In a tragic piece of irony, fireworks set off next to the Te Atatu Pony Club spooked a horse named Kracker, causing it to bolt and badly wound itself.
The horse was injured so severely that it had to be put down, leaving its 14-year-old owner devastated.
It's not yet clear who set off the fireworks, or where they acquired them. Legally, they do not go on sale for another week when Guy Fawkes begins.
The pony belonged to Shalco Parkinson, who says she found her horse on Monday with several fractures.
"We found out that she had fractured several of her bones and shoulder; and elbow was shattered and she'd crushed bones in her face and she had internal bleeding in her brain," says Shalco.
To make things worse for the 14-year-old, it was also her birthday. She'd had the horse for nine months, building a close friendship with the animal.
Shalco and Kracker were a tight team, winning a number of trophies in the short time they spent together.
But on Monday, Kracker had been spooked by a bunch of fireworks set off close by and in fear, ran straight into a fence, breaking several bones.
"I stayed with her until we had to go home, but then they sent her to Cambridge and then I never got to see her again," says Shalco.
A specialist in Cambridge made the tough decision to put it down.
Shalco says she hopes people remember Kracker when they go buy fireworks next week.
She wants them to know that the noise and fire has an adverse affect on both people and animals close by.
The club says they now plan to take the other horses at the furthest end of the paddocks when Guy Fawkes begins and some trainers will stay with the horses throughout the night to calm them down.
