Do horses know when another horse has died? Well, when Sundance died, this is what happened...
Sundance died in the hall of the newer barn last Friday. When they moved him out of the hall to the back field I went out and stayed with Scooby (I didn't want to watch). Scooby smelled my hands and my coat, then just stood quietly with me while I waited. I could see the other horses and as the tractor took Sundance away the horses all lined up along the fence and just stood and watched.
That same night Carla and I let the horses in. Tapper was first in and she lives in the older barn. She usually heads ri
ght for her stall because she knows there is food waiting for her, but instead, she went into the hall of the newer barn, put her head down and sniffed all around, sniffed Sundance's old stall, then turned around and walked straight back to me (I was waiting by the gate). She stood directly in front of me and put her head down into my hands before turning and going to her stall. Tapper grew up with Sundance. When we weaned her from her mom we put her with Sundance and she had known him almost all of her life. This is Tapper at 3 months old with her mom.
Next in was Abby, then Dolly. They both live in the old barn and usually go straight in for food. Both of them took a slight detour near the new barn and looked in on the way by. Neither of them had ever been pastured with Sundance.
Ziegy was next. He also lives in the old barn. He went into the hall of the new barn and sniffed around a bit (not as long as Tapper), then came out and went into his stall. He also had never been pastured with Sundance.
The three that live in the new barn came next. Pepper and Josey went right into their stalls. Ceres stopped and sniffed around, then looked into Sundance's stall for a minute before going into her stall. She has been off her feed since that day. She eats her hay but not her grain. Hopefully she will adjust and start eating normally soon.
Deja had been pastured with Sundance for a long time. They were together every day for the last few years. (This pic is Sundance watching over a resting Deja.) She lives in the run-in behind the barn (next to Scooby), so she doesn't come in. Carla had brought her out earlier so she could see that Sundance was gone, but there were still a lot of people around and I'm not sure Deja understood. She spent a lot of time looking over the back door through the barn as if looking for him. The next night she was not acting herself. She ate her grain, but would not eat hay and just stood looking over the door. I let her come through and she went into the new barn and smelled everything, including his stall. Then she turned and stood in the hall looking out. She stayed like that for 3 or 4 minutes, not moving at all, then sniffed around some more. I led her back into the other barn to see if she wanted some hay - nope... I pulled out the stethescope and listened for stomach sounds. At first I got no sounds, then I heard slight sounds on one side and none on the other. I was concerned about colic so I called Carla and she came up. Carla started walking Deja while I took Rosy to the house and fed the dogs. When I got back to the barn Deja was starting to eat some hay, and after a little while we could hear sounds on both sides of her stomach and she seemed better. She has had a quiet week (for Deja), but seems to be getting back to her normal self.
In the mornings, Sundance would nicker for his breakfast in his really deep voice. I think that's what I miss the most.......
Sundance died in the hall of the newer barn last Friday. When they moved him out of the hall to the back field I went out and stayed with Scooby (I didn't want to watch). Scooby smelled my hands and my coat, then just stood quietly with me while I waited. I could see the other horses and as the tractor took Sundance away the horses all lined up along the fence and just stood and watched.
That same night Carla and I let the horses in. Tapper was first in and she lives in the older barn. She usually heads ri
ght for her stall because she knows there is food waiting for her, but instead, she went into the hall of the newer barn, put her head down and sniffed all around, sniffed Sundance's old stall, then turned around and walked straight back to me (I was waiting by the gate). She stood directly in front of me and put her head down into my hands before turning and going to her stall. Tapper grew up with Sundance. When we weaned her from her mom we put her with Sundance and she had known him almost all of her life. This is Tapper at 3 months old with her mom.Next in was Abby, then Dolly. They both live in the old barn and usually go straight in for food. Both of them took a slight detour near the new barn and looked in on the way by. Neither of them had ever been pastured with Sundance.
Ziegy was next. He also lives in the old barn. He went into the hall of the new barn and sniffed around a bit (not as long as Tapper), then came out and went into his stall. He also had never been pastured with Sundance.
The three that live in the new barn came next. Pepper and Josey went right into their stalls. Ceres stopped and sniffed around, then looked into Sundance's stall for a minute before going into her stall. She has been off her feed since that day. She eats her hay but not her grain. Hopefully she will adjust and start eating normally soon.
Deja had been pastured with Sundance for a long time. They were together every day for the last few years. (This pic is Sundance watching over a resting Deja.) She lives in the run-in behind the barn (next to Scooby), so she doesn't come in. Carla had brought her out earlier so she could see that Sundance was gone, but there were still a lot of people around and I'm not sure Deja understood. She spent a lot of time looking over the back door through the barn as if looking for him. The next night she was not acting herself. She ate her grain, but would not eat hay and just stood looking over the door. I let her come through and she went into the new barn and smelled everything, including his stall. Then she turned and stood in the hall looking out. She stayed like that for 3 or 4 minutes, not moving at all, then sniffed around some more. I led her back into the other barn to see if she wanted some hay - nope... I pulled out the stethescope and listened for stomach sounds. At first I got no sounds, then I heard slight sounds on one side and none on the other. I was concerned about colic so I called Carla and she came up. Carla started walking Deja while I took Rosy to the house and fed the dogs. When I got back to the barn Deja was starting to eat some hay, and after a little while we could hear sounds on both sides of her stomach and she seemed better. She has had a quiet week (for Deja), but seems to be getting back to her normal self.In the mornings, Sundance would nicker for his breakfast in his really deep voice. I think that's what I miss the most.......
1 comment:
Tears are still streaming down my face...!
It was like they all paid their last respects.
And like Tapper was saying...."I'm sorry, Mom".
I was wondering if Deja would take it hard seeing that they were such close buddies. I'm glad she is doing better.
Ceres must have had an attachment to him even if it went unnoticed. They are such sensitive animals to everything around them....its a blessing that they let us in.
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