Christchurch Riding for the Disabled operations and funding manager Sarah Ritchie says she's seen a horse go through a fence.
For horse owners like Sarah, the errands before November 5th aren’t those of buying explosives. Instead, it’s purchasing medication to calm their animals and making preparations for pens.
“We will have you know nights like Guy Fawkes and things, we will have one of our staff just keep an eye on the fact that, keep an eye on everyone as we go through,” Sarah said.
For livestock owners, in the weeks leading up to the day, it’s about contacting neighbours and ensuring they know when and where potential explosives will be let off.
Head of Veterinary Services Large Animals, Cristin Dwyer, says one of the main problems isn’t the explosives themselves.
“The issue with fireworks is more about when people don't know they're coming.
“So once the fireworks start, you can't medicate your dog, right? It's too late. It's already happening. The medication doesn't work instantly.
“Once the fireworks start and your horses are galloping around the paddock, it's dangerous to even try to go in there with them. That's a human risk.”
And this sudden surplus of fireworks going off means a surplus of phone calls about injured animals.
“I would say that there is an increased number of call-outs on Guy Fawkes," Cristin said.
And for most horse owners, these call-outs aren’t cheap.
“I mean, if there's ever an injury, we've got to get a vet out, and it's at night, which means it's after hours, which means it's really expensive,” Sarah said.
And it seems that these problems won't be going away anytime soon.
Despite almost 100,000 people signing petitions calling for the banning of fireworks being sold to the public and privately setting off fireworks, the Government has rejected the notion.
Something that doesn't sit right with Cristin.
“We feel the government is not listening to its own committees and it's not listening to the public.”
She feels that this is a serious issue and needs to be treated as such.
“We see a lot of injuries, wounds, fractures, stress. So horses that run themselves to the point of exhaustion and get into places they're not meant to be.”
At the end of the day, one person's night of fun could be the end of a horse's life.
“It can be fatal, certainly.”
