Do horses grieve?

J

JaneMBE

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 October 2005
Messages
4,959
Visit site
Without putting too much of a human trait on it, do horses really grieve for lost friends? How long can it continue?


The day we lost Phantom, H wouldn't leave his side, and when the vet was with him, H just kept holding onto Phantom's neck.
The couple of weeks we had a companion for H (a horse he knw and had lived beside) he became a shell really, he allowed himself to be bullied and always had a nick on him through kicking.
When Magic came home, she galloped round the field, almost searching every inch of the field, maybe for Phantom.

Anyway, since losing him, H has lost condition, and is just a plod, happy to see us and be ridden, but not the same.
It has been a struggle to maintain his weight, at times he would be very tucked up and not bothered about anything.

I am thinking he really misses his friend, even though he loves M. He has just been, well, there, if you know what I mean. Before, he loved to play, chasing games with us etc. Now, can't be bothered.

Today though, he cantered, and skipped, with M, for dinner. First time since that day that he has.He was kicking out, playing with M as they came up.
I am hoping he has finally perked up and is the same old H. It made me smile, because he just hasn't bothered for weeks now, so it meant a lot to see him mucking around.

Hopefully now he will pick up
smile.gif


Does this sound really daft?
confused.gif
 
They do grieve but maybe there is something else wrong? Is he warm enough? Has he been wormed? Is there any chance he could have what the other one had? He prob needs some TLC for a while I would get him checked out tho if he's lost that much condition?
 
I do think horses grieve.
I've known many very strong pair bonds, and in a couple of instances both horses were PTS together (all very elderly) as it was decided the other wouldn't cope. (Vets opinion!)
I have seen one member of a strong pair bond PTS and the other tried to get onto the 'dead box' with the body, it was very very sad.
I've seen horses go drastically downhill after losing a friend so I'm convinced that they do.
I'm glad you think yours is picking up now, most do get over it. So sorry that you lost Phantom
frown.gif
((((((hugs)))))))
 
i think all animals grieve especially when they are kept together they create such bonds an almost rely on each other. elephants grieve alot don't they?? they like gather round their dyin friend and stuff.
 
No not daft at all. I'm sure my mare grieved for her friend. We showed her the body and she accepted that, but was definately a quite down for a while after.

Sounds like your horse has turned the corner. Let's hope so.

Jo x
 
I think they recognise death but as he didnt see him dead I'd be doubtful of a greiving reaction.

Is it possible he had a low grade form of what Phantom had?
 
[ QUOTE ]
They do grieve but maybe there is something else wrong? Is he warm enough? Has he been wormed? Is there any chance he could have what the other one had? He prob needs some TLC for a while I would get him checked out tho if he's lost that much condition?

[/ QUOTE ]

Hiya. No he is fine in his health. Wormed regularly and was given a thorough check and lots of tlc and careful looking at afterwards. (this was in jan we lost our boy).
I did wonder at first if he had caught an infection, but he hadn't.
He is warm enough and rugged etc. I was very thorough, checking every bit twice daily afterwards, paranoid he would become ill.

He hasn't lost that much condition, I mean, not drastic. And I guess, because of the weather, he hasn't been ridden as much of late. I just fret too much.
As my friend pointed out, he lost his mate, moved fields, had new companion for a couple of weeks, then had another, then M came back, so really it has been lots of change for him.
At least he didn't stress like he did when I first got him, when he paced and paced and trashed the field.
smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
I think they recognise death but as he didnt see him dead I'd be doubtful of a greiving reaction.

Is it possible he had a low grade form of what Phantom had?

[/ QUOTE ]

Very possible Boss. I have to say though, although he didn't see him dead, you could tell that he was going to die, I mean, he was very weak and he had an odd smell about him
frown.gif


Very possible he had a low grade infection, but being older and bigger, he had the strength to carry on. He didn't have any symptoms though (we were so rigorous about #checking him all the time)
 
I would say definately. My was devastated when her friend died. Worse still he was PTS away from home, and she couldn;t understand why he didn't come back. We did have him home to bury, and most of last summer she would spend part of every day standing looking at his 'grave'.
She was very quiet and withdrawn, so much so that I did have the Vet to her, and after a bunch of test declared her depressed.
However, on a brighter note, in the past 6 weeks she had become much more of her old self and it looks like the 'original' her is coming back.
 
I would say yes definitely, my grey mare dropped dead on a Xc course and my gelding was still at home. When I arrived back with an empty trailer he kept looking for her, he called for 48 hours non stop - not eating. he did loses weight and his sparkle for about 6 months, But then perked up when I bought a new mare. 3 years later he was still calling every grey horse we saw and would try and follow.
 
H sounds like how Chex is just now
frown.gif
. He lost his pair bond about a month ago - they had been inseparable for almost 3 years. He's dropped a load of weight, and seems to have lost his sparkle - it really breaks my heart, but there's nothing I can do for him
frown.gif
. He has other horses in his field, but now they're just picking on him and he's turned into a loner. He was there when she died, so he knows she's gone. I just hope he'll get over this, he's 26 and I'd hate him to live his last years in misery
frown.gif
 
I'm certain they do.

My oldie bonded with another not-quite-so-oldie when I moved yards. When his friend was pts mine very definately grieved; waited by the gate when he was out, called if a similar looking horse hacked past and was generally not himself. It took about 3 months before he really perked up and got back to normal.

Interestingly he didn't really form another bond for some years; he's now very attached to my cob but not in quite the same way.
 
hope he feels and get back to his normal self quickly
I strongly believe that horses gri, ived experianced it several times....some do recover and move on

A horse i used to ride some years ago had died and left behind his beloved friens a elderly donkey who pined for the horse who had died ....he had another companion soon after but as the donkey was old i think he died of a broken heart in the end

Ive come arcross servel tight bonded horses and the other gets left behind
and its a awful shame when one dies
Give it time...he'll soon be back to his normal self...fingerscrossed
 
Our pair were together for twenty years and the Appy was very sad for many weeks, she saw her friend dead, so never went looking for her. She was with two others, but didn't pick up untill the younger Appy arrived. Both the one who died and the younger Appy treated her as if she was the best animal in the world and I think the hero worship helped. The young Appy missed the old Appy when she had gone and is now grieving for her best friend (who died at easter age 11). She has the elderly black and white lady with her, but the old lady prefers the sheep.
 
Doesn't sound daft at all. Many years ago when my foundation broodmare had her first foal, the mare developed colic and the foal had to be weaned there and then (foal was about 5 months old) whilst mum was taken in for surgery. To cut a long story short, the mare was hospitalised for over 3 months and during that time her foal was naturally weaned and turned out with the rest of the family. Years on and the mare continued to suffer with colic and on a number of occasions was admitted back to hospital again. Each time she went away, her daughter would suffer from "stress" colic - we could guarantee that we would have to get the vet out to her within 24 hours of her mum going into hospital. This continued for many years until eventually her mum had to be put to sleep (not colic related). For days on end, her daughter stood at the gate just screaming for her mum (and by now she was about 10 years old). Now another 8 years down the line, the mare has never fully recovered and certainly isn't the same horse she was when her mum was alive. She is turned out daily with her younger sister (as mum went on to have another daughter and a son) and sticks close to her sister, but the mare has lost all the sparkle she used to have and we still, stupidly or not, feel that she's never got over the death of her mum, so yes, we feel horses to feel grief.
 
Yes I think they are certainly affected by the death of a close companion.
When I was training (many moons ago) we had a horse struck by lightning and die.
His friend a thoroughbred was in a distressed state at the time and I thought it was more to do with the storm at the time.
But for days maybe a couple of weeks he was very subdued and really not himself at all.
He had always been a difficult horse and the first day he tried to bite me after this incident I was so happy. It meant he was getting back to normal.

Its possible he could have been traumatised by the storm (it was the worst I had ever seen) or even that he got some of the shock if they were close together.
But physically he was fine. It really did seem to be a kind of depression or sadness that he went through.

I am glad your horse is showing signs of improvement.
My boy went back to being his usual tickleish stroppy self and I was very glad for it.
 
I have known of a horse grieve...when my old horse was pts...her riding buddy and pal next door stopped eating and was very depressed. He was usually a live-wire and full of himself but he went down hill really fast...if I remember rightly a herb or plant was found that encourages appetite and is a pick me up and he was fed that. He picked up again but was never the same really.
My horse has suffered depresssion I am sure...I think they do...its probably not like our depression but their version of it. She went very flat and quiet and just semed to switch off...I moved yards (for another reason) and she went back to being her old self...I learnt that her environment can affect her dramatically. I felt guilty cos I hadn't picked up on it...and it was only moving yards that I clicked that she had been depressed and it taught me to really look and try to listen to her...she was trying to tell me but I hadn't understood.
 
No it doesnt sound daft at all. My old mare was PTS last August. I had her PTS in the field with the rest of the herd in there with her. They all kept there distance until she went down. Once the vet had checked her over etc we let them see her. One got a bit vicous and tried to get her up (only natural as old girl was herd leader) then walked away.
My other mare who had been kept with her for 10 years stayed by her side till her body was removed from the field. She moped around for weeks, she lost her appetite, she would go off on her own and stand for hours with the rest of the group no where to be seen. Eventually she came round and shes back to normal.
So yes I do think horses do grieve, and I dont think its daft what youve said at all.
 
I think so, yes, or at the very least, they certainly miss them, much of a muchness isn't it really?

My tb was present when his companion goat gave birth (too present, we had to keep pushing him away!) the kid tried to suckle the horse first. That was it, that horse adored his goat, it went in the stable with him, in the trailer, out on hacks (imagine taking an unleashed goat out now!) everywhere.

The goat had an accident and died, my brother buried him in the paddock and that horse stood there for three days. Totally ignoring the other goat and his so-called shettie companion pony.

From then on, it was much the same as other accounts relate, it was months before he returned to his old self.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top