Grazing Muzzle Keeper – Method to Keep Grazing Muzzles On

OCTOBER 31, 2018

The following “Tip of the Day” is provided to assist you with horse and farm management.  It is an idea developed by and/or used by Leslie Raulin.  This tip is available to you at your own risk.  Leslie Raulin does not make any claims or warranties nor does she have any financial interest in any products that may be mentioned.

Spring and fall pasture growth can be very rich and therefore make horses susceptible to laminitis.  Two of my four horses had mild bouts of laminitis (thankfully, no significant rotation so both remain sound).  My vet therefore recommended that Annie and Ollie wear grazing muzzles from mid-September until the first real deep freeze and in the spring as soon as the grass starts growing. For both horses, that is easier said than done.  They are both experts at rolling and rubbing until they get their grazing muzzles (and fly masks) off.  So, I set out to find a technique to keep the muzzles on.  After many prototypes, the following is what has worked for me.  It is easy, cheap, and effective!

MATERIALS:

The materials are cheap and may be free!

  • 46″ of 1″ webbing.  This can be purchased at a fabric store or online or you can use an old blanket strap.
  • 1″ carabiner as in the photo.  You can also use twine, tape, Velcro, etc.
  • 1″ D-ring (can be salvaged from old blankets).
  • 1″ clip, similar to the photo (can be salvaged from old blanket leg straps).
  • 2 1″ tri-glide slide adjustment clips (can be salvaged from old grazing muzzles)

NOTE: I tried plastic and smaller clips but a day of rolling and rubbing resulted in broken parts.

PREPARATION AND ASSEMBLY: Flame the edges of the webbing to prevent fraying. Assemble as in the photos.

PUT IT ON YOUR HORSE:

Put the grazing muzzle with keeper on your horse as in the photo.

Adjust the webbing strap so it is just shy of snug when the horse is standing.  It will be looser when the horse is grazing.

I have used this grazing muzzle keeper for multiple seasons and my horses have not been able to get a muzzle off.  The keeper can also be used to keep fly masks on when under a halter outfitted with a keeper.  Enjoy!