a 14 year old QH/TB cross. I use the best friends all in one muzzle. She quickly figured out to use it and has no problem drinking water. I would suggest having an extra one or two on hand. My mare still breaks the clips often. Also, I would get some fleece and put it on. They can do some pretty bad rubs. You have to keep eye on it. My mare did get some rubs, but not too bad. I was not a fan of muzzling at first, but instead of being confined in the stall most of the time or in the ring with hay, it was the best choice for her to be with her pasture mate. She is doing fine with it. I know Tough 1 just came out with a new grazing muzzle with better holes for breathing. It was too small for my mare's nose though.

I have also used BestFriends muzzles, the grazing muzzle for our pony who can get too fat and the cribbing muzzle for my daughter's horse. Their cribbing muzzle is the only thing that works for him, although he has learned to use it to get attention for feeding time and as a weapon if you aren't watching! I also highly recommend that you get the nylon halter that they offer - it's well padded and comfy for the horse who wears a muzzle all of the time. We have two sets for the cribber - one can be cleaned and dried while he wears the other.

My TB/QH gelding developed Cushing's at age eight!  He goes out in the Best Friends muzzle; when I initially put it on him he was furious and did his best to get it off.  He succeedded a few times, so I drilled a few extra holes around the big one and he has become used to it.  I second Kelly's advice about putting fuzzies all over the halter and the rim of the muzzle; your horse can get rubbed rather quickly.

My Rocky Mountain Horse hated the Best Friend's muzzle at first, but I make sure he's fed and has had sufficient hay before putting him out in it.  He's learned "the program" now, and knows that it's off when he's in, and on when he's out, and doesn't fight it anymore.  Pad the muzzle (like the others say) with fleece halter pads cut to fit where you need to - or I hear moleskin works also.  If you can arrange a feeding of hay mid-day, without the muzzle, of course, that's very helpful to transition the horse to wearing it without fighting it as much.

I use the Best Friends deluxe and made the hole in the bottom of the basket bigger (maybe 1 1/2 inches total)and my mare doesn't mind it too much. Make sure you check their front teeth for excess wear as I've seen it on one horse (dif. muzzle, though, not BF)just something to be aware of.

Maggie

The grazing muzzle..A love hate relationship! I hate feeling like a jerk meanie putting my 2 out, but I love knowing I can turn them knowing I'm preventing a horrible alternitive! I too have the best friends brand. I cut out a couple of the nylon 'bars' right in front of the nostrils(not with it on), that seemed to help with the "Darth Vadar" breathing. Oh!! Seal the nylon edge with a lighter to keep it from fraying.

I moved to Kentucky 2 years ago and did have any problems with my horses until this year. We had a ton of rain and cool temperatures so the grass is still growing strong in mid-september.

My gelding almost foundered. I didn't have the heart to keep him locked in a stall most of the time so I went out and bought muzzles. Well he sulked for the first week trying everything he could think of to get it off, rolling, splashing in the water trough, etc. But instead he chewed through the bottom of the first one. Then the 2nd one. So I found one that's a combination cribbing/grazing muzzle. It has the metal bars on the bottom for cribbing but it also has a replaceable rubber insert with a hold in the middle to make it a grazing muzzle.

He has now accepted the muzzle and puts his head down when I put it on.

Also he's a lot happier now that he can go out all day.

We have a fat little Quarter Horse mare .... bred as a cowhorse & built like a tank. Our farrier got her through a few founders & we feel lucky.  But she's now in a dry pasture w/a buddy that puts on weight like she does.

I have another mare 12 year old Quarter cowbred, who gets fat easy, but it only seems to bother one front foot that grows no heel. I just got thru a bad spell due to a hot nail.I finally decided I had to do something else for this horse besides shoes.This hot nail was sorta the last straw for me. I researched going barefoot & now feel like an idiot for not doing so sooner. With the use of a boot, the mare is making great progress barefooted.

I no longer feel like I have to give her a flake morning & night.We have bermuda that gets eaten down pretty well, but a flake twice a day is making them all fat.Fight the urge to overfeed your horse. YOu'll save money on hay but more importantly, keep your health healthy. YOu can supplement to insure a healthy diet.

My friend wasn't so lucky.She had her warmblood gelding on pature where she was keeping him temporarily and he foundered, sloughed the hoofwall despite all attempt to save the foot and she had to put him down.

DO NOT think that all founders can be survivable.When you take your horse to new pasture w/new grasses & feed, find out from the local vet if there is a time of year when the grasses are dangerous.

LOosing a horse or coming close will damn sure make you a believer. Take care & think barefoot.

I've tried several different kinds of muzzles on my Peruvian Pasos and the only one that works and isn't destroyed within 24 hrs is the plastic anti-grazing muzzle.  It's a plastic bucket that attaches directly to the halter.  I've been using the same one for about 8 weeks and they still don't show any wear.  We did modify them slightly - my husband opened up 2 holes on the bottom so they are about 3/4 inch in diameter.  It allows them to actually get a little grass with some significant effort.  They can drink easily and the ventilation seems to be good.  We had a close call with founder this spring when we tried to introduce them to pasture. They spent most of the summer on dry lot before I found a muzzle that actually works for them.  We tried the nylon/rubber bottom ones - one horse destroyed his in less than 24 hrs and the ones with the metal bars on the bottom - they figured out how to get the rubber out of it in less than a day.  Using the plastic anti-grazing muzzles I've managed to take off about 80 lbs each horse. We give them about 5 lbs of hay per horse AM and PM.  The rest of the time they have the muzzles on and can be out in the pasture with the other horses.  I don't have to worry about them breaking the muzzles and getting too much grass again.  Great product and it's the least expensive one I've found and it actually works!

I go through the guilt trip about the muzzle also, especially since our summers are so hot.  This summer was especially bad.  I would put my horse in his run-in stall, give him a little hay, take him out to urinate after an hour and a half (he does so on command), put him back up with a few carrots in his bucket, etc., so I could get the muzzle off in the terrible heat.  It is our routine.  He is IR, but amazingly now I worry about him loosing too much weight because his metabolism has turned around.  As I see it, it's either the muzzle (which he puts up with ecause he gets some carrot when it goes on) or death by laminitis.  My prayer is for an early freeze w/ lots of rain to wash the NSCs out of the grass, and then I can remove the muzzle for the winter.  We've done this for 3 years now, and it does work.  Exercise is very important for the IR horse also.

I would like to use a grazing muzzle but my equine tend to get it hooked on a sprinkler when they itch their head. They could end up with an eye injury. We let our horses out on pasture for an hour or so and then get them in the corral and in the afternoon we let them out again for an hour or so.

Between busted sprinkler and potentual eye injuries, I do not have haulters or anything to get caught on.

I use the Best Friends CRIBBING muzzle as an anti- grazing muzzle. It allows them to get a bit more grass, but my horse panics when you put the one with the holes in it on her as she can't breathe freely.

The Best Friend Deluxe (all in one piece) is the best.  We have the horses either on a dry lot/or in stalls during the day and then muzzles on pasture at night.  They each get 1/3 of a flake of hay when in.  Just a reminder, NSC can be high even in the winter here in Maryland.

I too use the Best Friend muzzle. My pony used to run! when I came out with it, but now I take it off every morning put some treats in it and she is happy to stick her nose back in. No more running. Another solution I've found is Jamie Jackson's Pasture/Paddock Paradise method. You'll have to Google it.