The Harmany Muzzle

"Sami" The Perfect Model"

" Does this make me look silly, are the guys going to make fun of me"

"Are you kidding me...what is this contraption anyway!"

We recently purchased the Harmany Muzzle to prevent Blue and Sami from ingesting too much grass while grazing.  They are the two horses here who need it most.  We attached them to their halters today to see how they would do with them and put them in the small grass paddock by the barn so we can keep an eye on them.  The one concern we had was that they wouldn’t fit into the automatic waterers but Blue tested his out first thing and it does fit in the bowl easily and doesn’t get caught on the bottom of the rim which sort of sticks out a little.

" We really need to talk about this"

I think we still have to make adjustments with the fit so it will be a learning curve.  The muzzles can be shaped by heating them with hot water.  We decided to try these particular muzzles because they seem more lightweight and more adjustable to give a more custom fit as needed.  Another plus is they can be cleaned at the end of the day by rinsing them off under water.  So we’ll see how it goes and I’ll let you know what we think of them after a few weeks.  I’m interested to see how they hold up.  Blue is notorious for trashing grazing muzzles.  I can only hope he’s met his match with this one.

Here is part of the ad for Harmany Muzzles:

"The Harmany Muzzle is designed to be open and airy, allowing better ventilation for the horse while still slowing his forage intake. Instead of nylon webbing which can absorb moisture and then mold or mildew, the Harmany muzzle is a medical-grade plastic containing kevlar fibers: the plastic will not splinter or snap to produce sharp edges (though horses can eventually chew through it like a conventional muzzle — Dr. Harman is looking into solutions for that problem.) At the end of the day, the entire muzzle can be hosed down or washed with soap and water and easily dried: no more worries about your horse breathing in mold!"  If you want to check it out for yourself here’s the website: http://www.harmanymuzzle.com/


Until next time

Quote for Today

Love means attention, which means looking after the things we love. We call this stable management.

Dusty’s Annoyed

"This is just so unfair"

What a surprise, Dusty is annoyed with me yet again.  So, why is she annoyed with me?  Well, no matter how many times I explain to her that she has to wear the dreaded grazing muzzle for her own good, she’s not buying it.  My feelings about this are better safe than sorry.  Her intake of the newly sprouting Spring grass may have been a factor that contributed to her founder. Her foot is almost totally grown out and looking good and her shock wave treatments worked miracles on her legs.  Dusty has been working lightly on the longe under tack and doing better than ever.  She was even tracking up last time we worked.  My target date for a first ride will be sometime during the first week of April.

  

Our vet was here last Thursday to administer some vaccinations.  We are only giving the minimum that we think they need and then only one every two weeks.  I’m not taking any chances this year with vaccinations that I feel caused Dusty’s previous two cases of founder.  This happened right after the shots from a company that shall remain nameless.  Obviously, we’re not dealing with that company anymore.  Personally, I think two bouts of laminitis is all she can take, a third time might have a disastrous consequence.

No matter how many times I explain that all this is for her own good and I’m only trying to keep her healthy, I’m still getting the stink eye every time that muzzle goes on. 

Until next time

Quote for Today

It is the difficult horses that have the most to give you.

Oh Blue

Here's a few pictures of Blue simply loving his grazing muzzle.  He actually tried to hide in the corner of his stall so I couldn't get it on him.

So much grass, so little time ...

" She's not getting away with this inhumane torture"

Here are a few pictures of what Blue did to his muzzle by the end of the day.  I don't know how he managed this destruction. I suppose where there's a will there's a way.  Guess he really took exception to me trying to limit his grass intake.

Until next time

Quote for Today
Seen on a bumper sticker:
If I didn't own a horse, this would be a Ferrari!