Do horses pine?

kibob

kibob

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Yesterday I sent one of my mares to a friends yard to be schooled. My other horse (her mother) has been really out of sorts all day. she has spent most of the afternoon lying down, gets up for ten mins or so to graze and then lies down again. She's eaten her tea, seems bright enough in herself. I'm worried she may have colic so am checking her regularly, she does have a rather rumbly tummy but other than that seems fine.

Has anyone experience of a horse pineing (sp)? She has always had her daughter around (daughter is 8 years old), if not in the same field, always nearby, they've never been particularly clingy to one another. She does have company but just seems really depressed. I'm really worried about her:confused:
 
Yes, I moved to a different part of the country and my pony left a horse he'd been with for 9 years. He'd been with him since he was 2, in the next stable and turnout buddies.

My pony just seemed to lose his get up and go. He still functioned but not with the same spirit as he used to. I eventually had the vet and he was checked for liver and kidney function and he ran a number of other blood tests.
Nothing abnormal was found and the vet concluded that he was probably missing his mate and time would heal him.

It took many, many months for him to be back to his cheeky self.
 
I belive so, my friend had 2 shetties, that had been together for many years, one of them had to be pts due to lami, he was pts in the paddock that we used for riding/winter turn out, when the other was let out, he stood on his own in the corner with his head drooped, and didn't move till he was brought in, he stopped eating his hard feed, and started to go downhill, this when on for a couple of weeks, untill he himself had to be pts
 
Defiantly. My mare is the worst. Even with horses not in her field, when they gone (vet hospital for a week) she was moping around. When I sold the one she was field buddy with it took her about 10 mins to realise she was gone and not coming back and that was it. She was quite, not eating, being very attention seeking with me. Had to give her a friend ASAP.

Can you buddy your horse up with another one? Orjust loads of attention to take her mind of it?
 
miss_molly said:
Defiantly. My mare is the worst. Even with horses not in her field, when they gone (vet hospital for a week) she was moping around. When I sold the one she was field buddy with it took her about 10 mins to realise she was gone and not coming back and that was it. She was quite, not eating, being very attention seeking with me. Had to give her a friend ASAP.

Can you buddy your horse up with another one? Orjust loads of attention to take her mind of it?
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She has got company as there were the 3 of them in the field together. Think I'm going to move her and her companion tomorrow so they are in a paddock adjoining some of the livery horses, hopefully the change of scene along with the other horses will perk her up a bit. Can't ride till the weekend but will lavish her with lots of love tomorrow. Just hate seeing her so down and so suddenly.
 
Absolutely, they remember too. A few months after my one in a million pony, Cobweb, had to be pts we got Fleur, who looks quite similar to Cobweb. When we brought Fleur into the field the other two horses looked up from the other end of the field, let out the loudest whinnies I've ever heard and came galloping down towards us. Then they got to the fence and realised that Fleur wasn't their old friend. It was heartbreaking.

Then a few years ago my mum went to visit Fleur in a fleece that she hadn't worn for years. It was only after Fleur had spent several minutes gluing her nose to my mum that we realised my mum hadn't worn that fleece since Fleur's old companion Cilla had died, and she could obviously smell her old friend on the clothing. She took a little while to regain her Arab spirit after that incident.
 
Take care hun because the comonest reaction from a mare separated from her foal (even if grown up) is to fret and call and pace about by the gate. If your mare is off colour and lying down and out of sorts, I'd keep a very close eye on her in case something more serious is brewing.
 
Agree that they can and do pine. We had two mares who had lived together for 20 years, the younger one had to be pts (in the box next to her old friend) and the old friend (the old appy) was very down for a few weeks, she perked up when we got the current appy, who hero worshiped her from day one, gave the old girl a new lease of life. She did enjoy being special. :D
 
yes i had a gelding and a mare, they were in a field with other horses but were normally found together grazing. One day i took the mare out XC schooling in the trailer. I roder her XC and she dropped down dead with a heart attack as I finished. I took my trailer back empty and my gelding looked for her as i drove back in. he checked out the trailer, he checked me out, then he started to pine. He lost his umph, his get up and go had gone. Everytime I got my trailer out he would perk up, until he realised she wasn;'t in it. When I took him to competitions he would see a grey horse and call and call hoping it was his mare. This went on for about 6 weeks until i bought another mare. He attached himself to the new mare and insisted she was his friend. She was - for about 6 years until I had to sell her. He then pined again, so I got him a foal, he was free to a good home and I decided my old boy who by now had retired needed a new focus in his life. it was a brainwave. The foal was unhandled and a little wild. Putting him in with my old chap sorted that out within a day or so. My old boy suddenly perked up, I swear he thought he had given birth. He adores that youngster who now is at least a hand bigger than he is, 3 years old and ready to be backed next year. When I moved the old chap and his baby into my main paddock with my two riding horses my old boy acted as his mentor and guardian. When the youngster is backed and working I will get another foal and the process can start again. And hopefully the old boy will live out his days happy, contented as a genial grandfather.
 
Thanks everyone for your replies.

Bosworth, what a lovely story about your gelding, sounds like a very special chap.

Have been keeping an eye on her overnight as I was worried she would colic (luckily she is in the field next to the house so night time visits in dressing gown and wellies are do-able). She has been laying down most of the night, just getting up for the odd short graze. However, she seems a little less sad this morning and has been up grazing for a few hours now. Going to move her and my gelding into another field this morning where they have company in the adjoining paddocks (just seperated by electric fence). Hopefully she will perk up then... fingers crossed.

It's taken me a long time to admit that the foal (now 8) is not the horse for me and would be better suited to someone else, a heartbreaking decision as she is my first home-bred. I've sent her off to be schooled and then, hopefully, sold. Hadn't expected her mum to be so down,,, it's not helping this difficult decision, can't bare to see her so sad.
 
Definately. I bred a foal from my most favourite horse ever. I kept both. When the daughter was 5 I had to have her Mum PTS. The daughter was upset and looking for her for quite a few weeks. It was really sad to see.
 
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