How to keep your horse calm when there are fireworks

Firework displays offer a sparkling spectacle and have become the traditional way to celebrate events like Bonfire Night and New Year’s Eve. 

Sometimes, however, the level of noise from a firework display is enough to frighten children and animals alike, as they’re exposed to sounds they wouldn’t normally hear. Therefore, fireworks can become a major source of stress for many horses and their owners, since horses won’t understand why there are loud noises or flashing lights in the sky. 

Thankfully, there are several ways you can try to lower your horse’s stress levels and help them stay calmer during firework-themed events, from planning ahead to using special supplements.

In this article, we’ll share our top tips for helping your horse stay calm and safe this firework season…

Plan ahead

Making a plan before firework season hits is a great way to prepare your horse for any upcoming firework displays near their stable yard. 

Whether you stable your horse or turn them out when there are fireworks will depend on your unique situation, since some horses prefer to be stabled while others prefer turnout. 

Remember: Clear your horse’s field and stable of potential hazards prior to a firework display, where possible (e.g. remove any rugs hanging in their stable or low-hanging branches from their field). 

Top tips for keeping stabled horses safe during events like Bonfire Night and New Year’s Eve:

• Make sure there are other horses stabled where your horse can see them, where possible, to prevent them feeling alone or isolated (which could increase their panic).
• Keep stable lights switched on, so the flashing colours created by fireworks are less dazzling.
• Follow your horse’s usual feeding routine (unless their stress levels are high enough that giving them a bucket feed would risk colic).

Top tips for keeping horses safe while they’re turned out if there are fireworks:

• Where required, move your horse (and their herd) to a field that’s out of range of any firework activity – just in case firework debris lands in their field.
• Triple-check fencing around the entire perimeter of your horse’s field, to ensure it’s completely safe and that horses cannot escape (since that could cause harm to themselves and others).
• Avoid turning your horse out in a field surrounded by fire hazards (such as muck heaps and trees), if you can.

Here’s our advice for planning your horse’s care ahead of firework season:

Find out when local firework displays are happening 

Is your horse stabled at a yard near houses with gardens large enough to host private firework displays? If so, it may be worth popping a friendly note through letterboxes, asking residents to inform you ahead of any planned celebrations using fireworks. However, this does not guarantee that residents will respond. 

While it’s often challenging to find out when residents local to your stable yard intend to use fireworks, it’s helpful to stay up to date with public events nearby. For example, knowing when an event or celebration including fireworks is being held close to your stable yard means you’ll be better able to prepare accordingly.

Top tip: You could join a Facebook group for your local community and create a post asking whether anyone knows of firework-themed events happening in the area.

Adjust your horse’s routine if necessary

Change might be unsettling for some horses – especially if they’re happy with their current routine. So, should you discover that a firework display is planned for your local area, you could lessen your horse’s stress by gradually changing their routine over a couple of weeks. 

For example, if your horse is usually turned out overnight in a field next to the site of a planned firework display, you could move them to different field a week or so beforehand. That way, your horse has plenty of chance to settle into their new environment before they’re faced with the shock of fireworks. 

Try to check on your horse during the event

Only if it’s safe to do so, checking on your horse while fireworks are being let off could help to calm them down if they find your presence comforting.

Your horse is likely to be tuned in to your emotions and behaviours. So, as long as you’re calm about fireworks, and your horse gets to watch you relax (while cleaning tack or sweeping the yard, for example), they might feel calmer. 

Important: If your horse is acting dangerously, or in an unpredictable way, reassure them from a safe distance and call for help (e.g. an equine vet may need to provide sedation). Please don’t attempt to handle your horse if their behaviour becomes dangerous – always ask for support and take every precaution to avoid injury to yourself, your horse, and others.

Tips to help your horse to stay calm

To prevent injury to yourself and your horse, you’ll have to take steps towards helping them stay calm during a firework display. Here are three steps you could take to try keeping your horse calm if they’re frightened of fireworks:

1 – Provide plenty of distractions

Offering ample hay, whether they’re stabled or in a field, can help some horses focus on eating instead of the flashing colours and high-pitched sounds of nearby fireworks. 

You could also introduce stable toys ahead of firework season, including treat balls and licks, to keep your horse distracted from the loud noises outside.  

Remember: If your horse is laminitis prone or suffering from a condition like EMS, please ask your vet’s advice before increasing their food intake. 

2 – Introduce classical music

There’s a widely held belief that classical music can have a calming effect on animals, such as horses. Some radio stations even play pet-friendly music during Bonfire Night and New Year’s Eve, such as Classic FM’s Pet Classics.

Whatever device you’re using to play music for your horse, please make sure it’s out of your horse’s reach and that any wires are inaccessible. 

Top tip: While it may not be appropriate for nervous horses, there are ways to desensitise your horse to the sights and sounds of fireworks. For example, you could play firework sounds quietly near their stable for a few days, then gradually increase the volume until they no longer find those sorts of sounds frightening.

3 – Consider calming supplements

Although it’s still essential to follow the rules of safe feeding, it may be beneficial for your horse if you introduce a calming supplement to their daily feed ration. 

It’s vital that you introduce any supplement slowly – and, in the case of a calming supplement, you’ll need to add it to your horse’s daily feed prior to firework season. When searching for a supplement to suit your horse’s situation, keep an eye out for the following ingredients, which are said to have a calming effect on many horses:

• Magnesium.
• Lemon balm.
• L-Theanine.

Please note: The effectiveness of ingredients within a calming supplement may vary, depending on your horse’s reaction to them – which is why you’d need to trial a supplement ahead of fireworks. 

While you can buy ‘instant’ calming products designed to take a short time to work, these types of calmers aren’t always successful.

Remember: Speak to an equine vet before firework season, for advice about the most suitable calming supplements for your horse, as well as guidance on how to use supplements safely. 

Have fire safety and first aid procedures in place

Both bonfires and fireworks pose a fire risk to surrounding areas. 

Having a fire safety procedure in place is required by law, whether you have your own yard or keep your horse at a livery yard – The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. If you need support to create safe evacuation procedures, or you’d like some advice about suitable fire extinguishers for stable yard environments, please contact your local Fire and Rescue Service.

You’ll find more detailed guidance on fire safety at stable yards on the British Horse Society (BHS) website, though please remember to do the following during a fire evacuation:

• Call the fire service immediately. 
• Take horses out of stables as quickly as possible, starting with those closest to the fire, and let them into securely fenced fields located away from the fire.
• Always close stable doors after horses have been taken out of them, to prevent horses rushing back into them if they escape their field. 

Bonfires and firework displays are known to cause many horses to suffer from stress and anxiety. Therefore, it’s also essential to have first aid procedures in place, in the event there’s an injury or illness as a result of horses becoming panicked due to fireworks.

For further advice about putting a first aid process in place for your yard, please visit our first aid guide for horse owners.