Fireworks?

[kevin27]

I'm wondering what others do about fireworks, we live in the fourth-most populous county in New York. 91% of the population is packed, in our western half of it. Katz isnt pregnant, so what should we ask the vet for to make that couple of days go smoother.

 

[Cayuse]

I go through this every year almost. We have neighbors that like to set off fireworks. Last weekend my new mini was introduced to them and he was horrified, poor little devil. My husband turned on the barn lights and sat with the horses to reassure them, and threw them some hay. He slowly settled down.

Do you have a barn? I would confine them so they don't get running and give them hay. A radio helps mine, too. I am lucky in that my other two are not reallly bothered by the commotion, so they offer some support to the little guy.

ETA: I have had many horses over the years and they have always adjusted, some easier than others but they do adapt to the noise.

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

Where in NY are you!? I'm in CNY.

Most will be fine with fireworks so long as they aren't immediately above them. Not all too different from a storm.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Mine are fine with fireworks also. I think one of them would like to light the fuses. But I always confine them, just to keep them safe in case...

 

[Jean_B]

They will be fine as long as they are a short distance away. Food is a good distraction.

 

[Miniv]

Good advice above.......... If you have a barn/enclosure with lights.....Crank up the radio.....and give them extra hay to focus on.

 

[paintponylvr]

We've been in NC since 1997. The first set of horses and ponies we had were on a leased 3.5 acre pasture that was in between cotton and tobacco fields. No one had any fireworks that made any difference to them then.

In 2004, we moved to Lillington, to a leased 9 acres "farmette". The property was somewhat narrow and long. We had neighbors on both sides and the one set of neighbors had almost 30 narrow acres that ran back past our furthest pasture. However, they had 4 other family members w/ houses that bordered our pastures on the one side all the way back. Every year, at least two of those houses set off fire works - and even with hay/feed in front of them the ponies and horses would get to tearing around. After the first time, I caught our full size horses(arabs & arab Xs) and put them either in the barn or in the round pen - limiting their running/cart wheeling about. If they got to running around a lot, I usually checked on them later and would hose off any hot/sweaty ponies/horses - sometimes at 1 or 2 in the morning after all fireworks have been done.

I actually don't mind fireworks being set off and have the mind set that it's good exposure for the ponies. They do get to the point that they settle down. Folks around here will set off fireworks on the New Year, Memorial Day and Labor Day as well. We also set off fireworks a time or two - making sure that they didn't land in the pastures that had ponies in them.

Now, our new property (owned this time - last move, hopefully) - we are in a "fly over zone" for Ft Bragg. Just the other day, I thought that a c-130 was gonna belly down into our trees!! We have days/nights when the firing ranges are in full swing and trust me - the first few times when bombs would go off during training exercises, the ponies would run like mad! I usually walked fences the first several months to make sure no one fell and hit or tore thru a fence line - after waking one morning to find ponies all jumbled together where they shouldn't have been (1 - 16' panel looked to have been run into during the night and was mangled and torn off one end post - allowing them to mix together - that was actually 6 months after we'd moved in and I hadn't walked the fence line the night before during/after a training exercise). Sometimes it isn't just the windows on the house rattling, but the whole house literally shakes with the big booms. After almost 18 months here now, the ponies are pretty used to it - they don't run like they did previously. I don't remember there being any major fireworks last year and next weekend I plan on going up to see a fireworks show at a town that usually has a good set up (about 50 miles away since we moved). Will be going with our 2nd daughter, her new hubby and our "new" grand children. The ponies here should be fine and I will check them when I get home.

I like the advice you've been given.

 

[susanne]

When we first adopted Mingus, we lived on a 1/2 acre property in a very urban neighbrhood in Portland, Oregon. We had purchased the place two years earlier, so I knew that on the 4th as well as the weeks before and after, the block became a war zone. I was worried how Mingus would react, but I had no way of closing him in his run-in.

Keith and I set up chairs outside his corral so we could keep an eye on him and waited for the first explosion. Our next door neighbor was the chief culprit, setting off huge mortars (illegal i Oregon) despite the tall firs on his and our properties.

The first launch was a doozie that exploded directly over our heads, shaking the ground and rattling our chairs. We winced, but Mingus stood in the middle of his corral, enjoying the show. His thought bubble read, "Wow...cool, due!" He spent that entire evening (and every 4th that we lived there) looking up at the sky. When Thelonius joined us, I'm not sure he was quite as thrilled, but he simply stood behind Mingus, watching from under his neck.

Now that we live out in the country, our horses hear gunfire frequently and think nothing of it. I worry more about our dogs, as I previously had one (Hillary) who was utterly terrified of the mildest of fireworks.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Our company over the Fourth also did target shooting, so there was lots of noise that day. I kept mine in the corral and gave them an extra ration of alfalfa. Checked on them during the evening and they were fine. Dapper Dan stood at the gate, as though asking to be in on the action. There were some fireworks for several evenings and they were fine with it. I am not sure what makes some horses tolerate the noise better than others. I feel lucky mine do. My dog? We put him in the house over the Fourth. But I worry more about what the picnic pickings will do to him than stress over the loud noises.