# how long does a horse "remember"?



## mbender (Jul 22, 2009)

Good question. I have been away from my filly for 3 months but will be picking her up the end of June. I'm wondering the same thing. But I had her since she was born two years ago. Hoping it won't take her long to remember me. My arab mare I've had since she was 12 and now she's 23. When I go to pick up my filly, I'm wondering if she'll remember me too. I think they will. May take a few minutes but I do know this: when I had to leave my horses in Wisconsin, my arab mare stressed out and lost weight. I'm very sure being in a new place and new people played a big part in this. I'm sure my mare missed me. She wouldn't go near anyone else. Now she's fine with the new owners. So I'm worried now when I go get my filly my mare will go nuts not going with.
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## newbierider (Mar 15, 2010)

while I have no research to back this up from my own experience i believe they remember for a long time based on how much of an impression it made.
My horse for sure recognized her previous owner after a year, walked right over to her.
she also recognized the vet last week, whom she had seen twice in the last year. He just walked up, nothing in hands, pleasant, smiling and my mare threw her head in the air, eyes bulged and she started dancing around.


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## IslandWave (Nov 25, 2009)

newbierider said:


> while I have no research to back this up from my own experience i believe they remember for a long time based on how much of an impression it made.


^ This. 

After riding my horse for three years and owning her for almost two years, I left her at home, leased by two ladies, while I did this internship. Went back home for a visit nine months later and she remembered me and we still had the same bond. She is not a very expressive horse, so she didn't whinny at me and get super excited, but we fell back into our comortable routine with each other.

One of my trainers worked with an Arabian stallion with HUGE issues. He couldn't even be led out of his stall into the round pen without trying to attack the person leading him, but after a few years she had him winning at dressage competitions, lying down on command, etc. He was HER horse, heart-wise. His owners took him back once they saw that he was doing so well and sold him to go on the Arabian WP circuit. Year passed and my trainer went to one of the championships to see him. He was standing with his head low, completely obedient, waiting in his stall. When he saw her, he perked up, got all excited and obviously remembered her. His owners got mad at my trainer and did not allow her to visit with him because he was getting "too excited" and he needed to be dull and dead calm for their class.


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## DWStables (Jan 26, 2011)

OMG!!! That makes my heart ache Islandwave.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

There was an article in Equus magazine last year (I believe) about a 10 year controlled research study that showed that horses certainly remember what they had been taught (as part of the experiment) after 10 years, and I wouldn't be surprised if that continues way beyond.


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## ridergirl23 (Sep 17, 2009)

After 4 years of being seperated a horse at the barn (who was raised with my horse) came galloping and neighing at her as soon as we let her go in the feild, they nickered at eachother and groomed right away. It was obvious they remembered eachother. I think they remember a long time, they might sometimes need a refresher on training but im pretty sure they always remember.


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## Indigosblue (May 9, 2011)

Horses will probably remember bad things much longer than good though.... i think horses also remember the food...lol if you feed them they will remember you forever!


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## ArabianLover2456 (Oct 5, 2010)

I read a story about a man who owns an arabian stud and he had to look after one of his friends mares for a bit, who was a foal he had bred about 15 (i think) years ago, this mare was put in a paddock with her dam, and the dam whinnied at her and he could tell they definatly remembered each other after 15 years!


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## dop (Nov 7, 2009)

I can't prove it or point to any studies (I'm sure there's plenty out there), but my gut feeling is they do remember and just like people...how good their memory is depends on the individual horse and the owner + horse experiences together. Earlier experiences (eg imprinting at birth), duration of ownership, etc. all factor into memory, I would imagine. Dogs as I understand it, have recall through the sense of smell..a *rolodex* of smells if you will, that once smelled it's never forgotten and the mental list (or rolodex) is filed away and congured up again as needed. I'll bet most animals have the same recall through smell and a combo of all senses. Check out the memory recall of 'Christian the Lion' ..


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## ErikaLynn (Aug 3, 2010)

I stumbled upon this article..

http://news.discovery.com/animals/horse-friends-memory-trainers.html


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## ArabianLover2456 (Oct 5, 2010)

> I stumbled upon this article..
> 
> http://news.discovery.com/animals/ho...-trainers.html


thats a great one! thansk!


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

I don't have a researched answer, but my former horse knew me 6 years later. I think it probably depends on how much of an impact you had on the horse.


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

As someone who gives horse treats on occasion, I love it that the horses showed a more positive memory pattern for experimenters who used food treats!


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## DWStables (Jan 26, 2011)

I cant watch that!!! Ive seen that before,as soon as I saw the lion i knew what it was.If I watch ill cry my eyes out!


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## Sunny (Mar 26, 2010)

That lion video brings me to tears every single time.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

The lion video was awesome, I saw it before many years ago - but I had forgotten thanks for resharing. As an English gal, the accent is hilarious to me!


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## Sparks (Mar 20, 2011)

HorseCare magazine did a story a few years ago on EquineIQ. (I think you can request it from their website). The equine behaviorist quoted said that horses have memory's comparable to elephants.


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