Halloween is a time to have fun, get candy, and dress up as someone (or something) else. Some of the best costumes are the ones you can make yourself, especially if you’re on a budget.
Humans aren’t the only ones who can enjoy Halloween. If you’re a horse owner, you can have a blast dressing your horse up for Halloween with you. In this guide, we’ll list seven horse and rider costumes you can easily make at home. Whether you’re entering a contest or just simply want to have fun, these seven ideas will get you started.
The 7 DIY Halloween Horse & Rider Costume Plans
1. DIY Horse Renaissance Costume by LearningHorses
| Materials: | 2-inch-wide nylon webbing, dressage saddle pad, 2 to 3 yards of velvet, heavy scrap material (old bedding, etc.), western headstall with flowers (optional) |
| Tools: | 5, 2–3-inch-wide O rings, 1.5–2-inch-wide trim, 4–6 2-inch-wide tri-glide slides, sewing machine |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
This DIY horse renaissance costume is elegant and easy to make, and all you need are a few simple tools to pull it off. It may be a little time-consuming because it’s in two parts. The first part is for the barding (breast collar and hind-strapping) and the saddle pad. The best part is you should be able to make the entire costume without spending a ton of money.
The instructions are clear and easy to understand, and you’ll be able to make this costume for your horse in no time. As for you, the rider, any renaissance costume will work with the horse’s costume.
2. DIY Horse Giraffe Costume by PetDIYs
| Materials: | Giraffe-print saddle (eBay), washable kids’ paint that is horse-safe |
| Tools: | Thin and small-bristled paint brush |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
How cute is a horse dressed as a giraffe? This ultra-cute costume is as easy as it gets unless you have a horse that doesn’t like to be painted. It takes a while to paint the horse, so keep this in mind. You will need to buy a giraffe-print saddle to pull this one off, but other than that, all you need is washable kids paint.
The rider costume is that of a zookeeper, which means you’ll need a safari-type shirt and hat. Add a name tag for yourself to add to the costume as a zookeeper and you’re done. There’s no real instruction on how to paint the pattern on the horse, but the instructions show a great picture you can use to go by.
3. DIY Grim Reaper Horse Costume by Horsey Hooves
| Materials: | Black fabric (as much as you can muster up), fly mask for the rider (optional) |
| Tools: | Scissors |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
You only need a few materials to make this costume. The inventor recommends cutting the fabric into strips so that it blankets the horse past your feet. Cover the horse from shoulder to tail, and drape more black fabric for the horse’s mane, tail, and on the bridle for an extra spooky look.
The rider only needs everything black: black boots, black clothing, and black gloves. For an extra effect, the rider can wear a black fly mask modified to conceal the face along with a black hood; just ensure you can see for safety.
4. DIY Carousel Horse Costume from Horsey Hooves
| Materials: | Flowers, horse body paint, DIY hoof glitter (Elmer’s glue, water, and glitter), hair chalk, long tube, wrapping paper, long thin rope (optional) |
| Tools: | None |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
How fitting is dressing your horse up as a carousel horse? You don’t need any tools to make this costume—all you need are the materials mentioned above. As far as painting your horse, it’s really left up to your imagination. However, you can use the picture to go by.
To make the carousel pole, use a long tube and let the saddle support it. Dip some long thin rope in glue and wrap it around the pole to make a spiral. You can then spray paint the rope once it has dried. You can use wrapping for this instead to make things a bit easier. Use the hair chalk for both you and your horse, and you can wear whatever you think goes with the horse’s costume.
5. DIY Football Player and Football by Saddle Seeks Horse
| Materials: | White horse paint, black makeup, football jersey |
| Tools: | None |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
This football player and football costume is easy to make but works best for darker horses because you’ll be painting football laces on the horse’s side. Smear some black makeup underneath your eyes, throw on a football jersey, paint football laces on the horse’s side, and you’re done! You can look at the picture to see how to paint the laces.
6. DIY Bumble Bee/Flower Costume by DreamWorks Spirit
| Materials: | Tee shirts (yellow or black), pipe cleaners (black), black pom poms, black headband, black helmet, Elmer’s glue, yellow tape, or black tape. For horse costume: yellow felt, green felt, cardboard, black rope |
| Tools: | Scissors |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
The bumble bee part of this costume is for you, the rider; the flower part is for your horse. Cute, huh? To get started, you’ll cut the tape into long strips that fit across the shirt. For a yellow shirt, use black tape. For a black shirt, use yellow tape. Glue the pipe cleaners onto the pom poms. Put the black headband around the helmet, which will be used to secure the pipe cleaners and pom poms, which are antennas.
The YouTube video does a great job of explaining how to make a flower for your horse. Just follow the instructions, and you and your horse will be a bumble bee and flower in no time.
7. DIY Unicorn Costume by Unicorn & Centaur
| Materials: | 1.5–2 inches of thick foam, fake fur, plastic cream, acrylic paint, vinyl fabric, 2-inch pool noodle, glitter, hot glue, Velcro |
| Tools: | Scissors, permanent marker, ruler, craft glue |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
A unicorn makes a wonderful costume for a horse, and it’s relatively easy to pull off. The video gives detailed instructions on the supplies you need and how to make it. The inventor walks you through the process in a timely manner while still giving insightful instruction and guidance.
The biggest part of the project is painting the horn. The video shows how to make highlights and give the horn dimension. It also offers excellent tips for making it right the first time to avoid headaches afterward. For the rider costume, you may want to match whatever color you choose to paint the horn, which is left up to your discretion.
Featured Image Credit: Serhii Bobyk, Shutterstock
