Ideas for Decorating My Horse in the 4th of July Parade

Riding your horse in a 4th of July parade can be lots of fun, especially since it gives you the opportunity to show off both your patriotic spirit and your horse. There is no limit to the amount of creativity you can put into decorating your horse for a parade, but be careful to make sure everything you use to decorate your horse is safe to use on an animal.

  1. Stencils

    • One of the easiest things to do to decorate your horse involves taking large stencils of images such as fireworks, stars and the American flag and stenciling the designs onto your horse. You can use a skin- and fur-safe temporary paint or hairspray to create designs on your horse's coat.

    Glitter

    • Nothing says festive quite like glitter. Mix inexpensive hair gel with glitter and apply it liberally to your horse's coat, mane and tail, keeping it out of the horse's eyes, nose and mouth. For an added effect, use glitter in your stencils. You can make your own glitter or you can purchase horse glitter from a company that makes it specifically for horses. You can also purchase glitter hoof paint.

    Ribbons

    • Braid your horse's mane and tail with ribbons woven into the braids. You can also tie red, white and blue bows, hair clips or flags onto the ends of the braids for extra effect. Ribbons can also be used to make bows that you can fasten to your saddle, saddle pad or on your bridle. Make sure your horse will tolerate a ribbon tied on its bridle prior to the parade.

    Coordinated Horse Tack

    • Red, white and blue bridles, saddle pads and even novelty saddles can be purchased at tack stores or online prior to the parade. Use these items to create a basic themed look for your horse on parade day. if you do not want to buy a themed saddle pad, you can always pin a piece of fabric to the outside of your pad for the day to give it a festive look.