We all know horses feel fear, but do they feel sadness and desperation? My mother’s horse Toby died recently from complications of a pasture accident. According to my father, Hammie tried to save him and lift him up by the neck as if to say, “C’mon buddy, I’ll support you”. My father then pulled him away and Hammie listened right away as if he had given up. Hammie was not as aggressive towards Roo; my mother’s other retired thoroughbred, that night as he usually is. This is not unheard of. Many instances have been recorded where one member of the herd dies and the rest mourn.
Hammie is recovered but many others don’t. In a forum, many people discussed the different ways their horses mourned the loss of a fellow horse. The responses were varied from running around the pasture whinnying to letting themselves get bullied. This is not unlike human behavior. Many people have denial for a while after someone close to them dies. Also, many people when faced with a loss like that, just shut down and don’t care what happens to them. It is a proven fact that mares, when they lose a foal, often try to nurture it, and nuzzle it, and vocalize to it. It is a natural response to this type of premature death.
I disagree with the majority of vets and farriers when I say that horses DO feel grief, even though it isn’t something you will find in a textbook. It’s something so fundamental that we just accept it and don’t even think about it. Horses are animals and many animals feel grief as well. Chimps at Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon in 2009 experienced a loss of an elderly, fellow chimpanzee. They acted very out of character; they were silent. Most famous of an animal feeling grief though was a dog. The dog’s name was Hawkeye and he was deployed with a Marine in the Armed Forces. One fateful day the chinook he and his owner were riding in went down and the Marine died, but Hawkeye survived. Hawkeyes body was fine, but his mind was overwhelmed with sadness. He never left the side of his former handler and laid down in front of the casket and didn’t want to leave. If you look up “Hawkeye dog” in any image search, you’ll find the most heart breaking picture ever. I felt upset when I saw it. I agree with the thought that animals grieve but I want to hear what you think. Comment and tell me your stories.
2 Responses to “Brady’s Blog January ’14”
Eloise
We just had an elderly mare leave our herd. She didn’t die, but was taken away to a retirement facility. As horses go this older mare was a loner, usually grazing a good distance away from the others, and always the last horse to follow the herd by a wide margin. Still she had some interaction with the herd, and had a friend a gelding. He had been her friend for the last two years. When she left suddenly he searched, called and fretted for about 10 days. It wasn’t that -he- was taken out of the safety of the herd, he missed his friend.
After 40 years of watching herd dynamics it is abundantly clear that horses make friends some of whom last as friends, some of whom are dropped in favor of new, more interesting friends. It reminds me human High School and College friends, some last your lifetime, some come and go in a week. Most departures from my ranch don’t cause any reaction other than the inevitable dominance issues. A parting such as this old mare and her gelding friend is heartbreaking in its way.
Debbie
When I lost the older of my two mares, I let the younger one smell the older mare after she was put down. The younger mare is an alpha mare and she squealed and struck the older mare. The vet said that is a normal reaction, trying to get the downed mare up and being upset. My younger mare knew she was gone and did not whinny for her or run fences. But, she was incredibly sad for months. She most definitely mourned her friend. I got her another companion as soon as I could. She was grateful for the company and stopped being sad, but never has gotten as close to the new one as she was to the older mare.