Horses have played a huge part in our lives for hundreds of years. Yet how much do we actually know about them?
Animal welfare consultant Heather Pickett has written a special article for our animal sentience pages. It’s a fascinating read about horses’ behaviour, cognitive abilities (such as ‘thinking’) and welfare needs. Horses have remarkably complex social lives; with membership of a herd being of ultimate importance to them and sometimes roaming for up to 80km in one day. They are great diplomats, able to resolve many conflicts in order to keep the herd together.
Self reflection. Copyright Compassion/ Ed Posposil
Mares often form lifetime relationships, spending most of their time together. Their foals often become good friends too as a result. They have remarkable memory skills and have even been shown to understand that a 3-D image can be shown in a photograph. For example, horses had been trained to have a ‘favourite’ object (for example a soft toy or a frisbee), using treats as positive reinforcement. Then they were shown photos of a range of things, including their ‘favoured toy’, and more often than not they would choose the photo of that toy. In a similar experiment (Stone 2009), horses were found to be able to tell the difference between photos of people, even identical twins!
Domesticated horses are often kept stabled alone and fed on concentrated food that is eaten quickly, rather than grazing the whole day as they would do in more natural conditions. These factors sometimes lead to destructive behaviours such as weaving, biting the stable doors and pacing. The occurrence of these unnatural behaviours illustrates that horses, just like many other animals, need an environment that more closely fits their needs and fully takes into account their sentience and intelligence.
Sticking with you. Copyright Compassion/Elli Goodlet
Hundreds of sheep have been given refuge at Farm Animal Sanctuary. Over time, they have divided naturally into two large flocks of around 200. All the sheep spend winter living together in large barns and yet in Spring, year after year, they will choose to re-group into almost exactly the same flocks as before.
Cambridge scientist Keith Kendrick found that sheep can remember at least 50 different faces for over 2 years.
These observations show the strength of sheep social bonds and the importance of respecting these relationships in modern farming systems. Sheep are often separated from their usual companions during transport, at transit points and at slaughter. Compassion believes that full account of animal sentience must be taken throughout an animal’s life.
As reported in the Daily Mail, Clyde is blind, and Bonnie leads him “to food or water, and lets him rest his head on her haunches when he feels a bit lost. They are inseparable, and if Bonnie isn’t nearby Clyde refuses to move a paw.”
Bonnie and Clyde were rescued as strays recently and now they happily have a new home. The BBC’s One Show has a special page and film about these two great friends.
Bonnie and Clyde are inseparable border collies. Dogs are social animals so company is very important for them. But this is a bond with a difference: Bonnie is Clyde’s guide dog.
The Daily Mail reports that Bonnie leads Clyde “to food or water, and lets him rest his head on her haunches when he feels a bit lost. They are inseparable, and if Bonnie isn’t nearby Clyde refuses to move a paw.”
Bonnie and Clyde were rescued as strays recently. It appears they were lost in a storm and no-one has come forward for them. Obviously these two have a vital bond and they must be rehomed together.
Kite’s Nest (even the name sounds idyllic!) is a very free-range farm with beef cattle, sheep and hens, where Rosamund Young and her family ensure the occupants have as natural a life as possible.
Rosamund says: “Cows are as varied as people. They can be highly intelligent, moderately so or slow to understand; friendly, considerate, aggressive, docile, inventive, dull, proud or shy.”
You may find this hard to believe. After all, we perhaps rarely think about how and where farm animals live, let alone about what they think, their likes and dislikes, and what friendships they may have with their own species and with others. We have really under-estimated them. Read the book ” The Secret Life of Cows” and be amazed!
Kite’s Nest Farm is really exceptional in the variety and beauty of all the creatures and plants that it hosts. Their film, ”The Secret Life of the Farm”, follows the farm animals, wildlife and the farm through the seasons.
Friends at Kites Nest. Image courtesy of Rosamund Young
A second film, “The Calf’s Year,” is just enchanting. Calves are playful, lively and interested in the world. This is a lovely film and it’s a really relaxing watch.
You might also like to see the Kite’s Nest website and blog.
Details of the book and films: Young, R. (2006). The Secret Life of Cows: Animal sentience at work. The Good Life Press
Young, R. (2006). The Calf’s Year. The Good Life Press. Film, 40 mins approx
Young, R. (2004). The Secret Life of the Farm. The Good Life Press. Film, 60 mins approx
Dogs are not just man’s best friend. Bella the dog is best friend of Tarra the elephant at the Tennessee Elephant Sanctuary and you can watch their amazing story here:
