Yesterday I went out to massage a long-time client’s horse. As I pulled into her driveway, all the horses I massage at that barn ran up to the fence as though saying, “Pick me, pick me!”
Now I know we’re not supposed to attribute human thoughts and emotions to animals, especially horses. However, I do wonder what is going through their minds. There are four horses that I work with regularly at that barn. And, they most certainly know me and know that when I come out, I’m going to massage at least one of them since the only times I go to that barn are when I have a horse scheduled to massage.
So one does wonder what each of the other horses is thinking when only one of them turns out to be the chosen one. Interestingly enough, when I took the horse I massaged back to the pasture, the others were still lined up at the fence as if waiting their turn. One even tried to bully the others out of the way to be the next in line. Alas, on this occasion, I’d only scheduled the one horse to work with, so I simply gave a quick scratch to the remaining hopeful ones and told them, “Sorry, not today.”
A similar thing happens with my dog clients. I have four dogs in the same home that I massage from time to time. One of them had a stifle injury, so he gets scheduled for massage more often. All four dogs tend to line up when I arrive. When I pick the one with the injury, the others seem to sulk and either sit or lie nearby staring at me during the entire massage session. The other dogs also seem to know exactly when the session is over and they immediately jump up and start vying for space to be the next in line as soon as I’m finishing the final strokes.
I always feel badly about disappointing the others, so even when I don’t have them all on my list for the day, I try to give each a little neck or shoulder rub so none feels left out. I do the same for the horses I massage and try to give each of the others a little scratch and rub before I leave.
So I do wonder. Do animals “feel” or experience disappointment as humans know it? Scientists tell us, “No, they do not.” They tell us that animals are not capable of those types of thoughts or feelings. Yet most of us animal owners believe they do. Are we not positive that our dogs are capable of feeling love, loyalty and sadness? If so, why can’t they experience disappointment? Why can’t other animals have similar emotions?
Most scientists tell us that while dogs are capable of feeling loyalty, if not love, horses are not capable of those types of emotions or reasoning. I don’t buy it. While horses may not “think in words” as some people believe they do, in my opinion, there has to be more going on in their minds than basic needs, i.e., food, water, safety, etc. Thus I simply cannot make myself believe that horses have otherwise blank minds and few emotions.
In any event, wouldn’t you love to know what animals are really thinking? I know I would. Maybe I’d be disappointed if I found out the scientists are correct, yet it still would be nice to know for sure. Until the time comes that it can be proven that animals have very few thoughts, those of us who grace animals with human-type emotions and yes, even human-type thoughts, will go blithely on our way. In the end, I sincerely hope that it might be the scientists who will be “surprised.”
Anyway, I was just “thinking” as we humans tend to do from time to time.
