What chicky gurl said!!
I took my5 yr old into a parade a few years back. I got a Monday night foot ball CD from DH, pots and pan lids, some fake flags, and some loud music cd's...
Band music type...
Day 1, I let him in the small indoor with a flat dish with grain in it.. Let him loose.. and while he was eating.. I walked around with the pot and pan lids.. banging away.. the music blaring in the back ground.. I paid no attention to him.. except to see where he was.. he ran, snorted.. and then realized I wasn't coming after him.. and there was food... he started to ignore me... I would then go around him... in a large circle...
snort/run.. oh. food... kept it going till he was following me.. or ignoring me while I did this.. Time-About an hour or hour and half
Day 2, saddled him but again let him loose.. loud music, crowd noise, banging lids.. till he got over it.. paid some neighbor kids to stand on the outside of the arena waving their little flags.. reaching out.. saying" PRetty horsie, oh can I pet the horsie??!!".. led him past them while they reached out, waving flags.... having them bang the pot lids (they LOVE that by the way)... Time - about an hour...
Day 3, saddle, bridled, loose at first, hay or grain in center or arena.. get the kids to wave their flags and bang pot lids....Lead horse back and forth again past the kids...
Then get on and ride the horse past the kids. as they wave the flags and bang the pot lids.. Time -an hour or less....
I gave a refresher the day before, he was completely calm..
Day of the parade, helicopter doing low level fly bys, nascar type cars reving engines ALOT... Over sized puppets held on peoples backs with handlers... NO issues...
GIANT white crossing lines or Rail crossing X's.. small issue with that.. I would work with that!!!
Hope this helps
Carol