You said:
my only question is...I do not have hogring pliers...can i just use
needle nose pliers to pry open the rings? Or is this going to be a pain
to bend them closed again?

The hogring pliers only close the hog rings.  They don't open them.  I
recommend just cutting the 'rings and replacing them with new ones.  You
can get this stuff from JC Whitney, I believe.

Believe it or not, I have actually applied these things to real live
hogs.  They don't like it much. In fact, I would say not at all, judging
by the sound they make.  The purpose is to supress excess rooting.  They
kin really tear up the yard, don't cha know.

Things change though; my daughter-in-law has a ring in her nose, and
seems quite proud of it.  Boy, I may get into some big trouble here.
She does like to garden, come to think of it.....

Chuck Hill