![]() Hard plastic muzzles will wear the teeth faster and may not wear out as easily. If the horses push hard against the ground, they will wear it out eventually and will wear down their teeth to some extent. Plastic muzzles are made from variable hardness plastics. I see many rubber muzzles where the hole is two to three times larger than it's supposed to be, so there’s no restriction in grass intake. Rubber does give a little and wears easily. While the traditional rubber sounds soft on the teeth, the horse is pushing it against the ground as she grazes. The muzzle material also plays a role in teeth wear. Some muzzles do not have the ability to change the size or number of holes, so if the grass is sparse, the horse will try harder to eat more forage. It is important to adjust the number of holes available to each horse depending on its size or the amount of grass in the field. These horses are most likely to wear their teeth, especially if an adjustable muzzle is used. If your horse shows signs of being uncomfortable after eating, has a poor coat or any digestive issues, it might be useful to put her on some herbs or probiotics for ulcers.Īnother way a horse displays stress is by pushing harder against the ground while trying to eat to more. This can cause stress, leading to increases in ulcers and can increase insulin resistance (IR), which is well-documented in human medicine for stress. Horses that crib or run their teeth on bars in the stall often wear their teeth much more than what occurs with a muzzle, yet muzzles often get the blame for tooth damage.īecause the muzzle restricts the amount of grass the horse can put in her mouth at one time, some horses become frustrated. However, as with everything in life, a bit of knowledge and common sense will make wearing a muzzle much less damaging. While this can be true, it's important to put it in the correct context.Ī grazing muzzle prevents a horse from overeating grass, which can save her life, or at least save the horse a bad case of laminitis and the owner thousands of dollars in veterinarian bills. Should I be concerned about proper adjustment to avoid tooth damage?Ī: Muzzles are often accused of damaging the horse’s front teeth. Q: With my laminitis-prone mare, I’m using a grazing muzzle to limit feed intake with early-spring grazing. The goal of this web-exclusive feature is to zero in on specific areas of hoof nutrition and avoid broad-based articles that simply look at the overall equine feeding situation.īelow you will find the latest question and answer installment that you can share with your footcare clients. Hoof Nutrition Intelligence is a twice-a-month web segment that is designed to add to the education of footcare professionals when it comes to effectively feeding the hoof.
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