When a horse dies do the others miss it????

TopTotty

TopTotty

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In May this year I very sadly lost my old mare Millie, she was 20 and had cushings and got a severe case of lami. I still can not talk about it!!!
Anyway Millie gave us Maisey 4 years ago and they were weaned but still lived together with my other three horses. There were no separation issues but it was obvious there was a bond between them. Millie went to heaven in the field and the other 4 watched over the fence and then wandered off grazing. She was then buried where she lay. :(

Since Millie left us, Maisey has been very quiet and spends a lot of time on her own away from the others in the field. I have begun to wonder if she is ok and spoke to my vet today who says there is no reason physically for her to be 'tired'. We are moving yards this month and I will be starting proper work with her and I am hoping that a bit of work may perk her up.

So my question is......Do you think she is missing her mum??? Do horses miss their friends etc when they go??? I know I am but that's beside the point!!!!!
 
I think they do, my horse pair bonded with a lovely chap who had to be PTS at only 16, my horse became very depressed, very quiet and even though he was in a small herd just looked very lonely and out of sorts and also became quite panicky leaving the other horses, he has never found such a strong friend before or since this particular horse.

It lasted for about 6months and I became quite worried about him, not that I particulary believe in such stuff, but an animal healer I came across in a health shop when I was buying my kids some multi-vitamins told to make up a mix of 4 specific bachs remedy essences (and before you say it I know its just water with Brandy!) and give it to him and bizarrely I think it did help - maybe I just felt better about doing something for him, but he did perk up whilst I gave it to him and then when I stopped he looked out of sorts again so I carried on using it for a few weeks and then he seemed to pull himself out of it slowly. I do believe horse have emotions in this respect, to me it was definitely grief.
 
I think defiantly yes.I unfortunately lost three horses in under four years,my friends mare was very good friends with all of them.

First horse.she was very down and lost weight for a good six months,used to smell my mares rug.

Second horse.was put down with her in the field, and she stayed with him for eight hours as advised by vet, would lick his rugs at night, and didn't want human contact, heart breaking to watch, lost a lot of weight.

Horse number three. He was put down in his stable, and she waited by the gate and neighed at him when he was taken away two hours latter, went very quiet and withdrawn. My other friend had one of his rugs and put it on her mare three months latter,and the other mare went up to the rug wickiering and sniffing the rug, and I was not a believer in spiritual feelings, but for a few days after the last horse was put down, my friends mare and I, had some very odd happenings at the same time which would come from nowhere, for both of us. She doesn't like my new horse so i am hoping this is a good omen as I can't go through the loss of any more horses. The last one I was especially fond of, and a day doesn't pass where I don't think about him.
 
They definatley miss a companion, I lost my 35 year old Arab, she died in the field with my TBXCob standing over her. We had to move the body to bury her and my mare walked along side the JCB with her head resting on the body. I failed to get her in before the body was moved she wouldn't leave her. The Arab was buried and for months my mare would stand where the Arab had died and call it was heartbreaking. She would even lay on the grave and call. I then bought my cob to keep her company and it has taken almost 5 years for her to accept him. We had had the Arab and a little cob mare for years together and my TBxCob was the daughter of the little mare so had had the Arab for company since birth but she pined more for the Arab than she did for her mum who had to be PTS about 6 years before the Arab died. She will still sometimes sniff around the area where the Arab died and then look around her a little confused. Saying that they do get over it and i am sure work will help put her mind onto something else. Good luck with her.:)
 
yes definitely some do grieve more than others same as some humans suffer more than others: I found aromatherapy worked for our little mare who was locking herself away after losing her friend:I just read upon which oils are best for grieving & let them choose from a selection.( fairly limited by the selection available in local chemists but ce la vie!) Our mare chose rose & something else (I can't remember which sorry!) but I would offer them to her every afternoon & she made a definite choice & inhaled it like it was nectar. After a few days of doing this she seemed to unlock her emotions again & became part of her field's social group again when previously she chose to be on her own all the time. Good luck x
 
Yes they do - the donkey sanctuary recommend that if a donk loses their companion you must leave the companion with the donkey until they turn and walk away as this is them coming to terms with their loss - and this can take days!!!

However another thought is that field dynamics change when a horse appears/disappears so you may find that she was bold when her mum was around but now she is no longer (sorry for your loss - its awful losing a horse :() she has moved down the pecking order and this is making her quiet.

You coudl try taking another one away for a couple of days and see if the field dynamics change again, or when you move it may alter.

Good luck though with whatever you decide. hugs
 
Iam surethey must miss their friend when one dies.Two ponies were in my field had to be pts within a couple of months of each other leaving one left on her own without company. They had been inseparatable and the pony left escaped from her field and ran onto a busy road in an effort to find her mates.Fortunately she was caught before causing an accident,but was clearly heartbroken ,standing in the stable with half closed eyes just grieving.It took a couple of months for her to get more her normal self and the owners were undecided on getting her company,but she has settled down nicely with new horse arrivals in the next field.
 
I'm so sorry for your loss :( In answer to your question, yes, they definitely do grieve - some more than others, and some take longer to pick up again afterwards - the same as with humans x
 
Thanks Guys, I'm gonna get her some oils I think....Rose is defo one.....who knows of any others that have worked?? Might work for both of us!
 
Yes, i think they definately grieve. One of mine was pts after an accident in the field and my mare who was closest to him definately grieved, she stood by him when he was pts, and sadly i had to take her away to the vets as soon as he went as she was also injured in the accident. He is buried in her field, and once she was turned out again (a few weeks later due to her injuries), the very first thing she did was go to his grave and just stand there, head hanging over the grave. This was two years ago, and she still likes to visit his grave quiet often, if she has missed a days turn out, the first thing she always does his check his grave. My other mare missed him too, she just stood, head hanging, really switched off staring at his grave for a good few weeks. I didnt do anything special with them, just let them grieve, and gave them time and space to come to terms with their loss.
 
From memory, the bachs remedies I was told to use was Star of Bethlehem for grief and then there were three others which I think were Aspen, Holly and possibly walnut???? I will try and check but apparently these help you accept and leave the past behind and allow you to move forward with confidence. As I said, I really don't get why it seemed to work, but if it helps your mare it may be worth a try, they are only £3 or £4 a bottle and I think you put 4 drops of each in to their feed or water up to 4 times a day so I put in 8 drops twice a day into his feeds.

There is a leaflet which explains which each essence is for and if your health shop sell them they will probably know someone you can ask, it may well be a confidence issue with your mare too as it was for my horse and this combination helps them deal with that issue as well as the grief.

Good luck I hope you find something that works for her and I am so sorry for your loss, but enjoy the memories you have of your horse as they are just as precious.
 
Yes definately but in my opinion its more out of routine than anything. We had our old girl put down in the paddock behind the stables and her body was removed by the company who put her to sleep. The horses called for her when she went out of the yard and round the back but once they heard the crack, they stopped calling and fell silent.

Next morning they went out and stood where she had fallen and then every morning they looked for her for about a month before gradually getting used to not seeing her.

The important thing to do IME is to find things for them all to do that takes their minds off of things for a short while everyday. In otherwords, make some new routines for them to occupy their minds.

I think its worse for us than it is for them so get stuck in and give them something exciting to look forward to everyday. Best wishes xx
 
I think they definitely feel something even if it is not a close friend..

I used to work on a therapy/vet yard so the horses would come and go and none were friends apart from talking across stable doors for a few weeks.

Sadly one night we lost a mare to colic, she was fine at 9pm on final checks but had died (extremely traumatically :( ) by 6.30 the next morning. All the horses were obviously quiet and withdrawn for a good few days afterwards despite none of them having any really bond with the little mare who had sadly died. My own horse who was one of the few permanent residents was not his normal cheeky playful self for a good few days, staying at the back of his stable rather than causing havoc over the door.

The yard was a big one (Hartpury college) and occasional horses would be put to sleep, if the hunt came to do the deed the horses down the barn would always react to the noise of the gun despite it being out of sight. It wouldn't be the gun noise they reacted to as there was regular gun shot noise at other times thanks to local shoots that they never reacted to.....

Hope you and your little mare start to remember the good times and forget the bad ones (hugs):)
 
Yes, without doubt. I lost my old TB earlier in the year and my mare was just devastated and lost afterwards. You could just see she was miserable and confused by it, took her a few weeks to come round.

Luckily though, there were a couple of others in the field and they literally gave her support, every time I turned her out they would go up to her nuzzling her, always keeping her company. It was a huge relief as I did worry. She's better now but I would say it did affect her for about 6-8 weeks.

She knew he had gone too, he died in the field and she did go and sniff/ paw him so think she understood but was just sad about it.
 
Thanks everyone. I have been spending a bit more time with her lately and making a fuss. She seems a bit happier and we are moving soon so she can start to come back into work too. :D
 
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