How to keep horses happy and calm during firework season

It’s that time of year again…. Prepare for a series of nights where bright colours and whooping bangs light up the Autumn sky. While impressive displays put smiles on the faces of most of the community…. For equestrians and their equine counterparts, Bonfire Night can be particularly stressful.

Unsurprisingly horses and fireworks are not the best of friends. As ‘prey animals’, horses have a heightened sense of awareness and are highly sensitive to loud noises, strange smells and flashing lights. Naturally, their instinct is to flee when they sense danger….or the modern-day firework.

Firework displays are likely to go on in the lead-up to Bonfire Night and may even go on during the days to follow. Diwali, a festival of light, is also on the 4^th of November and fireworks are likely to be set off in celebration of this festival. Therefore, you may want to consider using a calmer to help your horse stay relaxed during this time.

If you’ve never done this before, it might sound a little scary, but rest assured, calmers and sedatives aren’t the same things. Calmers simply make it easier for your horse to process what’s going on around them whether it is firework season or even to support your horse during travel, competition preparation or some horses may even get stressed going into a horsebox! 

Good As Gold + Mag is a complementary feeding stuff for horses containing supplementary levels of Magnesium and Tryptophan, which have an important role in the maintenance of normal nerve function. 

Depending on your horse, you may choose either a powdered calmer, or we also have an oral syringe form of Good As Gold- this is super convenient and easy to administer.

Also, follow these top tips to help your horse stay calm:

• If possible, stable your horse overnight. If your horse is out in the field, it will be more exposed to the sights and sounds of the displays. Even if your horse is super chilled, if they have neighbours or field companions, there is a risk that they will wind each other up.

• If your horse must stay out, make sure they are kept in a well-secured area. Check on them at regular intervals, at least until you are confident that they are settled or that the displays are over.

• Feed Good As Gold 3-4 days prior to when the displays are due to start.

• Ensure your horse has plenty of food to keep them occupied. You can split up their hay into different hay nets to help it last longer and provide toys and treats as a welcome distraction. Flexilik is great for the field or stable and is both a tasty treat and a source of minerals, while Likits are excellent stable boredom breakers that come in flavours that your horse will love.

• Leaving the radio on can disguise the loud bangs. It’s best to introduce this in advance so they become accustomed to the background noise and associate it with feeling relaxed and calm.

• You can also leave lights on to reduce the effects of flashing fireworks.

• Ensure stables are dry with a deep bed. This will prevent your horse from slipping if they start to pace.

• Most importantly- Stay calm! Horses are very good at sensing our emotions. So, try not to act differently as it may cause your horse to worry.