Do horses sense/understand death ?

D

DEBZ

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Mar 20, 2006
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I was upset last night because a horse on our yard had been shot in sight of some of the horses and the body was winched onto a lorry while I was there, again in view of the horses. There are shutters on the stable windows but these were left open.

Am I just being stupid to think that my boys uncharacteristic behaviour last night was because he knew ? Also, one of the horses was very distressed at the winching noises or could it have been what he was seeing ?

The yard manager does not believe that horses know what death is and have no fear of it. I don't agree but wonder what you all think. Would you want your horse shielded from seeing this ?
 
I might not have been inclined to have them around to watch the winching of the body but horses understand death far more than a dissapearance. Many horses will often grieve over a close friend but will be less frantic than if they had just be permanantly led away.

Hope this makes sense. :o
 
I'm sure they do. I found my old horse dead in his field last year, the others in the herd were all stood restlessly in a huddle & none of them were eating, which I have never seen before or since. One of the horses collapsed & died in his field at the RS where I used work work years ago, his 'best friend' stood next to his body & licked his hooves, the others sort of filed past and looked. I may be anthropomorphising (sp!!) but think if they see it, they understand it.
 
I don't think that horses fear death in the same way that humans do. It's part of the cycle of life.

I'm not sure that I would have wanted my horse to see the shot but I do think that it's a good idea to let their field/stable buddies see the body before it's removed so that they can say their goodbyes and know that the horse has passed over. Much better than simply removing the horse never to be seen again.
 
Our lot take no notice of a dead horse.

The winching and general atmosphere of the people about would feed down to the horses, but the death of the horse its self would not bother them.

Mares and pair bonds need to see their dead foal or friend so they can understand the other is dead. Removing a foal from a mare will make her panic and look for her foal, if she sees a dead foal she will leave it in her own time and understand it is dead.

The same with a pair bond, simply taking the other away and not giving the other horse time to see and understand the other is dead is not a good thing.
 
i didn't let toby see the body after bonnie was PTS. He'd spent the afternoon watching her slipping away over the stable wall and when we'd made the decision we took her out to the field and left toby in his box. He knew what was going on. He was very quiet and very well behaved which is not at all the norm. He usually went ballistic when left alone but on this occasion he knew she wasn't coming back and settled down immediately.
 
Bay Mare said:
I don't think that horses fear death in the same way that humans do. It's part of the cycle of life.

I'm not sure that I would have wanted my horse to see the shot but I do think that it's a good idea to let their field/stable buddies see the body before it's removed so that they can say their goodbyes and know that the horse has passed over. Much better than simply removing the horse never to be seen again.
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That sums up my feelings pretty well.
 
Sparks definatly acted differently after Eikon died. However, he died because he ran through one fence, then ended up tangled up in the fence to Sparky's paddock where he passed away, so this probably contributed to it. She was very jumpy, but also exceedingly cuddly for weeks afterwards.

I'm thankful that she got to see his body and understand what was going on though.
 
I think seeing a horse shot or any animal can effect them. Lots of people walk round our field at the yard as its a public right of way and the horses take little notice. One day a man was coming round shooting rabbits and the horses stood there in a strait line looking and many of them shaking and snorting and very on edge. It effected me and I beleive it effected them too!! As for death, I do not beleive they are afraid of it themselves when the time is right;)
 
It's gunshots that our lot go mad over, I can shoot into the air and they all go bouncing off around the park!
 
I must have mutant horses, there were people shooting rabbits in the paddock behind our place the other day while I was long-lining Tally, and neither of mine even looked up!

They hate earthquakes though, poor Sparks doesn't look the ground moving beneath her!
 
When Flash was being PTS by injection Amber and Matilda watched from the far side of the field that led onto the yard. Once vet had gone I closed off the yard gates and let them wander in their own time over to where Flash was lying. Both stood like a guard of honour with her, this went on for about half an hour then they wandered back into their field. they also watched the removal but were very subdued. Matilda coped well but Amber grieved something shocking, I couldn't even get her to walk past Flash's stable for a month without her standing and looking into it. Very sad for me and her and all who could see her. That made my decision to get Milou easier and she perked up no end but it was no wonder that she grieved so much because she had been with Flash since she was 7 1/2 months old so she was like a mother to her.

They definitely seem to sense death and understand it and have their own way of coping. When we found Laura's first pony Biggles dead in the field Flash and the other horse Candy were grazing at the other end of the field but you could see all their hoof prints around the body so they must have had their vigil before we got there.
 
We used to have a slaughter house near us, that we rode the horses past. They HATED going past it, not due to scary stuff outside as most of the time there wasnt stuff there, and it must have been because they sensed it :( so i say yes they can
 
I agree with letting horses see the dead bodies but Im not sure about the shooting though. I have always had trouble riding my horse past fresh roadkill such as badgers and rabbits and Ive always thought it was something to do with the smell of blood.


I apologise in advance if this thread multiplies Database error stalking me again!
 
magicalmac said:
I agree with letting horses see the dead bodies but Im not sure about the shooting though. I have always had trouble riding my horse past fresh roadkill such as badgers and rabbits and Ive always thought it was something to do with the smell of blood.

QUOTE]

Same here, a few of the horses i ride will not go anywhere near anything dead by the roadside
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i used to ride by a slaughter house. i never had any trouble getting him past but there where horses kept in the field next to the slaughter house that walked through the yard.(difficult to explain) but i was out hacking one day and we met one of theses horses who was desprate to catch up with us my horse hated her and went mental ending up backing into a tree and rearing up!!i always found that very odd maybe he couldnt understand that she smelt different??.
 
there was a turkey farm just past my old yard and the horses hated the smell, especially at Christmas and Easter!
 
I think horses can get distressed when a buddy disappears. but I doubt they understand the difference between a death and say their buddy moving to a different yard.
They are hovever very good at sensing emotions. A horse at my yard had colic and was transported to the animal hospital where he died during surgery. Everybody at the yard was very upset and grieving and some of the horses reacted quite strongly to that.
 
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