Grazing Muzzles

low intake vitamin and mineral supplement pellet should be added to the diet as a means of supplying key nutrients to the horse without excess calories. 
Another key to success is limiting or eliminating access to pasture. Pasture grazing represents an unregulated source of calories that cannot be easily quantified. It is therefore necessary to limit pasture access until weight loss has been achieved.
How grazing muzzles work
Physical prevention of excessive pasture intake by horses can be achieved using grazing muzzles which are commonly recommended for controlling grass intake in overweight and laminitis prone horses and ponies. The use of grazing muzzles reduces bite size and restricts intake to the tops of leaves where the concentrations of sugar NSC tend to be lowest. Grazing muzzles may be favoured by owners over other methods of intake restriction that limit animals to very short turnout times or confinement to stables or small bare paddocks. The muzzles enable the animal to graze larger areas and for longer periods and owners do not have to implement severe changes to their facilities. In addition a horse that is allowed to graze with a muzzle continues to move around in the pasture and get at least some exercise.
Does my horse or pony need one?
Not all horse owners need to be concerned with pasture intake restriction. For the majority of horses total restriction is not always a viable or desirable option for financial welfare and health reasons. It may also not be necessary for those animals that are not predisposed to a metabolic disorder. The first step in determining if your horse is a candidate for a grazing muzzle is to determine the laminitis risk.
There may be breed age and sex influences in the incidence of laminitis. Certainly it is generally accepted that ponies are more commonly affected