Horses and fireworks... Im seriously worried!!

[beanz's mum]

the other night i was putting ginger to bed p) , walked out of the stable and was just about to close the door when a bang went off (now i dont know what it was, sounded more like a distant gun shot than a firework but not sure ) anyway, gingers head suddenly went up, whites of her eyes, ears rotated back (not angry flat back but scared rotated back) and she shot forward- i suddenly had to put my hand in front of me to stop her (i pushed her chest as i was closing the door and didnt want her to get hurt, my hand is softer than a stable door) so she stoped and just stood in that scared position for 10 seconds, i shut the door not wanting to be crushed by a 16hh tb that weighs someting past 500kg!! and she peered out the stable looked round i stroked her and, was already chatting to her in the first place, so i carried on but in a soothing tone until she munched again...

now this was only a quiet bang, and she settled fairly quickly in my eyes but i am seriously worried as on bonfire night there are going to be hundreds of loud noises!

i dont want my baby - or any other horse for that matter - harming themselves!!!

what do you do with your horse on bonfire night?

 

[Grinyer224]

i know that it works for pets (my tutor is a vet nurse and uses it on her dog)
feramone (sp?) sprays.
she says they are like plug in air freashners which help to relax (tutor said her dog looked high) it is a good idea to talk to your vet because you may be able to get something like that to spray in her stable.
DO NOT get her sedated, although she will be unconcious she will still hear it so will get more nervous.
Have you checked how much noise can get into her stable if you close the top door?

hope she's ok

 

[JustJas]

My horses are in a field miles from any houses and at this time of year I am so greatful!
My cat tho is on feline vallium.

 

[karsteine]

Lady is always out in the field come bonfire night, her field is in the middle of nowhere si i guess i'm lucking on that front

 

[Dooley]

I wouldn't close the top door, she needs to be able to look outside and stare at whatever it might be. Especially if there are other horses in stables next to her she'll be happier if she can see them!
If you DO close the top door you need to go and open it up when the bangs are over. I really don't think you should leave her with a closed top door all night.
She'll probably make a total mess of her bed, boxwalk, get a bit runny if she's bad... but they do tend to get used to them when it's steady and ongoing. It's the odd one-off bang that normally makes mine jump.
The day after serious fireworks one of mine tends to be a bit of a nightmare going out - very jumpy. But he's never hurt himself in the stable, just made a complete mess

Good luck with yours.

 

[Zingy]

I generally find that with so many fireworks going off on the build up to bonfire night, by the time you get to bonfire night itself, the horses are used to it and don't really bother unless they're very close.

The only time they've ever been upset by them was when someone very close to the field set off about a dozen industrial sized rocket launcher things in quick succession while they were eating their tea. That required a couple of minutes of charging round the field, but it's the only time I've ever seen them not happily eating with it all going on around them

They do prefer being out though - I'm sure they feel safer being able to see everything and having the ability to move away from anything that did come and attack them!

If you've got to stable and your horse is a bit stressy, I'd try rescue remedy (in feed and in water so they get a decent dose then keep it topped up), drops of lavendar oil around the stable, and a radio on for the night.

 

[RRA]

Mine is turned out with 2 others that are quite a bit older and who apparently aren't bothered by them - they are all used to gunshots as quite a bit of shooting takes place near to their field so I'm hoping that she'll be OK and feel safe with her field mates! Also hoping that anyone having a firework party will remember not to fire them in the fields direction at least!

 

[cinammontoast]

Our yard are turning out tonight as there's a huge firework party down the road: we feel it's a safer option allowing them to run round rather than be cooped up and panicking.

 

[Ashlea]

I think its safer for (my) horses to be out rather than in - if they are gonna panic and be silly, Id rather they did it out in the open where they arent going to get caught on anything etc. Mine arent stabled anyway, but they do have free access to three shelters.

I would suggest keeping the horses out at night when fireworks are going off for a number of reasons (what if a rogue firework catches light to the stable? - im not saying that will happen...but it would be playing on my over active imagination, so Id worry less if they were in the open where they could escape!).

I cant really comment on someone elses choice to keep their horse in or out when fireworks are going off - obviously the owner will know their horse better, and will have a better idea of where their horse will be more relaxed in a tense situation...the owner will also have a better idea of how their horse is gonna react etc, and also whether there is more of a risk outside with it racing around and overworking itself rather than in a small space where it cant over-stretch itself...(sometimes confinement does stop an animal from over exerting itself when frightend, and stabling might be a better option in this case).

hhhmmm....In my situation, knowing my horses, and also the location, I would definately be happier leaving mine out where they can race around if they need to, or hide in the shelter if they want to. If I locked mine up I would worry that they couldnt escape if they needed too

TBH though, I think my horses are fine with loud noises. They are used to gunshots (hunting in local area), and they have seen plenty of bonfires. There has also been building works at the bottom of their field, and there are always trains whizzing past (field parallel to train track), so they should be used to all sorts of noises - thank God! Neither have a nervous dispostion, which helps!