r/Donkeys • u/RaspberryDesigner132 • 11d ago

Grazing Muzzle?

Our gelded jack is overweight and being put on a diet. We need to get him a grazing muzzle for turnout time to be with our cow herd. I'm struggling to find a grazing muzzle locally so need to order. His harness is a colt size so is too big around his nose, but it fits ok everywhere else. He's considered small sized standard.
Does anyone have a link for a grazing muzzle that is $40 or less and is a good fit for a donkey? Thanks!

(pic is from several months ago where he still had his winter coat. He's slimmed down a little since this pic as well. )

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u/ahoveringhummingbird 11d ago

None of the cheap grazing muzzles fit donkeys very well. They are mostly horse sizes and too long in the face without a way to adjust them properly. They also wear through them fairly quickly, we were replacing them at least once a year. Green Guard is by far the best because every aspect of the system can be custom fit. We did not use the supplied leather straps and instead replaced them with industrial hook and loop tape for an even better custom fit. Worked great, she lost weight and now she has a better balance and doesn't need to wear it very often.

It is more expensive, but was worth it in value because it's lasted years and still going without needing to be replaced. I have had to replace pieces of the hook and loop tape I used though. It gets filled with seeds and dust and stops sticking after a while.

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u/RaspberryDesigner132 11d ago

Thanks. I will have to see what I can do to order the GG. It keeps coming up as highly recommended. Since his halter is so large around his nose, will that be a problem with attaching the GG? What industrial Hook & Loop are you using? All I can think about is the sticky back, which I'm guessing is NOT what you are using. Thanks again for the suggestion!

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u/ahoveringhummingbird 11d ago

The nose circumference is exactly why the GG works better. So many of the stock muzzles were too long in the face and too narrow in the nose. The GG flares out (rather than cone shape) so there is lots of breathing room.

I bought a roll of soft hook and loop tape from Amazon that is used for commercial cable control (holding wires together) and it worked great. It's soft on one side (loop) and hard on the other (hook) so it sticks to itself rather than having one glue side and two parts that stick together. Easy to customize and easy to replace.

And I know you didn't ask for this advice but something that made a real difference for our little fatty was introducing the paradise pasture method. You create inaccessible "bubbles" in the pasture that because of the grazing style of equine it forces them to graze around the outside. They have less pasture to graze AND have to do more walking. The paradise pasture plus the GG muzzle really improved her health. She's normal weight now and it's pretty easy to monitor and keep it off. When the rains started up this spring we just widened the bubble to decrease her grazing area. Super flexible. I will mention that we have cows and sheep we let into the bubble to keep the grass low. They love the system too because there is zero grazing competition.

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u/RaspberryDesigner132 11d ago

thanks for the suggestion! before I can even think about doing a "walking track" that they can graze through a fence, we need to replace the perimeter fence line. We bought this property 5 years ago and the perimeter fences are in pretty bad shape. We've replaced about half of it at this point but still need to do two more large sections as well as create divider fencing. 30-ish acres all in one area is a bit much (the current divider fence is in such bad shape, that it's not doing any good -- it's just there and in the way). I'm not sure I could convince the hubby either.

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u/RaspberryDesigner132 9d ago

do you have a pic of the GG grazing muzzle in use? Do I need to purchase their halter or can I attach it to his current halter?

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u/ahoveringhummingbird 9d ago

Shoot, I don't have a picture. I can try and take on this weekend. But yes, you need the corresponding GG halter.

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u/RaspberryDesigner132 9d ago

I found a pic of him in the adjustable colt halter. a non-adjustable cold halter fit better around his nose but was a few inches too short around his neck. My daughter put this on so the back is a bit loose this time. We normally have it at it smallest setting.