Tips On How To Look After Your Horse On Bonfire Night
As we approach Bonfire Night, it can be an anxious time for your horse. In this blog, we share a few of our tips on how to look after your horse on Bonfire Night.
Stay Calm
If you have an anxious horse, it is even more important to stay calm around your horse. Your horse will sense if you feel worried, and this could aggravate the issue. If you are a worrier, maybe ask a stable pal to attend to your horse whilst the firework displays are on and do something useful like cleaning your tack or your friend’s tack to keep your mind off it all! Your friend will be grateful for tack clean, and it will keep you from adding anxiety to the situation.
Routine Ready
Keeping to the same routine is the best option if safe to do so. Your horse may take comfort from their herd in the field or the familiarity of his stable, but make sure that both areas are safe and both fencing and stabling are secure. Check for any foreign objects that could pose a hazard to your horse if he takes flight.
Plan Ahead
If you know that there will be a big firework display nearby and your horse is highly anxious, it may be worth thinking about alternative stabling options. Stabling away somewhere where there are no big displays, even just overnight, might help. Alternatively, asking the vet for sedation is another option. The World Horse Welfare Charity recommends you research to determine what events are in your area and how they might impact your yard and horses.
Stable Safe
If your horse is usually turned out at night, but you know of a big firework display nearby that will upset your horse, it might be advisable to introduce stabling for a short period. Bringing him in a few days ahead of the display might be a good idea. Give them a chance to adjust to their new routine in the peace and quiet before the noise starts. If you go into the stable, make sure you wear a riding hat and keep your distance.
Radio Ga Ga
At our yard, we always have the radio on. However, during bonfire night, we will go down to the yard and turn the radio up full blast to help drown out the bangs and whizzes. The horses can still hear the fireworks, but it dampens the sudden noises and seems to help calm the horses.
Enjoyed This Blog? You Might Enjoy 13 Ways To Be More Productive This Winter.
