We're so lucky to have an established and growing part of the GG Equine Herd that's based in Canada. One of our best and most memorable experiences as a company was tabling at the Can-Am All Breeds Equine Expo in Markham, Ontario, back in the spring of 2019. Canadian equestrians were curious and eager to talk about our muzzles and halters, and they were warm and welcoming toward our trade show staff.
One of the surest signs that grazing muzzle season is well and truly underway is when our Canadian friends start posting photos of their horses wearing their grazing muzzles. Once the pasture grasses in Canada have grown enough to require muzzles, we know that even the snowiest parts of North America are alive and grazing ready.
This Herd Story takes us to Ontario to visit with Melissa and her mare Kat, a 14.12hh, 15-year-old Rocky Mountain Horse. Melissa says that Kat "has a wonderful, smooth gait and is very sure-footed. We love to hit the trails and sometimes compete in hunter paces or endurance. Mostly, we just have fun."
Despite their active lifestyle, Kat also has "a history of laminitis and she is an easy keeper." Naturally, Kat "loves to eat" and is "too smart for her own good." This combination of traits and medical history must be familiar to so many of our readers. It's no surprise to hear that keeping Kat "from eating too much" is not only "essential to her wellbeing," but also an ongoing challenge.
Given this history, it also won't surprise you to hear that Melissa and Kat have a long history and broad experience with grazing muzzles. Like many of our GG Herd members, the GreenGuard muzzle was not her first rodeo. Indeed, she and Kat tried other brands before.
Trial and error can be a significant portion of your grazing muzzle journey. Every horse is different, and it can take time, patience, and a lot of perseverance to find a grazing muzzle that works for everyone. Melissa says that "the traditional nylon basket weave type of muzzle gave Kat horrible rubs" since "it stayed wet all the time."
Melissa and Kat got their "first GreenGuard muzzle maybe about 4-5 years ago." Although Melissa "loved my first GreenGuard," she found that Kat was "getting some wear on her front teeth." They switched to a "soft silicone muzzle," but found it "wasn't as restrictive" on grass intake, and that "Kat was eating too much through the side" of it.
In that era, GG Equine was starting to develop and test our leather muzzle inserts. We heard our customers asking about and reporting incidents of tooth wear with their aggressive grazers and began to create this solution. Leather inserts were intended not only to give horses' teeth a softer and more natural grazing surface, but also to keep GreenGuard muzzles from wearing through. It's easier to replace a piece of leather than an entire muzzle.
As we prepared to roll out our leather inserts, the GreenGuard manufacturers debuted the new-style grazing muzzles with slots and their own softer rubber inserts. "Through a friend and Facebook group chat," Melissa says, "I found out about" these and ordered them from GG Equine. This was the combination that they had been waiting for, because Melissa says that with them, "Kat immediately started to lose weight."
We’re grateful to GG Herd members like Melissa and her mare Kat for sharing their experiences with us! One of the real takeaways here is that if you’re willing to put in the effort for and with your horse, you can find a method and an approach to muzzling that works for both of you.
At GG Equine, we’re committed to ongoing research and product development. If today’s product lineup doesn’t fit all of your needs, our customer support team is happy to work with you and help you find workable solutions. We have our own growing and helpful community of GG Herd members in our private Facebook group. They are always willing to offer and share their knowledge.
