Do mares grive the loss of a foal?

Question

Our mare delivered a stillborn foal. Do horses has the capacity to grieve?

Answer 1

Absolutely. Just like a human mother, she will be sad for some time. Keep in mind that during her whole pregnancy, she was preparing for this baby. Try getting her a friend (goat, cat, pony, donkey) if she is an only horse; otherwise, let her have the company of yourself and other horses while she gets over this. You're the best person for her right now because you understand that she will be sad. Keep her busy and try to have fun, and hopefully she'll feel better soon.

Answer 2

I bought a horse that was left to 'wean naturally'. He was 8 years old and still attached to the mare. They had never been separated until I bought him. That horse was an absolut nut case. He obviously stopped nursing a while back, but he had major mental issues. He would get overly attached to other horses, it took forever to get him so he could be ridden alone. He would freak out so bad in his stall unless he had company that we had to buy a goat to leave in his stall, and even this didn't really help. I would strongly recomend weaning your foal at the proper age (a little over 6 months), and just doing it in the method of taking the foal away from the mare completly. If possible try and get a friend to take the foal, or board it somewhere for a while. The mare will freak out over her foal for a little while, then the next day its like the foal never existed to her. It's really not that stressful for either the mare or the foal. Last time I had a weanling, the mare ran up and down the fence for 5 mins, then went off and grazed, completly forgetting about the foal. As for a buddy to turn the foal out with, put it out with an older gelding. An older gelding will be good company, and wont let the foal overly bond to it. Also being with an older horse that isn't aggressive will teach the foal how to act around other horses, an older horse won't let the youngster mess with it, but it also won't be aggressive towards the weanling.

Answer 3

yes. Even group members mourn. We lost a foal about a month before it was due. The mare stood in the spot where it was born (dead) and whinnied, even after we took the foal away. Later that day, the lead mare, Mattie- who was at a show and missed the whole thing, came home and immediately went to go stand by the mare. Mattie was out free- she could have run or gone off to eat grass, but instead she sat right on the other side of the fence, comforting her friend who lost the foal. After an hour, she went to go eat some grass- much more patience than she usually has.

Answer 4

Like everyone else, I'm sorry for your loss. Mares do grieve and some never get over it. I worked at a farm where a mare gave birth to her first foal. She was very attentive for the first few hours but then started acting detatched. The colt died the next morning. She wouldn't leave the body for a couple of days, then we buried it and she called for another few days. She acted depressed; when the other mares foaled she got downright angry and resentful! Difficult to work with, tried to steal a foal, mean to the other moms, etc. She never took after that. The vet was out, there was nothing wrong with her, but she just never got over that first one.

Answer 5

Our mare delivered a stillborn foal at 145 days a few years back. She was in the pen with her two year old daughter at the time, and they were both subdued and had no appetite for days. When we found the fetus, the two mares had walked circles around it until there was a trench 1/2 foot deep churned up around it.
They were both very agitated and protective of it, even though it was dead and very small. They didn't settle down until we took it out, and like I said, it was days before they started to act halfway normal again.

So my answer is yes, I do believe that they grieve. So sorry for your loss...

Answer 6

I had a mare that had her first foal about two years ago. There were some stray dogs running around that we didn't know about and they got into her paddock and killed the baby just after it was born. I came home and found it that evening. She looked at me like I could help and kept nudging her colt to get up. I was heart broke because there was nothing I could do. I had to hold her while my husband loaded it in the back of the truck and took it to bury it. For a while she wouldn't let us get near her cause she thought that we did something to it. So yeah I think they definitely grieve.

Answer 7

yes. Many of horses at my friends barn have lost a foal due to a couger that has been lurking around the farm. :Many of the mares seem to be very depressed and drop weight, refusing to eat at all, and some will pace and nicker and try to get an invisible foal to nurse. it is quite heart breaking to watch and one horse that i knew passed away three weeks after she lost her two month old foal.

Answer 8

Yes she will feel every other Mother in the world who has lost their child . Give her time to heal and give her lots of extra love, let her know you are there for her.She will be sad , could you perhaps find an orphan foal she can take care of ? This is quite a common occurrence,its highly possible ask the local vets.I am sending healing thoughts to your lovely Girl.

Answer 9

they do for about 24 hours after birth and then they realize something is wrong. So I'd leave her with the colt for about a day, then you should beable to remove it without any problems. Most of the time if you remove the colt too soon the mare will go nuts. So if she is pretty much calm when you take it away then she's fine.

Answer 10

Sadly they do miss their foal...if a Mare does lose thier foal..they uselly won't "take" if they have lost..because it's part
of them and you can tell by how they act..last year My horse lost her's and we tried to breed her again after 21days but she kicked the far outta him and she didn't accept till' This year..now she is feeling happy and her and her best friend are ready to babies of their own and you can tell she is happy.
Sorry to both of ya'll...For the loss in the family.