by Maureen Bordelon

Created on: October 14, 2008   Last Updated: June 25, 2009

After eleven long months, my mare, Mercette, presented a beautiful colt into the world. All was well for the first forty eight hours then inexplicably, her baby died. As she stood over the body of her foal, licking and softly nickering to the baby, I was reduced to an immense sadness of what might have been.

I called my veterinarian to ask the best way to separate the mare from her foal. My first thought was to immediately place the body outside of the barn away from the mare, similar to the weaning process. However, my veterinarian had a different idea. He suggested that I leave the baby with the mare for most of the day.

"Why?" I asked.

"She must grieve for her foal. Once she is satisfied that the baby is not alive, she will distance herself from the body. Then, I'm positive that you can remove the body without issue."

I was astounded. This suggestion had come from a man of science. Science tells us that we should not project human emotion into animals and his suggestion ran counter to what is a held belief. However, I did as he suggested.

Although painful to watch, Mercette continued to sniff, nuzzle, and nicker to her dead foal throughout the day. Late in the afternoon, she walked to the corner of her stall and completely ignored the baby. We removed the carcass at that time. The mare never called for her baby and had accepted the death. The vet was right. She did grieve for her baby and after an acceptable amount of time; she was ready to move on.

Despite what science tells us, horses do have emotions. They tell us through their actions.

Pinned ears, tight lips, and wringing tails indicate irritation or even anger. A foot stomp or rattling buckets at feeding time suggest impatience. If you pay close attention to horses in the field, you can see manipulations of the herd though body language, suggesting feelings of desired higher status. Take a best friend away from another and you will see and hear anxiety. Their actions do indicate a wide range of emotions.

Horses can be quite vocal in their feelings. From the soft, loving nicker between mare and foal to the angry squeal of two geldings bickering over hierarchy, horses lend their voices in a dramatic range of emotions.

I've seen first hand sheer joy expressed between two horses separated for three years.

I owned and boarded a mare that was stalled next door to another mare. These two girls developed a sisterly bond. They were turned out together, ate together, and displayed affection for each other every day.

The day I moved to another facility, the mare I owned was inconsolable for weeks. She went off her feed and was listless. However, she eventually regained a semblance of her normal personality, but was never quite the same. After a few years, circumstances arose that facilitated a move to the original boarding barn.

The day I unloaded the mare at the old barn, I could hear her friend immediately calling her. We turned them both out together and the sheer joy of the reunion was something to behold. They nickered, whinnied, and ran in exuberance of the moment. Finally settling, the two girls began grooming one another in contentment. They shared the ultimate human (and horse) emotion, love.

To suggest that these wonderful animals do not share feelings and emotions as we humans do, is foolish. They can and they do, every day of their lives.

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