Read About Grieving the Loss of Your Horse

Grieving the loss of your horse can be a long, arduous process, but it's completely normal.

Grieving is normal

When a person grieves the death of a parent or another human family member, it's considered completely normal. However, people aren't always as sensitive when a person loses a horse or another pet. This is because people who don't own pets don't always understand the attachment others have to their pets, but in this day in age, pets have become a very integral part of family life. When you're grieving your horse, you need to keep in mind that it's a completely normal process. Unfortunately if you have a horse, at some point you will experience grieving the loss of your horse.

Getting through your loss

You will go through several stages of grief when grieving the loss of your horse. You may experience all of the stages, or you may just experience some. The grieving process begins when the horse dies suddenly or when the veterinarian has to tell the owner that their horse is terminally ill. Many times when this happens, the owner retreats into denial because he or she doesn't want to accept that the horse is in a bad way. Eventually though, the owner will realize that the horse has died or is in the process of dying.

After the horse passes, expect the grieving process to take on a new form. The second process in grieving the loss of your horse is anger or extreme sadness. People feel angry when things die because they feel that they've been abandoned or that the life/death cycle is unfair. Though this is a normal sentiment, it's important not to lash out at other people. This is especially important to remember if your vet put your horse to sleep. Sometimes after the horse is put down, the owner will blame the vet for "killing" the animal, which is not a fair accusation. Anger generally subsides with the acceptance of the loss.

Grieving implies that you're experiencing some sadness. This is a totally normal emotion to feel when you're grieving the loss of your horse. Losing a friend is not a joyous occasion and sadness is normal however, if you are unable to get out of bed, have thoughts of suicide or can function in your every day life, you should seek some professional help. Sadness is normal, but there's a fine line between being sad and becoming depressed.

Guilt is another emotion that you may experience while grieving the loss of your horse. Again, this is a normal feeling, but you need to keep in mind that death is normal. While grieving the loss of your horse, seek solace in family members and friend because they will be able to help you.