Monty Roberts Equus Online University | Monty's Horse Training Post: Do horses mourn?

Learn all about Equus • Dually Halter • Shy Boy Mustang • Jumping Horses
• Story of a Horse Whisperer • Riding Horsemanship • Dressage Horses • Willing Partners
• Horse Training • Round Pen Lessons • Performance Horses • Join-Up

Watch Monty's horse training videos to learn how he demonstrates communication through horse training techniques that the amateur and professional alike consider to be the trainable skills of a horse whisperer yet Monty calls it horse gentling.
Monty's horse training techniques are non violent with intelligent natural horsemanship. In addition to video instructions, Monty has written many books related to natural horsemanship. Monty trains safe horses for nervous riders called Willing Partners. Monty trains world class race horses for sale.
“I am very proud to be a part of Her Majesty’s horse training and her passion for their welfare. I believe she is the leading monarch for the advocacy of horses in the world. She is a thought leader in this field. Her Majesty's horses are trained using the Dually Halter, making a difference in the training of sensitive animals by giving the horse the choice to partner in the training.” ~ Monty
“I communicate with a horse in what I call the Language of Equus; a silent language of gestures that is discernible, predictable and effective. Now you can learn from my videos, audio and notes to help you understand the horse as I do. This language is really quite simple, but simplicity becomes its greatest strength.” ~ Monty
Monty Roberts is a renowned horse trainer known as the man who listens to horses and the original horse whisperer. Monty's horse training instructions are accepted worldwide.
Monty has helped thousands of people globally through his Monty Roberts Online Videos to learn how to Join-Up with horses, training young horses, spooky horses, horses that bite. His mustang , Shy Boy , is his most famous horse.
Join-Up methods help horse and trainer to establish a bond of communication and trust. “You must somehow understand that we as horsemen can do very little to teach the horse. What we can do is to create an environment in which he can learn.” ~ Monty
Monty says, “We hear that ‘actions speak louder than words,’ but generally we do not live by it too successfully.” Now Monty has taught thousands of people worldwide how to build trust in animals through our actions and body language.
Monty’s principles really amount to common sense and immense patience. He believes that children and horses have the same behavioral patterns. They are both naturally “flight” animals. "If you frighten them and resort to confrontation, you’ll lose their trust." ~ Monty
"Simple one-on-one reassurances and praise reap long term dividends that can all be undone with the quick slamming of a book on a desk or shouting back." ~ Monty Roberts
"No one of us was born with the right to say 'You must or I'll hurt you' to any other living thing, animal or human". ~ Monty Roberts
"My life's goal is to leave the world a better place than I found it, for horses and for people too". ~ Monty Roberts

← back

Horse Behavior and Training

Do horses mourn?

By:

Rudi - Pratteln, Switzerland

Date:

2012-Jan-03 at 08:35PM

The other day a 30 year old horse died on the pasture. There was another horse of 2 1/2 years standing nearby for hours and one horse of 32 years at a distance of about 50 meters. The other horses (about 20) were not interested. When the cadaver was transported away both of the mentioned horses got very excited and absolutely wanted to follow the dead horse. I was very impressed by this behaviour. Are there similar stories?

Miriam (Holland&Germany) 2012-Jan-03 at 09:20PM

Hi Rudi,
What a touching story of those who were attached to the horse that passed away!
I have lived something similar, two older horses that had been together for many year on pasture, one died and the other stood there for a couple of days, until the owner decided, that the time had come to bury the one that passed away. Even after that the other horse stood for several days at the spot where his companion had died and was now buried.
Only after another horse was found to keep the leftover one company, it left the site of the grave and started to roam the pasture again. Mourning was over.....
Miriam

nelliebell 2012-Jan-03 at 10:45PM

Hi Rudi,
My 21 year old TB gelding passed away mid last year. My neighbour has a 5 year old arab mare who she often puts in a small yard when she takes her second horse away for the day. Usually the arab goes crazy the whole time, kicking the fences, rearing up etc. The day after my horse died and had been burried my neighbour went out with her horse leaving the arab at home as usual, only this time she stood still looking over the fence the whole time. I think she knew he had died and where he was burried.
I can also tell a story of when my cat died a few years ago we burried her in our paddock, and while we did so my horse and my dog both came and stood by her grave as we burried her. It was a surreal moment with our animals! i am sure they mourn but i think their mourning and grief is much shorter than ours!
look forward to hearing more stories!
Janelle

Dennis 2012-Jan-03 at 11:29PM

Rudi
I think you are correct in your observation. They may not be mourning in the fashion that humans do, but they most definitely are effected by the loss. Interestingly elephants will revisit sites were members of their herd died. They will pickup bones and sniff the area. This can happen years after the elephant died.

Cheers