“Some studies suggest that [after the death of a herdmate], horses show signs of anxiety, cessation of feeding and social withdrawal,” Mendonça says. “Therefore, it is important to consider horses' needs when they are facing a situation of loss before asking them to complete or perform their daily tasks.”
Some horses show easily observable expressions of grief, such as waiting for days by the gate through which their buddy disappeared, exhibiting reduced social interaction, or appearing depressed. Their eyes may be lackluster, their usual expressions of joy may fall by the wayside, and even food intake may be reduced.
A horse doesn't just grieve the death of his companion, he also mourns the loss of physical touch and comfort that his companion provided. Support your horse and reduce his feelings of loneliness through grooming.
Is it possible for a horse to know their companion has passed away? “It's one of those things we don't have enough evidence to really say yet, but in my opinion innately they understand that something is wrong or something has changed,” says Gemma.
Horses' propensity to form often lifelong social bonds suggest that they form attachment relationships to particular others just as humans do, and where there is attachment, there is grief upon loss.
“Some studies suggest that [after the death of a herdmate], horses show signs of anxiety, cessation of feeding and social withdrawal,” Mendonça says. “Therefore, it is important to consider horses' needs when they are facing a situation of loss before asking them to complete or perform their daily tasks.”
While a period of mourning is natural and expected, prolonged grief and sadness becomes pathogenic and detrimental to the body. Horses can become listless, go off-feed, get depressed or become anxious after the loss of a close friend.
Not only is the research robust that horses will remember us, it is also the case that they probably like us and possibly miss us when we are not there. Horses, as herd animals, are evolutionarily designed to be social, to form bonds with herdmates, and to form particular attachments to specific others.
Horses can read human emotions, too, often in uncannily accurate ways; alerting us to our sadness or nervousness, sometimes before we've even consciously registered it. As Herman Melville wrote in Redburn, "No philosophers so thoroughly comprehend us as dogs and horses."
Horses might experience acute distress when they are separated from other horses for routine health care, training, or transportation. Many horse owners have witnessed frantic calling, agitation, and pacing when pasture companions are separated.
Raised inner brows: Horses don't have an eyebrow like humans, but they do have an expression that raises the inner corner of the eye. When a horse raises his inner corner of the eye, it is expressing feelings of sadness or fearfulness.
People emit a particular chemosignal while experiencing a specific emotion that induces the same emotion in another person who smells that odor. Chemosignals are chemical signals the human body gives off, primarily through sweat. Now researchers have found that horses also can smell human emotions.
There are two main options 1) group cremation where the body is cremated with others. This option does not offer any ashes back. 2) individual cremation where the body is cremated individually and the ashes are returned to the owner.
We've all heard stories of horses who have grieved inconsolably for months after the death of an equine friend. I've even heard of horses who “died of a broken heart” after the passing of a pal. As touching as these stories are, I view them as products of our human interpretation of companionship and death.
Comparative scientific research of empathy and other higher-order mental processes in animals have focused on human's closest relatives. Like primates, horses share many of the social and ethological characteristics believed to favor an ability to experience empathy.
One part of the answer to your question is that horses may be able to respond to a situation using clues from both a person's facial expression and the emotion in their voice. In a study from Japan, researchers showed horses some photos of humans with different expressions on their faces, such as happiness or sadness.
Horses exhibit higher heart rates when separated from a human, but don't show any preference for their owners over complete strangers, the team discovered. Swedish researchers started their work with the theory that positive reinforcement training on a horse was more likely to lead to them forming a strong attachment.
Horses and humans may develop a connection or trust through contact or riding or by way of grooming / care. They may show signs of recognition when you or other humans approach them.
Horses have excellent memories and can remember certain people after long periods. A recent study completed in 2021 proved horses could recognize and understand human facial expressions and emotional responses. Extensive research has shown horses can maintain memories of humans when they have positive interactions.
Horses also understand words better than expected, according to the research, and possess "excellent memories," allowing horses to not only recall their human friends after periods of separation, but also to remember complex, problem-solving strategies for ten years or more.
In some cases, such as with a fearful horse, they may stare at you to try and assess whether you will hurt them or if you are a predator that will eat them. A horse that's being defensive may turn their face to you, raise their head, and stare at you to try and intimidate you.
The findings indicated that horses care capable of detecting when a human is expressing and projecting positive feelings towards them and is likely to reciprocate those positive feelings.
Always be honest with them. Include them in the decision making process and plan ways to say your goodbyes and how you are going remember your horse. You may also want to remember your horse in a special and lasting way, with a photograph or by writing a few words or a poem.
Falls can cause physical and mental trauma for riders. While broken bones heal, emotional injuries might linger.
Lifespan of Horses
The average lifespan of a domesticated horse is 25 to 30 years old. The average for Mustangs and other horses in the wild is typically closer to 15 years. Domesticated horses tend to live longer because veterinarians can address their medical conditions and dietary needs.