Above: A beautiful princess and her magical unicorn. Photo by Fox Lea Farm.

By TPH Intern Izzy Feinstein

Halloween is just around the corner. Horse shows are featuring seasonal costume classes for horses and riders, and barns are throwing festive Halloween parties for their clients. There are many opportunities to celebrate the holiday with your horses. With only a few days left to craft your costumes, here are some ideas for group or individual costumes for you and your horse.

Skeletons

For a traditional skeleton look on a bay, black, or chestnut horse, use white paint or chalk to draw your horse’s bones on their coat, as if they were a skeleton. For grey horses, use black paint or chalk to create a similar effect. For the rider, use face paint to create the look, particularly with the colors white and black. For “Day of the Dead”, a Mexican holiday celebrating the lives of those who have passed away, incorporate vibrant colors such as reds, bright pinks, blues, oranges, and greens.

Scuba Divers/Under the Sea

Decorate a blue piece of fabric large enough to fit your pony/horse with “sea” themed items (example: plastic fish, seaweed, coral, sea sponge, etc.). Use a blue tulle fabric and attach it to your base piece of blue fabric to create the illusion of “waves”. Use velcro to securely attach the fabric at the front. If possible, decorate your horse’s halter with seaweed or blue fabric to tie the whole look together! The rider can wear a black shirt, black leggings, jeans or riding pants, a backpack with an “oxygen tank” and a pair of scuba goggles!

Bride and Groom

Use a black cooler, blanket, or scrim sheet as your horse’s “tuxedo”. Add details like buttons and a bow tie. Next, purchase an inexpensive tall, black hat that you can cut into easily to make holes for your horse’s ears. The rider can wear a white veil, white dress and carry a bouquet of flowers. To make this a group costume, have other horses dressed in “tuxedos” as the best man and groomsmen, and riders in dresses carrying bouquets of flowers as bridesmaids.

Princess and Unicorn

Nothing says equestrian Halloween like princesses and unicorns. For this costume, make a unicorn horn that can easily be attached to your horse’s bridle or halter with velcro or string. Use flowers and hair clips to dress up your horse’s mane and tail. The rider can wear a princess dress and crown to complete this adorable look.

Other costume ideas:

Butterflies

Basketball Players

Disney Princesses

Pirates

Santa, Elves, and Reindeer

Mickey and Minnie

Firefighters

Jockey and Racehorse

Hippies

Superheroes

Farm or Zoo Animals

Doctor and Patient

Movie, Television, or Book Characters