The dreaded fireworks and thunder/lightning
Among the most horribly traumatic experiences that many pets and horses experience is the completely incomprehensible event of fireworks. For many pets and horses, thunder and lightning can also be a very scary event.
When those events come in real life, it is not just the sounds that may contribute to fear, the visible fanfare can be scary as well.
Video therapy (experimental)
to address this, an innovative video therapy was developed.
This fireworks and thunder/lightning videos therapy section gives you access to videos, so you can experiment with showing your pet or horse the visible stimuli.
Your pet or horse may get to know and get used to these visible stimuli, and that may have the effect that they are less likely to be fearful when they encounter the real phenomena.
However, we cannot give any promises. Each pet or horse is different, and the equipment of owners are different too.
Five Steps
The fireworks and thunder/lightning video therapy is divided into five steps, just like the main noise phobia therapy of WeStopFear, with the five step Simple Secure Steps. The pet or horse handler is supposed to make sure that the pet or horse is close to a large TV screen (or a wall on which the video is projected with a video wall projector).
The videos present fireworks, or thunder and lightning, with the sounds. The stimuli is limited in the beginning, with a small video "window" on the screen and a very low sound in Step 1, and then gradually increases through the steps until it covers the entire screen and the sound is at full volume in Step 5.
Video window sizes
Step 1: The video window covers around 4% of the screen.
Step 2: 11%.
Step 3: 25% (half of the width of the screen).
Step 4: 50%.
Step 5: 100% (full width of the screen).
Setting the right volume
Just like in the Simple Secure Steps noise phobia therapy, you find the right volume on your TV speakers or home cinema system by playing a piano tune. This is provided in a special piano tune video, see here.
Sample of fireworks steps video
Below you can play a sample video that shows fireworks. The video with thunder and lightning is similar.
For best results, view on full screen setting. Don't have your pet or horse near when you play this.
Find the right volume setting
You will set the right volume on the TV or wall screen projector loudspeakers or surround-sound speaker system by playing a video with the piano tune. This is the Volume Anchor for the video therapy.
The volume setting should be so that the piano music is at a good and clear listening level, not very low like soft dinner music at a restaurant, not extremely loud like a rock concert.
You can write down the volume setting (if there is a number or a scale that shows the volume). This is the volume setting you will use each time you play the therapy videos in all the Steps from 1 to 5.
If there are no numbers or scale visible, then you would need to play the piano tune video before each session.
The piano tune video is below.
(The piano tune is Prelude in C Major by Johan Sebastian Bach, recorded specially for WeStopFear by a professional pianist.)
Great!
Now you have explored the 5 steps of the therapy video solution.
You can also try the 5 steps audio players of the WeStopFear Simple Secure Steps noise phobia therapy. Or you can continue and explore the solutions for your type of pet or horse, or other pages, in the links below.
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