There’s nothing more heartbreaking in the world than saying goodbye to a loved one. And saying goodbye to a beloved pet can often feel like losing a very important part of your heart. This is the heartbreaking moment a distressed horse appeared to cry at his owner’s (fᴜɴᴇʀᴀʟ).
Wagner Figueiredo de Lima and his horse Sereno were best friends until the Brazilian man’s sudden (ᴅᴇ.ᴀᴛʜ) in a traffic accident earlier this week. Knowing that the horse meant the world to him, Lima’s brother Wando decided to take Sereno to his owner’s (fᴜɴᴇʀᴀʟ). “It was as if the horse knew what was happening and wanted to say goodbye,” Wando said.
Sereno the horse begins stamping his feet and whinnying loudly before placing his head on the ᴄᴏꜰꜰɪɴ containing his owner.
“[Sereno] began to walk around the coffin, smelling the [ᴄᴏꜰꜰɪɴ]. Then he neighed,” (fᴜɴᴇʀᴀʟ) attendee Kyioshi Abreu commented. “It was a very strong emotion. Everyone who was there was moved. I cried myself when I saw that scene.”
A close friend, Francielio Limiera, told:
“It was an unbelievable thing to see the way the horse behaved. If I hadn’t been there I wouldn’t have believed it myself.
“As we brought the [ᴄᴏꜰꜰɪɴ] out at the beginning of the (fᴜɴᴇʀᴀʟ), [Sereno] sounded like he was crying and as if he recognized that his owner was finally leaving him. He pounded the ground with his hooves and kept on (fᴜɴᴇʀᴀʟ). It was very sad.”
We may never know for certain to what extent the range of animals’ emotions mirrors our own, but in mourning the l.o.s.s of a loved one, the perception of a difference can easily fade. Fortunately, Sereno won’t be facing that ɢʀɪᴇᴠɪɴɢ process alone. Wando has since taken in his late brother’s horse to join his own family – ensuring that Lima’s legacy of love for Sereno will live on in his new home for many years to come.
According to Marcelo Servos, a veterinarian with the Brazilian Horse Riding Federation, who has been caring for horses for 20 years, a horse can be aware of and mourn a loved one’s ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ.
He said: ‘I’ve seen more fantastic stories than this and I’m sure this can happen. I do not say it happened specifically in this case, but it is possible.’