Fourth of July

[Trenna]

I have two minis who go into stalls at night but my barn is about 300 feet from a housing development of rentals, small lots, lots of houses. Last year the noise was horrific for about 3 hours on the Fourth. Luckily we have an ordaniance that stops it at 11pm.

I was wondering what everyone does for the noise. We do have a stereo that we turn up during these hours.

I can't believe people use these and last year's sounded like a war zone (as though we want that) and I feel for all the animals that are so scared, but I still have to deal with it, unfortunately.

With a mini, do you give some tranqualizer and how much?

Thanks

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I put my dog in the house, as he does not like loud noises. My horses don't seem to mind fireworks, but I do put them in the corral for the evening.

My view on this, is a great big sigh of thanksgiving that the noise is temporary and caused by fun and celebration, and not by enemies or terrorists. An evening or so of relatively minor fireworks is a small price to pay to remember that we and our animals live safely and quietly the rest of the year. A whistling bottle rocket is nothing compared to "bombs bursting in air".

I, personally, enjoy the Fourth and watching rockets and cones going off. It reminds me how glad I am that there are no snipers on my rooftop or foreign tanks on the rural road by my house.

 

[lucky seven]

My horses big and small don't mind at all. The dog, on the other hand, hates and loud noise. After awhile your horses will be so used to it, they probably will sleep through it.

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

My coonhound x that's terrified of garbage bags and tinfoil will sit on the porch to watch storms or

Fireworks with us. Silly pooch! But this year he is staying in his kennel for the day while we go to the lake.

Ponies just stay inside. They don't think it's a big deal because we don't make it one. If they are panicking because it's booming outside they need more bombproofing is my opinion. Shouldn't be any different to them than a storm.

 

[Miniv]

In my opinion, all one can do is keep everyone inside, turn up the radio, leave lights on, and hope for the best.

Often times it's the initial booms that scare them, then after awhile they realize that the continuous booms haven't killed them yet, so probably aren't going to, so they settle down to just being irritated.

 

[amysue]

Have you considered using the foam or fleece ear plugs? I know they make them in pony size, dont know about mini size but you could probably trim them to fit. I have used dormosedan gel on a few minis before with the okay from the vet. It has not been evaluated in minis but luckily I have never had one experience a bad reaction. You have to purchase the drug from your vet who can better advise you on the dosage. I know the dosing plunger was in too big of increments for my mini so I sucked out a little bit with a needle and syringe and took the needle off the syringe and dosed him that way.

 

[Marty]

We, as party animals, were notorious for setting up a big fireworks show that lasts for hours. We don't do it anymore since the boys are gone but Dan will show up with a few every year at our picnic and I"m pretty sure I'll have a few of my own in my back pocket too.. I don't make a big deal of "protecting" them from these kinds of things. Not all all. The more they are exposed to deal with the better. They've been raised up around mowers and 4 wheelers and the occasional cop sirens and they are better off learning to deal with it. Sometimes I keep the horses outside and other times inside. After the first couple of fireworks, they should be pretty much are used to it. You can give extra hay and crank up the radio if you want but better to get them used to it for the future. Our music is always blasting anyway.Why don't you go buy yourself a few and set some off and start getting them used to it?

I'm a lot more inclined to worry about someone setting my barn or pasture on fire so I watch where people aim.

Enjoy the 4th.

 

[Minimor]

Well, I have had pasture horses that would have run themselves to death when the fireworks started going off next door to their pasture --they surely would have run themselves to exhaustion since it was a hot humid night -- so I went out and sat with them until the noise was over. They most certainly did not get used to it and ignore it after the first couple went off, not when they were out there alone, with my company they crisded around me and calmed down. The next year they were much better about it. I have also known people with stabled horses who did themselves serious injury even in their box stalls because of loud fireworks...so I can't say that I agree with the don't worry about it policy.

The one time I called and complained after 3 nights of fireworks, especially since I learned the people had two more nights worth of firecrackers. My mare that had WNV the previous September still had problems with loud noises for a full year after her illness and firecrackers were heck for her. The local cop paid the people a visit and that was the end if the noise--they took their remaining fireworks and went elsewhere.

If you have the horses in the barn with music in and they are still bothered by the noise, try sitting with them--if that doesnt help, try cotton in the ears. It will dull the sound and make them more calm.

 

[shorthorsemom]

I always think of the movie "babe" where the animals are saying OOOOHHHH AHHHHHH at the fireworks going off. LOL.

PS, my horses don't seem to mind

 

[MiniNHF]

When we had our farm, we were a couple of miles from the nearest little town and they always had fireworks on the last day of their carnival. We always made sure to bring in all the horses, even used our indoor arena if need be. We didnt want any to take off running at night and accidentally go through a fence line from being afraid.

 

[Marty]

I also live way far away from town and we have hunters that shoot their very loud shotguns off while hunting so that probably contributes a lot to why my horses ignore the booms.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Neighbors were shooting some off early last night. I went out to check on mine and open the gate between so they could hobnob if they wanted. They checked me for treats, then went to each other's feed dish to see if there were any morsels left.

Usually they don't have anything to eat in the night, as I'm watching their weight, but tonight I'll give them a slow-feed hay bag. If they have any anxiety, which I doubt, some munching will help.

I've never personally seen my horses or my neighbor's horses upset by fireworks, but that isn't to say some horses might. This is just my personal opinion and routine. Every horse owner has to do what he thinks is best for his horse.

 

[Miniv]

Although we live out in a rural area with neighbors a mile or so away, I do worry about the illegal rockets.

Most of our horses are on pasture. So, my concerns are with our dogs and cats. This means trying to lock them up inside. Fortunately, our horses are used to people shooting rock chucks and sage rats in the area.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

How did everyone's horses do last night?

Mine seemed fine this morning. They seemed a little subdued, perhaps, but there was lots of turmoil with guests and boisterous children. So I don't know if fireworks affected them, or just the general, noisy chaos. We are back to our quiet routine today.

 

[candycar]

Mine did great! We went to bed early, but I got up to check when the fireworks started. Several farms across the creek were shooting them off. My girls all lined up at the fence and watched! I wish I had a pic of it. Lexy even walked toward the area they were coming from. They kept turning to see the next round from the other directions.

Next year I'm staying up, sitting on my ponds dock and watching too LOL!