grieving horse

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muffy32

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My horse suddenly lost his field chum yesterday when he had to be PTS.
This is probably going to sound a bit odd but I swear my guy knew it had happened before me. When I went up to see him yesterday afternoon he was really wierd ( like he was depressed) he just wasnt himself, so I gave him some hugs and just left him to graze quietly. When I got home from the yard I had a text telling me that my boys best mate had had to be PTS that afternoon. He had been taken to the vet school that morning for some more tests but the vet said he would never get better and he would always be in pain.

What can I do for my poor, sad horse? I feel so helpless I cant bear to see him like this.

Is there anything I can do or give him?
 
I remember reading an article about the Blue Cross years back, who were doing research into horses grieving for lost field mates. It might be worth getting in touch with them to see if they have any suggestions. The other place you could speak to is Veteran Horse Society.
 
Its a shame it happened how it did, as I'm a big believer in letting the field-mate see the other ones body - they do understand better that way, but as it was at the vets, obviously this wasn't possible.

I think all you can do is give him plenty of attention, can you introduce another friend for him? Might help.
 
If he can have have a companion with him, that might help him settle. Spend as much time as possible with him- grooming, cuddles, rides out (if he can be ridden).

The bachs flower remerdies are quite good. I have used them myself and they helped and they can be used on horses too. I think 4 drops of remerdy on a small handful of feed several times a day is right.

Star of Bethlehem is good for shock/trama and also Rescue Remerdy is very good.

I agree with thrying the Blue Cross and Veteran Horse Society for ideas too.
 
I had the same problem with my horses mate when he was put to sleep,I asked a horse whisperer and she said they do grieve but he would get better in time ,She also said we should of let him see the body ? Everything went back to normal after a few weeks ,We did get him a new friend ,Good luck and best wishes.
 
thankyou so much for your replies. I have just got back from the yard, I gave my guy a lovely massage, a groom and lots of hugs. We are going out riding at 3 so that might give him something else to think about.

I will go and give the blue cross a call and also pop to the chemist to get him some rescue remedy.

My lad does have 2 other horses in his field but one is a complete a*s* and kicks and bites anything near it and my lad doesnt seem interested in the 2nd one ( maybe in time)
 
My mare grieved for about 2 weeks when my mum's horse died. She just used to stand in the corner of the field,hardly eating.
We just gave her lots of fuss, another companion and in time she went back to her oldself
I think we sometimes forget that animals DO have emotions too and we should respect their feelings

Good luck
 
My old boy is 21 and when his best friend was PTS he took it really badly. It has taken him a good month to get over it and I used something very similar to Bach flower remedies which seems to have helped. It's really sad to see isn't it, although I'm not sure that having seen the body would have helped at all, but maybe that's me being squeamish.
 
I think it will probably just take time. My mare was PTS in November and the thing that broke my heart was seeing her constant companion of 12 years watching from the field until she fell and then she just turned and walked away. Her friend has now paired up with my other horse who she wouldn't give any acknowledgment to previously. If you give it time the field dynamics may change and hopefully he will make a new friend.
frown.gif
 
i would try and get some reiki done on him, i dont know what your views are on this but it will really help him emotionally.
 
I had to have my dear old horse PTS on Boxing Day - my other horse was fine at the time (they had been out together for 10 years) but about 3 weeks later, he was very down and miserable. I don't know if he was picking up on my mood or if we were both just grieving and missing our best friend. I just spent some extra time with him and we got thru it but he lost weight and was very glum for a week or 2 - I am sure that it was grief.

My horses have had to re-negotiate the pecking the order, which took some time, and they do miss Woody terribly as he was the brains in the outfit.

Good luck,

Catherine
 
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