Preparing your horses for fireworks season

Poor goats :unamused:
Sounds like Theo acted sensibly :+1:
Last night ended well enough & I’m hopeful the maroons won’t continue tonight.

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I still have tonight and tomorrow to get through. Usually it’s 2-3 days of it around here. Last night was bad and my old pony, even with meds, is not doing well. It’s never been this bad before. We have ordinances, but no one will enforce and fine. The police came out yesterday at 10AM (yes, fireworks at 10AM) and told one neighbor to quit, but it didn’t do any good. These neighbors are about 400 yards from me and I also have to worry about the roof. But it’s not just them, it’s pretty much most everyone setting them off. It’s horrible.

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It sucks when neighbors are oblivious to anything that might affect their selfish idea of celebrating.
Is there any chance you could show them how your pony reacts & expect they might hold back some of the pyrotechnics?
Or are they - as @SusanO so aptly put it: ammosexuals?

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They don’t care. It’s all about them, as it is with most in this town, two other neighbors tried with them and got nowhere. The town FB comments were nauseating. Along the lines of “it’s only once a year so put your animals feelings aside and deal with it because we deserve out fireworks” I stayed out of that drama lol. Unfortunately I live in a town full of very entitled, well off people who think it’s all about them. We used to be a nice family rural town but that changed when the million dollars homes took over the farms. I’m considered the town trash, lol. I laugh but it hurts. Thanks for listening to this mini vent!

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The Old Man couldn’t care less, he is munching on his hay. Grundy is a little uptight, but is feeding off his energy and is munching well enough. No mega theatrics, and ultimately it’s good desensitizing so long as no one injures themselves.

I fogged the trees in the dry lot and their hay feeders - trying to take advantage of them being stalled for the night.

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I used to go every year the day after the holiday on July 4 and new years and load up on all sorts of fireworks for much discounted prices and take them home for horse training.
Sure it takes effort but it was worth it to not have the drama.

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It is the very rural, family lived here forever, type neighbors who are lighting off the fireworks here, not the transplants.

When I did night check at 9:30 last night, the old gelding had his Fenwick mask off. He was on high alert. The mare had one ear out of hers this am. I am pretty sure she has been eating the lion share of the hay overnight, as once the fireworks really get going once it is dark, he typically won’t eat.

Fireworks are illegal here. Wish the selfish, entitled people lighting them off could be deported.

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:face_with_symbols_over_mouth: I bet if their little floofy dogs got upset they’d care!
I’m facing similar here in the near future.
When I moved here, there was 1 subdivision up on my road & flagged lots for more.
Silly me thought they’d never sell :roll_eyes:
Today there are 5 “older” subdivisions on that road & 2 huge new developments. One has 176 rental houses & is filling up fast. Then there’s another next to that with houses for sale.
About 2mi North of me, on the same road, a 100+ac field is being turned into a combo housing, retail & restaurant complex. On a narrow 2- lane road.
Traffic gonna get ugly :grimacing:
Not to mention the increased number of Citiots being aghasted by what’s left of the rural folks.
& our livestock.

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I always found it interesting how the new residents of this town move here because it’s (or was, not so much anymore) rural and “charming” and then complain about the very same things that make it rural and charming.
The old pony made it through last night pretty good. The fireworks were not so continuous. He kept popping out his ear stuffies, lol. Dan said he musta grew some thumbs to be able to pry them out, I had them mashed in tight!

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Gotta say how proud I am of my horses last night.

Neighbors across the way and behind us were setting off big booms you could see over the trees and they kept heads buried in grass.

No running, slightly anxious when a crazy loud one boomed, they picked up heads but quickly went back to grazing.

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:ok_hand:Good on Old Pony.
Maybe he’s bowing to the inevitable & next year will be even less bother?

@luvmyhackney Glad yours found food more attractive than hysterics.
Kudos to Theo going with the flow :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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I have one mini like that, he’s so chill about the explosions (same mini had a wayward tent that blew loose at a show land on top of him and he didn’t budge he just kept eating while we untangled the mess, not my tent btw :joy:) my welsh pony just can’t adapt. The second mini, he’s making a little progress. He’s stopped spinning constantly, now it’s one spin and eat. It’s like a dance step with him.

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I hope so, but I just posted above that he just can’t seem to adapt to the closer ones, last night they were a little further afield and not constant so that helped quite a bit along with his trazadone. The “spinning” mini is doing better. I feel so bad for the old guy. I did find that if I sit with him, he is much worse. Even though I’m quiet and keep the energy low, he’s seems more stressed so I just watch him on the monitor.

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They are sooooooo sensitive to us, he may be picking up on even the teensiest bit of apprehension from you.

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I wouldn’t be surprised at all that that is happening. I’m not afraid of the FW but I do stress about their reaction to them.

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And… you’re also stressing about his reaction.
No matter how hard we try to tamp it down, they pick it up :expressionless:

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My horse Levi lives at the farm where I work. To get to work I have to drive through a gun/fishing club. It is less than 1/4 mile from the farm. They are having a carnival this weekend with professional fireworks. They stopped having them maybe 7 years ago. When they had them in the past they were about 30 to 40 minutes.
The barn owner has left 3 messages with the club to try to figure out if they are talking 20 minutes or 45 minutes. I makes a difference on which drugs she uses on which horses- ace, dorm, torb, sedivet or some combo. 34 horses on the farm including a 2 month old foal. Most will be in stalls overnight for a change.
Obviously these horses are all used to gunfire but the fireworks are something else.

One year she had hay rides, a church quartet, vespers on the front porch, and we turned the chairs around to watch the fireworks.

That far away your horses will be fine. For mine it’s not the sound or sight, it’s the smoke and smell that panics them.

Of course every horse is different.