Last night we could see/hear four professional fireworks shows at varying distances (closest was 2.25 miles) and a professional-size display by neighbors about half a mile away (illegal here but not enforced on the 4th). I’m usually not home so I was curious to see how the animals would react. My two horses trotted around once but mostly just kept grazing, and our dog who hides on the stairs at the slightest hint of thunder did not react either. I predicted the horses would be okay but the dog surprised me.
Surprising well behaved here. Our new neighbors, who are wonderful people in the sum, had a large display, very illegal. It was short, and early, unlike some of the ones farther away. I’d put the horses in the biggest 3 acre field, which also has the virtue of being essentially triple fenced by the other paddocks. They ended up behaving rather like a school of fish and the first gallop turned into a fast moving trot by the end (and not due to being tired out). I was worried that the 2 year old would end up chasing the old pony, instead they all moved together. Very pretty in the gun smoke… (but, only after it was clear that blind panic wasn’t going to happen!)They actually ended up watching some of the last display!
Honestly, I’d like more fireworks for them. I have to get them accustomed to loud bangs, I’ve got the neighboring winery and its bird cannon, which will be running shortly. I should probably dig out the practice blanks for shooting that I have somewhere.
So grateful that most of the folks around me respected the ban of all fireworks due to the insane heat we just had, the ongoing drought, and the general idea that fire is a bad, bad thing. We had a few big booms we could hear, but the horses (and our dogs) remained calm. In years past, the neighbors to our north and east-- the opposite sides from where the horses are in the barn/paddocks-- have let loose for hours with big, loud, aerial displays. The issue for my horses is the sudden appearance just behind their field of vision of the light and the incredible boom that is quite unpredictable. I think it’s true for most horses that loud noises are startling at first but the get used to it fairly quickly, but when they cannot see the source/know the source and it comes with bright light, the flight response is strong. I am glad to not have had to worry about the horses or have a dog plastered to me for days on end. Ban them permanently is fine by me!
that very well could have been Bonnie banging on the stall wall wanting her feed, she thinks she has been forgotten, poor dear who always the last to be fed.
My horses were always fine with them… until they weren’t. The problem was my old mare losing her vision. Suddenly she couldn’t handle them anymore. Her meltdown gets the entire herd riled up.
I’m glad the trazodone worked, though. I have heard of using it for dogs and fireworks, but never heard of anymore using it in that manner for horses. She still got upset and ran around a bit at times, but nothing like the full blown panic attacks of the past couple years. And as soon as the fireworks stopped, she stopped, instead of her usual MO of remaining on edge all night.
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I was braced for the worst as fireworks started going off around me and then a quick moving storm blew in and all fireworks ceased. About 10 minutes after they started, so it was great. Thank you Mother Nature!
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We had a lot of fireworks on all sides of us but nothing right on top of us thank goodness. Luckily the horses did great - pretty sure the 23yo TWH field trial been there done that mare helped my daughter’s QH and my goofy TWH with their anxiety by her being entirely uninterested in them. Good news is this was excellent practice for my TWH whom is hopefully going to train well for my field trial horse…gunfire shouldn’t upset him too much if all that fuss didn’t!
My neighbors put up professional fireworks every year for New Years and the 4th. I stayed home yesterday but I could have left. They were fine. But I did take them out for a 7 mile ride earlier in the day.
I paired up my mustang with the old mare. If she got agitated, I wanted her to see how calm the old mare was. I also gave everyone supper right when the fireworks started. I had their feed just out of reach over the fence- they knew supper was waiting.
They are pretty used to guns going off. My neighbors shoot all the time.
I only have two close neighbors and they did not set any off. I did have people up the hill setting off quite a few complete with an aerial display above the tree tops. My two sensible horses were turned out after it got dark and they were mostly interested in grazing. I think the pony lifted his head a few times, snorted and went back to grazing. Chicken Little ran over to the fenceline where the other two horses were and mostly stood there watching what was in the sky. Fortunately those people ran out of cash/ fireworks about 10PM so it only lasted about 2 hours. My cats do not care at all. I live in Bubbaville so everybody is used to gun shots.
Hopefully we do not have a repeat tonight!
I thought of this thread today because I spoke with a friend whose family owns a boarding stable nearby. Their immediate neighbors set off fireworks without any notice to the surrounding property owners. One of the boarded horses broke two legs tearing around the field and had to be euthanized. 
Thankfully the on-site manager heard the horses running and found the injured one quickly, so he didn’t have to suffer all night.
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Ugh how horrible. That’s why even though my horses are very sensible I don’t let them in a big area when there’s fireworks, because sometimes they just start running to run.
This reminded me of a place not too far from me. The people who own the boarding barn are not horse people and lease the barn out to trainers. But they set off a massive fireworks display right over the top of the barn every year. They also like to hold huge bonfires throughout the summer. I know how much they pay, it’s not a cheap place, I’d be pretty ticked off if I had my horses there. I know at least one trainer who left due to ‘management issues’
