Do horses understand death?

[Shilasdair]

Do horses recognise that they will die? And should you let them see their herd members if they die/are put to sleep?
Do horses grieve?
Thoughts please!
S

 

[JessPickle]

I think they do not necessarily associate it with death unless they saw the horse die, but they do definetly realise they have gone. a couple of horses at our yard have been put down recently both were couples. The other horses were constantly neighing for them to come back for just over 2 weeks they definetly miss each other

 

[Puppy]

I do think it's best (if possible) to let them see their fieldmate once they've passed on. We left Star with Will's body for an hour while we waited for the crem to collect him.

 

[ISHmad]

I think you should always let a horse see his or her fieldmate after they have died, so that they "know" what has happened. Not sure that they grieve as such, as they live in the moment to survive day to day, but undoubtedly they would miss the presence of a great fieldmate for a time.

 

[Donkeymad]

I believe that horses understand death and think that field mates should be allowed to sniff their mates after death. I also believe this is the right thing to do with dogs. Funnily enough, I was shot to pieces for this view on another board recently.

 

[Enfys]

I don't know whether they know they will die, but I do think they understand when a companion is dead, that they recognise the absence of life. I have seen mares with stillborn foals try to raise them and then, after a few hours completely ignore them.

They do grieve, or miss a companion though I believe. I had one Tb that had a goat as a companion, the silly goat hung itself and was buried in the paddock. That horse hung around the grave for days, refusing to eat or drink, we had to get him a new goat and as soon as we did he was as right as rain again. Was he grieving or just missing his constant companion?

 

[Bounty]

NO.
When Cybele went I took all of ours down to see her body. Two of them I knew wouldn't be especially bothered anyway, but Tills was her best, best friend.
To start with she was completely freaked out by Cybele, started off being too scared to go anywhere near her and then began trying to get her to move. Incredibly distressing to watch.

Once she'd settled we left her out there to graze for about an hour while we waited for Cybele to be removed.
Once Tills was taken away she screamed, refused to eat/graze and paced (box walked and cantered up and down the fence lines) for the next three days and lost every ounce of her condition.
So IME I don't think she knew Cybele had died. She acted exactly as she would have done had I removed Cybele for any other purpose e.g. if I'd sold her, sent her away for training etc.
Certainly letting her see the body didn't help at all.

;(

 

[zigzag]

we had a mare who was boss of the field, we lost a pony through colic and so she was put down in indoor school, this boss mare was calling for weeks, and getting quite stressed about it, a month later we lost another pony through a broken leg, he was put down in the field , after vet had left mare walked over to nobby and sniffed him all over then walked away, she seemed to accept he had died and was happy and didn't call or get stressed, however everytime she saw the vet after that she tried to kill him (and was an angel before0

I think she blamed him for her friend dying

 

[Grumpy Herbert]

My mare had been with my old pony, 24 hours a day pretty much, for 9 years when I had to have him put down. She didn't seem to be bothered at all that he wasn't around any more, which I thought was really weird. She's a bit of a cold natured horse and doesn't seem to need anybody, horse or human, but she doesn't like being alone either. She's STRANGE!

 

[brighteyes]

You again!

I have twice seen pair bonds broken by death and the surviving pony, having had the chance to check out the body of its friend, stop the anxious behaviour exhibited whilst being kept temporarily apart. I'm not sure they have a concept of death before it happens (by pts) but they do get closure from contact with a dead companion - from my experience of seeing it.

I don't think it is fair to pts any horse in the sight of another.

 

[ISHmad]

[ QUOTE ]


I don't think it is fair to pts any horse in the sight of another.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think anyone would think that was fair, surely? But to let the other horses see the body are being PTS seems to help some horses at least to understand what has happened. My best friend did this when her much loved pony died, her two other horses came over to "say their goodbye's" and then went off quite calmly together.

 

[Puppy]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't think it is fair to pts any horse in the sight of another.

[/ QUOTE ]

Will was PTS with Star there. He had gone down with colic in the field and we tried for a little while to get him up and treat him, with varrying success. We'd actually got him up and walking cheerfully, and the vet had left, but all of a sudden he went down again for the last last time. I knew when I looked at him that I couldn't ask him to get back up again,

so I phoned the vet again, asked him to come back, and put him to sleep.

Will lay in his field, with the sun on him, and his head on my lap. Mum was by his neck, canine Puppy sat next to me, and Star stood over us all. If I'd have taken Star away the last few moments would have been incredibly distressing for them both. As it was, it was amazingly peaceful; the perfect goodbye. He was already filled with drugs, so we just gave him another injection. As he went, he did so with a sigh, Star raised her head, looked across the field and called; it really was like she bid his spirit fairwell. I have a shiver up my spine and tears in my eyes writing this. She then stood over him for an hour while we waited for them to come and take his body to the crem. The only time she kicked up a fuss what when we brought her in, as they took him away, and we all hid in the barn so avoid seeing them manhandle him. She neighed and kicked the door, it was so heartbreaking to watch.

She knew he'd gone though, and acted so when I turned her back out alone. She became much clingier to me for a few days, I couldn't bear the way she'd call as I'd go to leave after feeding. All in all though, she handled it well; the two of them had been together for 8 1/2 yrs and totally inseparable. Even my farrier had said you don't see love like that in humans. I'm so glad that he was the one to go first, because I honestly don't believe that Will could have lived with Star's death. Gah! I'm crying now. I wouldn't have had his death any differently. I treasure that we were all together to say goodbye, and I think it helped Star cope. If we'd carted him of in a trailer for surgery or something and he'd never come back, (which is what happened with my other boy) I think she would have been calling for days.

 

[Darkly_Dreaming_Dex]

my cob (a yearling at the time) lost his goat friend, he was allowed to sniff the body and we buried the goat in the paddock. 2 days later he dug up the body -EEUUUWWW- so goat got reburied in the old orchard...