A final farewell

Your article, “How Do Horses

Perceive Death” (Medical Front, EQUUS 498) got me to thinking.

My gelding Scooter and my daughter’s 34-year-old horse Katy were kept on the same property though they had their own spaces, Scooter lived in the front half of the pasture and Katy in the back. But they shared a water trough and could see and touch each other. They were also hauled together. They were friends for many, many years.

On the sad day we had to put Katy down, Scooter was confined to his stall. The veterinarian arrived and she,

Katy and I walked out to the site where Katy would be laid to rest. Afterward, when the man came to bury Katy in her favorite place in her pasture Scooter was still in his stall.

When the work was done and the backhoe was gone, I decided to turn Scooter out, giving him the run of both pastures. He immediately headed in the opposite direction of his normal path, going straight to the exact spot where Katy was buried. He stood over her grave for a full 15 minutes without moving. Then he walked off and started grazing in her pasture.

This amazing show of love and respect brought even more tears after the difficult loss of a wonderful mare that we were proud to have with our family for 24 years.

Ann Barosh

Huntsville, Texas