Livery yard had a firework display last night!!!

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alison247

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I need to have a moan!
I am so fed up that EVERY friday and Sat night instead of relaxing in front of the TV I am up the yard calming horses due to the fireworks going off.
It all started on the 22nd Oct when my next door neighbours had a display for their daughters birthday party.
Every weekend since someone in our village has had a party, not a few splarklers but great big display rockets. Then November 5th next door neighbours had their SECOND party in two weeks!!!!
Last night the livery yard that backs on to mine had a display which they set off from the sandschool. Fireworks lit up overhead of my stable block.
They have 36 liveries so lots of families there. What were they thinking? Do they not care about their horses?
My boy watches them but does shake and jump! He even peed on the concrete last night.
My livery ponies go mental.
I am fed up having the last four weekend evenings spent on my own up the yard feeding carrots and placating my liveries ponies.
Fed up of spending the weekend sorting out thrashed beds! I have gone through so much bedding.
Selfish selfish selfish.
rant over.
 
Why don't you have a word with them and explain that you would like warning if they were going to have a display again, or tell them to think about the horses and have a display elsewhere. Sounds very frustrating though, hopefully if you say something it wont happen again and it will calm down soon :)
 
Crumbs, I am surprised any livery yard would be foolish enough to hold a fireworks display. Even if you don't consider the emotional impact on the horses, the fire hazard is huge. Idiotic behaviour which ever way you look at it in my opinion.
 
That's what drives me mad, I'm not against fireworks but there should be a limit as to when people can set them off....round here theyve been going since mid october and still going now. Spent last Sat night at the yard in the dark with my X year old daughter to keep an eye as there was a huge local display, luckily the horses were fine but I was worried sick.
Can't imagine why any livery yard would hold a display :/
 
I can't believe a livery yard would have a firework display! Seriously do they have no consideration for their horses and the horses in their charge? I would not be happy if my yard had one and my guys are fine with bangs, we live near a firing range and of shooting.

I would speak to them and ask them to at least have the common courtesy to tell you if they are going to do it.
FDC
 
They have fireworks at our yard. Have done for a few years.

It's the farmers and families that live in the houses, all totally in horsey.

It's not ideal but its their land and out horses ate totally fine about it.
Makes them less sensative.

The neighbors should give you warning though, with ie without live stock. It just the decent thing to do.

I think fireworks should be for authorized public displays only.
 
Have to say none of the horses on our yard seem to worry too much, but have been on yards where some of the horses have been really stressed over firework night etc. A couple of years ago our yard had a bonfire party in the corner of one of the fields used for turnout. We left the horses out and oddly enough they all gathered in that corner to watch - from a safe distance. My own horse was among the crowd that was assembled and he just seemed mildly interested, not distressed in the slightest, as was every other horse turned out.

Over the whole week that seemed to constitute bonfire night, we all turned out, as our turnout is fairly secluded and away from houses and any organised displays in the area.
 
alison247 said:
I need to have a moan!
I am so fed up that EVERY friday and Sat night instead of relaxing in front of the TV I am up the yard calming horses due to the fireworks going off.
It all started on the 22nd Oct when my next door neighbours had a display for their daughters birthday party.
Every weekend since someone in our village has had a party, not a few splarklers but great big display rockets. Then November 5th next door neighbours had their SECOND party in two weeks!!!!
Last night the livery yard that backs on to mine had a display which they set off from the sandschool. Fireworks lit up overhead of my stable block.
They have 36 liveries so lots of families there. What were they thinking? Do they not care about their horses?
My boy watches them but does shake and jump! He even peed on the concrete last night.
My livery ponies go mental.
I am fed up having the last four weekend evenings spent on my own up the yard feeding carrots and placating my liveries ponies.
Fed up of spending the weekend sorting out thrashed beds! I have gone through so much bedding.
Selfish selfish selfish.
rant over.
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well maybe you could help prevent a repeat distress for all concerned at new year / random birthdays / next novemeber by spending some time working on supporting the pones to habituate to fireworks ;) starting with this ....


http://www.amazon.co.uk/mn/search/?...hvadid=8912383265&ref=pd_sl_2n1d3kvprm_b&rd=1


you could just habituate them but you can be more proactive and countercondition ..... just one small example

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5ZkF4N0Vp0&feature=related

changes a fear reaction ...... it can work for horses too.


We know these things gonna happen year on year on year so if our horses afraid why not be proactive. ;)
 
Numpties!!!!!

I would go and have a word with them - to me its not so much the bangs and the whizzes but where the bloody things end up and the speed at which they land. Very inconsiderate people.
 
I am apoplectic about this, in what galaxy do these people exist and to say that we must desensitise out horses to accept this chavy, insensitive and anti social letting off of fireworks makes my blood boil. Why the hell should we have to do this when all it takes is a bit of common sense and thought for other people and their livestock. Why are people having firework displays after November 5th anyway, what gives them the right to let them off when they feel like it with no regard for other people. I get so cross when people say we have to accommodate these idiots by trying to either sedate or desensitise our pets. They should be banned apart from public displays which should be licenced and only allowed on November 5th. Enough of cowtowing to stupid, thoughtless people who have no idea of living in a community. We need to grow a backbone in this country and say enough is enough.
 
Hi,

Can i just suggest that you go on the BHS incidents report line/website and log the incidents, dates, locations and times.. its a really useful site. The more information that they have about incidents like this the more that they can influence government and local policy and help improve safety for us all..
 
Hollyberry said:
I am apoplectic about this, in what galaxy do these people exist and to say that we must desensitise out horses to accept this chavy, insensitive and anti social letting off of fireworks makes my blood boil. Why the hell should we have to do this when all it takes is a bit of common sense and thought for other people and their livestock. Why are people having firework displays after November 5th anyway, what gives them the right to let them off when they feel like it with no regard for other people. I get so cross when people say we have to accommodate these idiots by trying to either sedate or desensitise our pets. They should be banned apart from public displays which should be licenced and only allowed on November 5th. Enough of cowtowing to stupid, thoughtless people who have no idea of living in a community. We need to grow a backbone in this country and say enough is enough.
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you might be apopleptic about it but the galaxy I live in is the one right here where Sh**** stuff happens that you and I do not like and we can do nowt all about it. Well, we can .... we can lobby our MP, we can sign petitions, we can complain to and about everyone from the locals to the lawmakers.

As a shy teen I physically challenged a yob , part of a local gang, who put a firework in a childs hood... Having worked in casualty and a burns unit Hollyberry I can assure you I have no love of the darn things

However...... is that going to change things in the next few months when people have been campaigning for decades to get the things regulated.

NO, is it h***


SO....... given it WILL contiunue to be an issue I find it incomprehensible that people year on year do not help the horses they say they love by actually doing something, anything, to help them deal with this fear.

I have "killed" several threads by making this suggestion .... that instead of moaning about others the horse owners take some responsibility for their charges and DO something to help them.

Why the hell should we have to do this when all it takes is a bit of common sense and thought for other people and their livestock
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to me its common sense to think of your horse and prepare it for this in the same way we prepare them for going on the roads and meeting cars / bikes /tractors ..... the same way we help them prepare for the sights and sounds of shows.... then same way we would help them get used to clippers ( unless of course you dont :rolleyes:)



I get so cross when people say we have to accommodate these idiots
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Just how you think I ( if it is indeed me you are referring to) am saying that I do not know :confused: ........ since when is helping ones horse not be cr****** itself with fear accommodating anyone else ?
 
I have to say that forumites who say oh well , your horse will just get used to it/ get desensitised - because mine did, are very very lucky. I've had my horse for 16 years so I think I know her quite well. I've always kept her on the edge of suburbia because that is the environment I live in. Not all horse owners live in acres of open countryside in a thatched cottage with 3 lurchers blah blah, although I did grow up in a house so isolated we had our own water supply.

My horse is quite simply totally terrified of anything that bangs or flashes, or worse still, screetches like some fireworks do. She is so sensitive that just putting a camera up to your face has her making a hasty exit because she knows that those things flash. Thunderstorms are okish until they get to under 10 miles away and then she gets very very agitated. I have no idea of her past history, she came to me without even a name. The farm she is now on allows shooting in the fields around the horses' fields and she spends those days doing rapid circuits of the paddock she is in. None of the other horses react which winds her up even more as she is desperate to get them to run to safety with her. There are STILL fireworks going off in the distance every night and after Bonfire weekend it took another 3 days before she would even go in her stable. No way on Gods earth would I risk leaving her out when fireworks were going off. She would likely go straight through the fence and into the drainage ditch. At the moment she is calming down again and hopefully all the fur under her neck she rubbed off down to the flesh on her stable door will regrow again soon as it looks like someone has cut her throat at the moment.

Believe me, if there was a way of "desensitising" her I'd be the first in the queue to buy it because right now I'm dreading New Year and after this year's events am seriously considering not putting her through another November again. Incidentally, I can't dope her as she is medically unable to have any of the drugs, plus they only last about 45 minutes whereas the fireworks around here go on for 7 hours. I tried bring her in at 4.30 each night but as she was already unnerved by those going off since much earlier, she wouldn't touch a mouthful of food - not very good for her epilepsy since she went 3 days without a single anticonvulsant getting into her system. Now I just need to organize a visit from the physio to sort out all her overstrained muscles from bouncing off the stable walls and holding herself rigid. Another £50 I haven't got.
 
fatpiggy said:
I have to say that forumites who say oh well , your horse will just get used to it/ get desensitised - because mine did, are very very lucky.
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I think tazzle was saying is that there are specific things that owners can do to desensitize/habituate their horses to fireworks other than leaving them out near fireworks and hoping for the best. Sometimes it is something that just happens by itself if you are lucky, but it is better to be proactive. Maybe not every horse can be desensitized in this way - maybe your horse is immune to desensitization. However, one won't know until one has tried.

Believe me, if there was a way of "desensitising" her I'd be the first in the queue to buy it because right now I'm dreading New Year and after this year's events am seriously considering not putting her through another November again.
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The solution suggested doesn't look all that expensive - certainly less than the physio's charge. The only downside is that desensitization takes a bit of time to implement, which not everyone may have (really?!). I'm sure it's worth it though!
 
Speak to your local council about the livery yard - I'm sure that would be classed as a public display, for which they'd need a license.
 
tazzle said:
you might be apopleptic about it but the galaxy I live in is the one right here where Sh**** stuff happens that you and I do not like and we can do nowt all about it. Well, we can .... we can lobby our MP, we can sign petitions, we can complain to and about everyone from the locals to the lawmakers.

As a shy teen I physically challenged a yob , part of a local gang, who put a firework in a childs hood... Having worked in casualty and a burns unit Hollyberry I can assure you I have no love of the darn things

However...... is that going to change things in the next few months when people have been campaigning for decades to get the things regulated.

NO, is it h***


SO....... given it WILL contiunue to be an issue I find it incomprehensible that people year on year do not help the horses they say they love by actually doing something, anything, to help them deal with this fear.

I have "killed" several threads by making this suggestion .... that instead of moaning about others the horse owners take some responsibility for their charges and DO something to help them.



to me its common sense to think of your horse and prepare it for this in the same way we prepare them for going on the roads and meeting cars / bikes /tractors ..... the same way we help them prepare for the sights and sounds of shows.... then same way we would help them get used to clippers ( unless of course you dont :rolleyes:)





Just how you think I ( if it is indeed me you are referring to) am saying that I do not know :confused: ........ since when is helping ones horse not be cr****** itself with fear accommodating anyone else ?
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Agree with this ^^

Obviously some horses are simply terrified and cannot be de-sensitised but the vast majority can and do get better.

We had a yard of 30 and only 1 horse was traumatised every year (despite being in his 20's)

However i wouldn't have a fireworks display on a livery yard! Thats just idiotic.
 
I'm with tazzle. Taking an effort to try and desensitise them gradually (e.g. using the CDs they market for dogs)

I think it's by virtue of my old lad being so chilled out about these things that none of mine are phased by them and will stand in the field watching them. This is the same old lad who will disappear at the sight of a camera because he doesn't like flashes (though if you're on him/holding him he stands because he has manners :p) and the same 5 year old who is gun shy and spooks at his own shadow. We're also very close to the V festival so they have to be ok with loud noises and flashing lights in the sky then too :D

Without disrespect to the OP, I often find that owners who try to interfere with animals during potentially scary situations and try to make them feel better actually end up making them more concerned. It's a well known phenomenon in companion animals that if you make a fuss of your puppy during a display, they are more likely to pick up on your stress and react negatively in future. My collie's first firework season was spent sitting in the garden with me and his tennis ball, me ignoring him, and playing ball like "normal".

It wouldn't honestly surprise me if you weren't stressing them out more by going to bribe them with carrots and trying to help them.
 
JFTD said:
Without disrespect to the OP, I often find that owners who try to interfere with animals during potentially scary situations and try to make them feel better actually end up making them more concerned. It's a well known phenomenon in companion animals that if you make a fuss of your puppy during a display, they are more likely to pick up on your stress and react negatively in future. My collie's first firework season was spent sitting in the garden with me and his tennis ball, me ignoring him, and playing ball like "normal".

It wouldn't honestly surprise me if you weren't stressing them out more by going to bribe them with carrots and trying to help them.
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Also agree with this, my horses are stabled over the road from a pub that had a display this year, it's my local so i was there, i nipped over the road and watched them from a distance, they were fine, alert and wide awake but not stressing.
I think if i'd have turned up with carrots at 9pm they'd have been totally freaked out as i'm never there at that sort of time.
 
It's probably a good job none of you keep your horses near me. We have fireworks going off near us at least 2/3 nights a week all year round. Xmas, Bonfire night, Halloween, Eid, Chanukah and several other festivals are to blame for this, plus birthdays and weddings. On bonfire night they started at 4pm, yes before it was dark and din't finish til about 2 in the morning. :eek:
 
Another Tazzle supporter here - the world is not going to stop for the sake of people's horses, that includes fireworks, people driving, flags on cars, dog walkers, etc etc etc *insert list of all the other things people go on about*

Therefore, instead of waiting for the world to change around you, why not do something to change the world for your horse?
 
While I think it's a good idea to try to desensitise horses I am completely in favour of reducing them to public displays only for HUMAN safety! And banning those wretched Chinese lanterns - which idiot thinks that's a good idea? Having spent 2 evenings taking them out of trees etc
 
I can see the OP frustration and also agree with whoever said the world wont come to a stop because of the horses.

OP it sounds like a livery yard I was on about 8-9 years ago, I was there for a few months only and they had a bonfire and fireworks party on the sand school which was right next to the stable block. I had two horses at the time one was fine the other which was normally fine with fireworks wrecked the stable. I presume that being so close by it was just to much for her :(
I was then told I was lucky that I was not being charged for the damage :mad:
as I should have my horse under control :(
 
a local lad just lost his horse because of injury caused by some ***** letting off display fireworks in his paddock. The horse has been PTS. CAnt desensitise against ****heads like that.
 
Jiggle said:
a local lad just lost his horse because of injury caused by some ***** letting off display fireworks in his paddock. The horse has been PTS. CAnt desensitise against ****heads like that.
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No you can't :( :( :( :(. ..... and I have never suggested that !

soooooooooooooo sorry to hear about that ..... and if I had been there I would have done more than drag him off to the headmaster / police ( like I did the ****** who put one in a childs jacket hood !).

I think there should be a physical "barrier" between horses and fireworks... eg a hedge / building / trees to guard against such injuries... and personally would never set off fireworks on a yard.
 
went to add this and lost it so trying again.....


fatpiggy I really do feel for you and your mare, it must be very distressing for you both when she is so nervous of these noises.

Believe me, if there was a way of "desensitising" her I'd be the first in the queue to buy it because right now I'm dreading New Year and after this year's events am seriously considering not putting her through another November again.
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I personally think that if you do want to do something then it might be worthwhile having a visit from someone experienced in counter conditioning as "normal" desensitisation / habituation might not be enough ( well if you have already tried it then you have found that for yourself.). That person will also be more emotionally detached from your gal .... and that helps too. Once you know what to do you could do it yourself.


Changing fear reactions can take months ... it did for my rescue gsd .... so fearfuly aggressive when she arrived she had to be muzzled a lot of the time. Now I can let the grandchildren walk her ! You dont need to be an expert to do it but we do need to learn the principles from someone , think it all through and be determined / consistant and calm. ( not always easy lol)



Know what you mean about money ........ my drain on the coffers at the moment is a horse that forgets she is not fit and is getting on in age and keeps jumping out of field over post and rails and hurting her back !!!!
 
Thank you for all your responses.
I have to admit i haven't been on the thread as last night it was on page 3!
I don't for one minute suggest ppl should not enjoy Nov 5th but this has now gone on for several week ends.
We live in a rural area but also a very horsey one so can not understand why the locals do not consider the lifestock here.
Not just horses but sheep and cows and of course the residents dogs.
The livery yard in question also have goats, sheep, pigs. calves, chickerns, ducks, etc roaming around freely on the yard/paddocks.
As someone suggested I upset the horses by going up the yard with carrots, actually I do this on a nightly routine anyway, bed when dark, check at 9pm last check/hay net refill before I go to bed around 11pm.
As a responsible YO I think it important to check up on them!!! What if the horses were put to bed at dusk and not checked again till 7/8am and they had coliced in the night or indeed a firework had landed on the roof of the stable?
 
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