Fireworks are cruel torture
Albuquerque Illegal Fireworks Gave Horse a Coronary
ON THE FOURTH of July, people in our South Valley neighborhood seemed to think it was OK to buy lots of illegal fireworks, and they put on quite a display. We watched our horses closely that night and noticed our older mare was quite distressed. The next day her coat was covered in salt, but we simply thought it was dried sweat from her nervousness over the fireworks.
Two days later she collapsed at our feet in a violent seizure, not able to breathe in or out. She was covered in sweat and had tears streaming from her eyes. She was in obvious great pain. It was horrific to watch. She survived that episode but had another episode in the trailer the next day as we attempted to take her to the vet. We never made it out of the driveway. The vet informed us that she had undoubtedly had a cardiac event that led to the secondary pulmonary issues. Her heart simply could not take the strain of her anxiety over the sights and sounds of the "patriotic" fireworks. Although still alive and on medication to ease her breathing, she will not see another Fourth of July.
For those of you who believe it is OK to drive to another county and buy lots of illegal fireworks because chances are good the sheriff’s office won’t catch you when shooting them off, it’s not. And if you believe that your displays don’t cause any problems, they do.
ANN HOUSE