Horse Safety Blog

As a lover of animals, horses in particular, I sometimes browse horse forums and there seems to be a following trend of fireworks hate. However I see this as a biased view. Fireworks can be enjoyed with a very small or no level of stress involved as long as the individual animal has its needs catered to, here’s a few tips that will mean you can enjoy the fireworks without having to worry about your horse.

Firstly, consider if you feel the horse would be more comfortable stabled or out on the field. Some would rather be sheltered and out of the way with the stable doors fully closed, others may want to know what is going on and feel more comfortable being able to see what is going on (but do leave the stable door open with free access in case the horse has a change of heart). Always remember, you may want to stable the horse for your own peace of mind, but if it feels more comfortable out in the open then you must do what is best for them.

If the noise is what alarms and scares the animal, a tried and tested tip I have come across on a few forums would be to leave a radio on low volume when you leave the horse, as voices can be used to sooth the animal as well as drown out some noise, the same principle applies with leaving a low level light on, as this seems to calm them more than being in the pitch black with bangs all around.

The company of other horses can give them reassurance and comfort that they aren’t alone. If this is not possible another coping mechanism used is lots of hay, eating can be a good distraction for them.

Once the fireworks are over, make sure that you remove any debris that may have fallen in the field as this can cause more damage to the horses than the actual setting off of fireworks.

If none of these steps work with your animal then sedation may be a technique you may have to use, asking your vet about what to use for sedation, or they may be able to sedate your horse for you at a price. Of home sedations you can use, sedalin seems to be an effective paste to calm the animal, with some animals a proper vet will need to administer controlled sedatives ensuring that safe doses are used.

With these tips in mind and working out a plan for your own horses needs I hope you can enjoy the fireworks with peace of mind!