18 Ways to Deal with Horses and Fireworks

Tips for Helping Horses During Fireworks

• While you may never be able to hide the fireworks’ noise from your horse completely, you can certainly take some measures to mitigate the sights and loud noises. Some of these tips should be implemented on an ongoing basis, while others are good ideas for the big day. Even the smaller fireworks you use at home can terrify animals.

Horses and Fireworks – Train Early and Consistently

• Horse training should include building confidence, a daily task that helps them cope with new or challenging situations. Here are some things to do all year long before the big fireworks displays light up the night.

• You’ll need to distinguish between the fireworks sounds and the flashing lights – perhaps your horse is bothered by one but not the other. Then, you can focus on desensitizing and making your barn safe for the any scenario.

Desensitize your horse beforehand – apps can help

• The goal of desensitization is to acclimate your horse to new sounds and experiences so that any reactions of panic fade away. Unfortunately, flooding is a commonly touted (and cruel) way to do this. Instead, focus on creating a link between a sound or experience and a positive reward.

• Nothing gets an animal acclimated to booms and whirls better than positive reinforcement training. Desensitize your horse to the sounds of July 4th with an app, video, or game that includes fireworks sounds. There are dozens of pet-desensitizing videos on YouTube.com that you could play for your doggos and equine buddies long before the big holidays and reward them greatly as you do.

Baby steps and focus on the positive relationship

• Start small. Let your horse hear the fireworks for a few seconds, and reward greatly. If you do this for 10 seconds a day over several weeks, you can gradually increase the exposure time.

• Don’t force your horse to deal with the sounds. Instead, work on building the relationship between the sound and a reward, like a scratch, treat, or other kind gesture. The goal is to train your equine buddy to think, “Oh boy, oh boy, a treat for me; nothing is wrong; these booms mean I get a reward, and I’m so happy about it.”

This YouTube video has an hour of sounds to work with.

Calming supplements

• Many equine calming products contain magnesium, tryptophan, thiamine (B1), and herbs that may help your horse chill.

• Because there are so many, with various ingredient lists, it’s best to try them out months in advance.

• You need to know how long it takes for them to take effect and how well they work. Calming supplements may not be the only solution to the holiday shenanigans, but they are part of a larger plan.

• Discuss with your veterinarian any supplements you plan to use, as they may interact with prescription medications.

Read more about calming agents here.

Prescription medications from your vet

• Your veterinarian can help you find the best medications and sedation to safely keep your horse calm without becoming another potential reason for injury. The dosage may vary, too, depending on how they react. Additionally, more is not always better in many cases.

• Ensure that you and your veterinarian have clear instructions regarding prescriptions, supplements, and emergency contact information. The noise of the fireworks means vets are extra busy.

• If possible and advised by your vet, add your supplement and sedation plan into your normal routine as a test drive. Be aware that the firework sounds can alter their stress levels, but you want to ensure the sedation isn’t too excessive.

• Better living through chemistry, as they say, and this goes double for horses and fireworks.

Read more about calming supplements, tranquilizers, and sedatives here.

As July 4th Approaches

• Now it’s time to get more specific about preparing your barn for the holiday festivities. There are several things you can do with the help of your neighbors during the fireworks season to plan.

Check pastures, stalls, and fencing

• If your horse will be in the barn, pasture, or both, make things as safe as possible. Check fencing boards, gates, gate latches, and posts for safety. For stalls, ensure that no boards are loose, there are no tripping hazards with mats, and the walls are free of protruding objects. Pastures need an inspection to verify that no holes or obstacles could trip your horse.

• Some horses may choose to jump out of the window. Have a plan for this.

Keep your horse’s ground and bedding clear

• We know it’s best to feed and water on ground level, but for one night, make sure everything is off the ground. Instead of water troughs, hang buckets. Slow feeders should be higher. The goal is to remove anything that your horse could get stuck on.

Know the festivities schedule for your area

• Spend a few minutes finding out what public fireworks displays will be happening. You can map them to get a rough idea of where the sights and sounds are coming from and block views.

• Also, know your local fireworks laws! Many areas ban fireworks. Find out who to call if you need to report unruly hooligans. Upsetting a jerky neighbor is much better than paying a vet bill.

Talk to your neighbors

• Neighborly goodwill goes a long way. Do your neighbors have horses, too? Can you share ideas that have worked in the past? Or ask that their celebrations happen further away from your horses?

What equine vets will be on call?

• It’s terrible to think about, but ice storms and July 4th are busy vet days, especially after hours. Does your vet’s office have backup plans if they are too busy? Is there an equine hospital that can take your horse if need be?

Have the trailer and first aid kit ready

• Go into this day with a solid plan to minimize risks for everyone. If there’s the slimmest chance you’ll need to move your horse, have your trailer ready with bedding and hay. Then you can load up and go in case of emergencies.

• It’s also an excellent opportunity to double-check that your vet kit contains clean wound care items, such as wraps, cotton, diapers, wound cleaner, and pain medications. Check expiration dates, too, and ensure all your meds are within the safe temperature zone.

This article has tips on what to put in your first aid kit. 

Change the routine for your horse early, and fireworks are not such a huge deal

• The most important thing to remember about horses and fireworks is to maintain your horse’s routine as much as possible, while also taking some safety measures into account. If your horse usually is out at night but does better in a stall for scary events, introduce the stall during their regular turnout times about a week in advance so they won’t be surprised. They can always go back out after a few hours.

• The idea is to “test-drive” a safe routine before implementing it for real.

Horse Care on the Big Day

• Get your horse ready as if the booms and whizzes don’t even exist. Also, if you choose to leave a halter on your horse, it must be a breakaway. If you don’t have one, you can pick up an inexpensive leather crown piece to modify an existing halter.

Exercise your horse beforehand

• Horses chill out after a wonderful day of turnout, playing with friends, and a nice ride or lunge. Let your horse get their ya-ya’s out during the day to make settling down easier later. Riding during the big show is not a great idea!

• Ensure that your interactions are positive. Your horse should feel confident in you after a ride or hack.

Identify your horse with permanent markings

• Many times, horses do best in the field instead of the barn. In that case, you may have a horse pop the fence and take a joy ride around the area. Mark your horse with your and your vet’s contact information.

• You can do this with a luggage tag in their mane or tail. You can also write that info on their hooves in permanent marker. BUT! Those methods are only good if someone can catch your horse.

• Alternatively, use grooming sprays like Show Touch Up to write your phone number in massive print across your horse’s body. Now, it’s safer for everyone.

Some fly bonnets have padding over the ears to muffle sounds. 

Use earplugs

• Pop some fuzzy pom-poms or fluffy horse earplugs into your horse’s satellite dish ears. Secure this setup with a fly bonnet under a breakaway halter. You can skip the poms and use a fly bonnet with built-in noise canceling if your horse is weird about things in their ears.

• Again, test this out well in advance of when you need the sound dampening.

Close windows and doors in the barn

• Closing up the barn accomplishes a few things. You can block some noise, block some views, and also prevent escapes. A panicked horse through the window is not unheard of, so be prepared for this. I have no statistics about this, but it’s rare. But still! Horses!

• If you think your horse settles better when able to see the show, leave the windows open but put a few stall chains across them so there is a sight line, and jumping out is less likely.

Keep the lights on

• The barn lights make the outside world less clear, making the sights fuzzy and less drastic.

• Barn lights also provide better visibility for checking on the horses. If that doesn’t work for your setup, have some light sources readily available to check on everyone, but make sure your horse is familiar with what flashlights look like in the dark.

Use slow feeders

• Nothing says relaxation more than a giant hay play bag filled to the brim with delicious, distracting snacks. You may need to test out the best location so your horse can keep an eye on things, or if the hay bag should lure your horse into a less visually stimulating spot.  It will depend on what your horse finds soothing.

• If your horse is in the field, you can offer hay if their pasture is sparse.

Play music

• Many horses don’t mind music around them, while others are highly sensitive to it. Try mellow classical music or talk radio for the booms and loud noises. Do you know what your horse likes? Folk music? Polka? The possibilities are endless.

Be present

• If your horse loves hanging out with you, be with your horse during scary times. I don’t suggest holding your equine buddy for two reasons: they may run over you, and you are denying them the opportunity to find a safe place for themselves.

• However, being there often provides reassurance.

Yes, occupy your horse with food, but don’t leave it on the ground. Usually. 

Why are horses often scared of fireworks?

• The horse’s fight, flight, or freeze response is intense, and a horse’s sharp hearing can trigger these responses. Fireworks are rare, loud, and unpredictable, triggering stress, fear, and running right into a vet bill.

What specific training techniques help desensitize horses and fireworks?

Positive reinforcement training can systematically desensitize horses to fireworks. Gradually exposing them to the sound at a safe distance and pairing it with positive experiences can reduce their fear and anxiety over time. Flooding, when you force horses to remain fearful until they give up, is never kind or effective.

What are signs that a horse has stress during fireworks?

Stressed-out horses will have increased pulse and respiratory rates, and they may sweat, pace, whinny, tighten up, have wild eye expressions, or prance around. Many will bolt, and some may freeze and panic in place. Your vet can help with medications to alleviate stress and make horses and fireworks less dangerous.

Video