Mare and Foal Sanctuary Find Unique Way to Prepare Foals for Bonfire Night
The Mare & Foal Sanctuary have found a unique way to prepare foals for Bonfire Night by playing a CD with firework effects to help desensitize them to loud bangs.
The idea is to help prevent horses and youngstock in the sanctuary’s care from becoming scared and injuring themselves. Foals, Mason and Diangelo (pictured above), are the latest residents to have the music played to them for the first time, with the pair only being born in May this year.
The charity’s Head of Equine, Sally Burton, said:
At this time of year we are always thinking about how we can minimise the distress to our horses and ponies during firework season.
We’ve been using the firework effects CDs every Autumn for the last few years. It helps our new residents learn that the noises won’t hurt them and means the herd can stay calm and relaxed on Bonfire Night.
And it’s particularly important for foals like Mason and Diangelo who will never have seen – or heard – anything like it before.”
The charity also urged people holding a fireworks display to let their neighbours – particularly those with animals – know in advance.
Loud noises and flashes of light can be incredibly frightening to horses, who have much more sensitive hearing than humans.
Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.