Without exception the horses have always handled it just fine. In fact they usually act like nothing has happened. This is because we have what we call the power of group living. The response from the horse(s) left behind would be quite different if a group of 2 or 3 horses lost a member. In that situation a significant part of their herd, and in the case of 2 horses the only part of their herd, is now gone. Horses derive their comfort and security from their herd, and we humans sometimes like to forget that our horses are hardwired to be herd animals.
Often people seem bothered when we tell them the other horses act like nothing changed, especially if it is a horse that their horse was particularly friendly with. Another thing we humans really want is for our horses to respond like we would. When my father passed a few weeks ago I did not move on like nothing had happened, in fact I am still overwhelmingly sad. This is a very different response than the horses have to the loss of a herd mate. To some people when they realize their horses are not reacting this way we think of them as uncaring or mean. Expecting the horses to have a human response, and then passing judgement on them when they do not, is so unfair to the horses.
Sometimes the other members of the herd are fully aware of what happened. If a horse is euthanized at the farm then we try to make sure their herd mates know their friend has passed. On several occasions we have made the decision to euthanize a resident when they are at the vet clinic. Obviously in this scenario the other herd members do not know what is happening. However it has never mattered which set of circumstances applied as the reaction has always been the same, the herd members left behind move on like nothing happened.
Several years ago we had two retired polo ponies, Lacy and Harmony, make the trip to our farm from Canada. These two mares had had the same owner and lived together for something like sixteen years. They had been retired for a couple of years prior to moving to our farm and they lived in a paddock with each other, never being separated for any reason, for a couple of years. When they traveled on the trailer from Canada to Tennessee they rode together in the same box stall. Any time they needed to be stalled they had to be put in the same stall. If there was a physical barrier between them they both flipped out. They always had to be led in and out from the pasture together, see the farrier at the same time, etc. Their owner described them as hysterically bonded and that was a very accurate description.
After joining us for retirement they of course joined a group of retirees. They had been living with their group for about 18 months when Lacy passed away. One morning she did not come for breakfast. Everyone else had come, including Harmony, and were eating like normal. Lacy was found towards the back of the pasture where it appeared she had fallen over dead from a heart attack (Lacy was in her late 20's). After 16 years of being hysterically bonded and flipping out about any level of separation Harmony stood there eating breakfast like she didn't have a care in the world. Just like that she moved on and happily lived several more years.
If that same scenario had played out in the paddock in Canada with just Lacy and Harmony living together I am 100% certain that Harmony's response would have been vastly different because she did not have the security of the herd. We've seen several other examples like this through the years where one horse loses what appears to be his or her BFF. Without any drama or stress they simply move on and pick a new BFF.
The way horses cope with loss is one of the most powerful reminders to me that they are horses and not people. When they are allowed to live in a group environment - as they are hard wired to do - they deal with loss just fine. They are also the perfect example of what a strong social support system can do for you in a time of need.
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3 comments:
It is so simple for us people to want to project our set of emotions onto our animals. In some cases it may be more appropriate than others (Bush following your father so quickly). I appreciate your insight about the herd dynamics.
Horses are good at "love the one you're with". Although Red is very bonded to Pie - it's clearly pretty one-sided as Pie could care less about Red - I'm sure if Pie were absent from the herd Red would be just fine after a day or so. And Red used to hate Pie and would mercilessly chase and herd him - I deliberately put them in adjacent paddocks at the trainer's and also in adjacent pens when they were being introduced to the new herd, and the result is that Red made a complete switch and now thinks Pie is the best!
We had a broodmare who was very calm and sensible and passed on her temperment to all her babies. She and her last two sons had been a pasture trio for several years, but could be seperated easily.
Her last summer she had been pastured with only her youngest. I don't think they had ever, technically, been out of each other's site. When she had to be euthanised unexpectantly one morning, her son was left alone for the first time in his life. He whinnied once, and looked over the horizon as if he may have accidentally left her behind, and that was the end of it. We moved horses around and got him a new buddy.
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