The mother and son remained in the adjoining stalls, and for the first few days Lear paced the dividing wall and frequently nickered to her. Gradually, he stopped pacing and settled down. Once he accepted that separation, Bastet was moved to an outside pen next to another horse who could provide her with companionship, and Lear was left in his stall, also with a new companion. Bastet occasionally whinnied for Lear, but Lear called nearly constantly for Bastet for the first week of their separation. We found ourselves repeatedly explaining to other boarders that what we were doing wasn't cruel and unusual.
After a week, Lear quieted and began to show an interest in the horse next to him. After that, the gelding was moved to various stalls and paddocks so that he always had companionship but with different horses. About a month later, Bastet was adopted, and a month after that, Lear moved on to another home. Both horses are doing fine physically and emotionally in their new homes with new horses for companionship. This case, in particular, taught me that even the most deeply rooted cases of separation anxiety can be overcome.
Case Study
Bonded for the Moment
Jawhari was a young Arabian gelding who had just begun his show career. Scooter was an older Quarter Horse who was used to traveling to shows. The two horses were kept on the same property but lived in different barns and were never near each other. I'd call them acquaintances but not friends.
When Scooter accompanied Jawhari to his first show, however, the stress of the situation drove the younger horse to decide that Scooter was his soul mate. While in the showring, Jawhari repeatedly called for Scooter, who ignored him. Needless to say, Jawhari was not the star of that show.
Once the pair returned home, they went to their separate barns, and Jawhari no longer called to or watched for Scooter. Their attachment was associated only with the stress of the show. Jawhari's owner took him to another show the following week with a different horse and continued to regularly take the gelding places with new companions. Eventually, as traveling became commonplace, Jawhari no longer bonded with his trailer companions and is today a successful show horse.
Case Study
Sorrowful Partings?
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. The fact that we are heartbroken over the passing of a horse may lead us to see his remaining companions in the same emotional state to help us share the burden of the loss. A horse who is suddenly without a long-term companion may miss that horse and even become anxious and depressed in his absence, but horses have no concept of death. The "grieving" that we see is simple separation anxiety and, when treated as such, will resolve itself as if the deceased horse had simply been moved to another barn.
This article originally appeared in the December 2003 issue of EQUUS magazine.
