Has anyone ever dug up a buried horse before? Update: #42 We did it

[One_Two_Three]

I ask because my barn owner/best friend is moving her farm this weekend. She has the man who originally buried her heart horse coming tomorrow night to dig up the grave. I just wondered if anyone here has ever dug up a buried horse for whatever reason…and if so, what to expect?

Before we get into it, please don’t pass judgement, don’t comment about leaving the horse behind, etc. She’s made her decision after months of going back and forth and would like to remove his remains and cremate what she can of him to bring with to her new, forever farm. I’ve played devils advocate with her so she could weigh her options on both sides, but something in her heart wants her to bring him home with her, so that’s what she’s set out to do.

He’s been gone 6 years. He was buried deep, probably the 6ft standard. He’s in the middle of one of the pastures and she knows exactly where. Do you think the body would still mostly be together, or would we find that his bones are scattered throughout? We’ve never dug up a body before, obviously, so I’m not really sure what to expect! If it matters, this is Florida, sandy soil. Just curious what to expect more than anything…

[StormyDay]

I would also like to know. Because there is no casket I would assume the body would degrade faster and there would be less smell… but I am not sure. Other factors could play in, such as if the horse was wrapped in a tarp.

[beowulf]

Ohh… tell your friend not to be there. It won’t be pretty, and it’s not something she wants to witness or associate with her beloved horse. It’s very touching the man that buried him is willing to undo the deed.

I’ve considered doing this for my once-in-a-lifetime horse, who I had to bury in SC when I unexpectedly lost him - it was too much ship a corpse back to MA (where my family farm is) and cremation was out of the question for a kid fresh from college. There is nothing like the feeling of leaving your friend behind, so I get what your friend is going through.

Has your friend already confirmed that a cremating parlor is willing to take the remains? That’s certainly a health risk, and definitely something that most cremating parlors don’t do. At that stage the soft tissue should be fairly decomposed and I would expect mostly only bones, but there will be some remnants of tissue/tendons and hide, especially if it is in sandy/dry soil. It will be messy and while the body is likely interred in once piece, digging it up is likely to break it up. I wouldn’t worry about smell, as buried things without a casket degrade quite quickly – but there will likely still be recognizable features your friend would recognize, like hair/mane, some hooves, and hide.

Hugs to your friend, it’s not an easy decision. I think of my guy every day and wish I could have his remains with me. Will you report back after the deed is done?

[One_Two_Three]

I will be sure to report back once it’s done. Good to know that it’s possible there could still be hair/mane, hooves and hide. That would have maybe come as a shock had we not known it’s possible–not really sure how many years it takes for all that stuff to decompose away!

Good point on the crematorium Beowulf! She has a specific place she uses for all of her pets, sadly, she’s had to cremate 3 in the last 6 months (cats and dog) but I don’t know that she’s asked them whether they will cremate a previously buried horse! I do think she is preparing herself for not being able to cremate all of the remains, as most places want you to cremate just pieces of the horse…I guess that’s easier to do at this point in the body’s decomposition versus when the body was fresh…couldn’t imagine that. I’ll be sure to bring that up to her tonight. If she can’t cremate he does have another resting place, she’s willing to rebury him at the new farm. This will be the resting place of all personal horses from here onward, and since she only ever lost him in the past, she’d love to make sure he could be apart of the new place and rest peacefully with anyone else who might find their final resting place at the new farm.

I did get brave and googled it. I saw a photo of a Thoroughbred at Hollywood Park getting excavated before they built over the old race track. It was rather interesting! I don’t know the specifics of how he was buried, but he died in 1967 and the article was from I think 2013. The horse’s skeleton was completely perfect in the grave. BUT they did hire a team from a university so I imagine it was excavated how dinosaurs are, with great care, and almost completely by hand.

She keeps going back and forth on how to feel about it. She thinks she would be brave enough to see him and help to remove him…but then part of her gets overcome with a terrible sinking, painful feeling. She said it’s a very strange feeling to go from mildly excited (I get to see him again?!) to terribly depressed and sad (I get to see him again??) to anxious, to nervous, to peaceful (he gets to come home). I’ll be there to support her in whatever emotion shows it’s head tomorrow. I don’t think it will be easy or quite what we expect…

The man who buried the horse is very sweet. He’s dug holes and buried all the horses on the property (there are several, those are all staying per their owner’s requests). He’s a good old country man, and even he sheds a tear when he buries a horse. He said it’s one of the saddest things he does as a “country man”. I wonder what sort of emotion he might feel doing this. What a great man to offer.

[trubandloki]

I would think she is going to not find much at this point.
I am interested to hear how it comes out.

[beowulf]

I think if it were me, seeing just the bones would be okay - I could still “see” my Spooky as he was in life, even if I saw his bones after… but I think if I saw a forelock tuft, or maybe even the hide where his cheeks once were, that it would upend me – and I have a very strong stomach for morbid things.

Any way the two of you can “sit” a little further back and not see the grisly details of the excavation? Do keep in mind that someone will have to go in there and sift through the sand to pull the bones - make sure everyone has long gloves and face masks. At 6 years I imagine the bones would be fairly clean otherwise, but it’s not something you want to touch barehanded.

[Spotless]

@beowulf

I think if it were me, seeing just the bones would be okay - I could still “see” my Spooky as he was in life, even if I saw his bones after… but I think if I saw a forelock tuft, or maybe even the hide where his cheeks once were, that it would upend me – and I have a very strong stomach for morbid things.

Any way the two of you can “sit” a little further back and not see the grisly details of the excavation? Do keep in mind that someone will have to go in there and sift through the sand to pull the bones - make sure everyone has long gloves and face masks. At 6 years I imagine the bones would be fairly clean otherwise, but it’s not something you want to touch barehanded.

THIS. I have a strong stomach for dead things and injuries – but I couldn’t see my heart horse again. It was hard enough finding him after he was stiff but still a little warm. His eyes and mouth were slightly open but it wasn’t him and that was just hours after he was gone. I couldn’t imagine seeing that spotted grey hide again, I think it would be ten times worse than not seeing him. I’m sure after 6 years he’s all dried out but his hide and hooves and bones should still be there. I feel like 99% of horseowners either wouldn’t want to see them or would regret it. Especially a horse special enough to move.

Best of luck to your friend OP and thank you for being there and supporting her and playing devil’s advocate. And also to the man who did it and is willing to undo it.

[soloudinhere]

I mean, you are not going to just be unearthing an intact skeleton. The process of unearthing is going to bring whatever is in there up in pieces and somebody is going to have to find the parts. I assume we are talking about a backhoe and not an archeological dig here.

If she is prepared to be fishing bits out of a sand pile, then so much the better. If she’s not, might need to think this through more.

I personally would not want to disturb my horse’s resting place like this.

[OAD_Cowgirl]

When one of my friends lost her mini, the crematorium told her that they didn’t do horses, PERIOD. She asked them if they did Great Danes, and the lady said yes. She told them that her mini was no larger than a Dane, and she was bringing her. And that she didn’t care what it cost, they were cremating her. She was quite upset as she had had this mare for over 30 years. She’s in a sealed vase on my friend’s desk now.

[Foxtrot_s]

Without trying to change anybody’s mind, has the owner thought to just take along the head, or hooves, because
many big breeding stations just bury the head, heart and hooves and put a headstone over those. The heart will be long gone, but some of the dirt might make him feel it it authentic?

[beowulf]

For those that aren’t grossed out by exhumation pictures, here is the article:
http://www.dailybreeze.com/20140310/…hollywood-park

Warning, there is a picture of the skull there, but the rest of the body (skeleton) looks intact and incredibly clean. Bones take a long, long time to decompose in dry soil.

I was surprised to see his entire body was buried - now-adays, most legendary stallions/mares only have their head, heart and some legs buried.

It almost looks like an archaeology dig. What a cool way for up-and-coming student archaeologists to practice their trade.

[Guilherme]

This is a really bad idea on many fronts.

I “get” the connection, but the connection is to a living animal, not a badly decomposed carcass that will be a complete mess. If the burial were in the desert in AZ you might have one result. But this is FL and it’s wet and it’s going to be ugly.

Sometimes leaving the dead where they lie is the kindest thing for all.

G.

[One_Two_Three]

I’m not saying I disagree with anyone saying this is a bad idea…but I’ve done my part to have her see both ways, and she still wants to proceed. So now all I can do is be there to support her. She says she doesn’t think she’ll have trouble with collecting bones and seeing him in such a state, that she has a clear separation of “spirit” and “body”. I know those feelings can change once it’s really real though.

Better to be prepared, though, and this discussion has been insightful! I have been hearing the “messy” thing a few times due to the moist nature of Florida. What exactly for “mess”? Just decaying flesh still? I mean, FWIW, we get incredibly dry during the winter, and incredibly hot and wet in the summer. So he’s had a good 6 years of both…I imagine we’re going to open up something interesting tomorrow. I worry a little bit for her. I’m going to try to keep her back until the guy digging up exposes him and he knows what we’re going to be looking at.

I had thought that she was going to have trouble coming across bones due to the ground shifting. I don’t know much about that…I know rocks and random things worth their way to the top of the ground over a lot of time…I remember picking rocks out of the arena every week because nature would just unearth them over time and push them upward. Does that not happen in cases like this? Or does that take a looooooooooooonnnnnnnngggg time to occur?

Prepping for a messy Thursday evening…and an emotional one, I imagine. The grossness won’t really bother me, I’m just a bit worried for her. She keeps saying “I know it’s just his body”… but you all make the same point I did with her about wanting to have your last memory of his body be the one where she’s digging up pieces of him…she’s a tough woman and I’m afraid there’s no talking her out of this.

[findeight]

Agree…it might mean health concerns about what kind of bits and pieces might be brought up and handled. Don’t know how big the field is but the neighbors may have some objections. Native Diver was buried in a tarp, IIRC, and in the very dry clay based soil or sandy fill in a very dry climate for many, many years longer then this horse has been in very damp soil.

Did you know that museums freeze any donated, recent skeletal remains of local wildlife? I volunteer at one, it’s a specific temp for a year to insure any organic material remaining is microbe free-they cannot be displayed or added to the rest of the collection until after they come out of the freezer. That’s to protect the rest of the collection, museum personnel and visitors. Amazed how much odor can still be associated with even a naked deer leg bone when some come in, skulls are even worse for reasons I won’t delve into…

I really don’t think it’s a very good idea. What’s she going to do with it if the crematorium declines partially decayed remains for health reasons? Or will only take head, hooves and anything left of the heart? Most don’t, the furnace is just not big enough unless it’s in several pieces.

Nasty thing to think about but we all should before assuming we can do things that really can’t be done. Or should.

Well, since OP asked about what could be messy? Mess might not be too bad but the smell probably will be. The bone marrow may not be completely gone and will stink if it’s not and there is probably still brain matter deep in the skull. Not sure if the guy could get to 6 feet before hitting mud or water, if any tissue is left it might be hosting creepy crawlers. Imagine the guts and organs will be gone but…that could get ugly. Sorry, you asked. If he was wrapped in anything it would slow the decay process down and more might be left then you want to see.

[StormyDay]

I have been thinking about this…there are a lot of bones in a horse… I would prepare the owner for the fact that she may not be able to get all of him. As others have said, maybe get the head, ribs, etc, and not worry about the rest. Unless he was buried in something like a tarp, then that would make it easier.

[Guilherme]

Supporting a friend is a Good Thing. Aiding in the exhumation of 6 year old horse, maybe not so much.

G.

[One_Two_Three]

findeight: No need to apologize about being graphic! I want to know it all, it doesn’t gross ME out, and I wanna know as much of what “could” be there as possible, so I can prepare myself to help her and kinda half know what I’m getting into. I was wondering about the smell and the guts, particularly. Seems like the odds are pretty even on whether we’ll see flesh and materials beyond bone or not. I’m a little bit curious now, as morbid as that sounds. I find nature very fascinating. All of it, the life-death cycle and how the earth processes it. I just hope my friend made the right decision and she’s being honest with herself about what she’s going to see.

If they refuse cremating him or parts of him, she will move his remains to the new farm and bury him there. Her first choice is cremating, second would be burying him at the new location, about a 30 minute drive from his current resting place.

Very interesting about how the museum freezes new remains for a year! Never knew that, but always wondered what sort of process their display animals went through when they were freshly dead! Good to know, too, as I hadn’t thought about the potential health harm that could come from unearthing him.

It’s certainly going to be interesting. I have to say I’ve tried many times, even this morning, to convince her to just leave him where he is, in the pasture where he knew his life every single day since the day he retired from racing…but she’s just not accepting that.

I’m going to make sure I update this tomorrow evening or the following morning. It’s not a pretty topic, but hopefully whatever experience we end up having will help someone else out who might be contemplating the same things my friend has.

[Fairview_Horse_Cente]

Digging up with a backhoe will take a LOT of force. The backhoe is probably going to break the bones, crush the skull, and rip the skeleton apart. Also, and one that cremates, they send you back a “representative sample”, not the whole body.

[findeight]

Some of the bones brought in are not " recently" dead. No way to date remains of still thriving species but they can be up to 5 years dead or even more, depends on soil, ph, moisture, depth, temp, available oxygen etc. etc. etc. They can get an idea if they know the location and situation but typically they get surface finds revealed by recent erosion or receding flood waters. Probably max of 10 years in the ground.

One thought here…I think it’s 50/50 they can find the remains. Even if you " know" where it’s buried, unless it’s pinpointed by recent GPR scans, it’s easy to miss. In the great scheme of things, A horse carcass isn’t that big and can be hard to locate when the hole is limited by the size of a backhoe bucket. Or even small excavator scoop. Archeologists (and law enforcement) sometimes can’t even find good sized objects (or bodies) with GPR and statements by those who swore they knew where it was buried.

Unless the perimeter of the hole was staked out after being filled in and remained marked over the 6 years? Might not be able to find anything. And I’m having trouble envisioning how she’d bring it up if they do find it? In repeated backhoe bucket loads to be dumped and sifted through while the bucket goes back down for more? Ground water levels could really complicate it too. Is the guy going to cut a trench first to find or just spent an hour or more digging a big, deep hole right away?

Please do update and report on how it goes. Maybe the first hole will reveal the complete, clean as a whistle skeleton exactly 6 feet down in an hour. IME nature is messier then that and memories distort exact locations.

[cloudyandcallie]

I want to exhume my mare Callie, Kick and Howl, my only horse buried “on foreign soil,” aka not at home.
I wrapped her in 2 thick rambo turnouts, so I’m hoping she is mummified. I know exactly where she is buried, and she has on 4 shoes and her halter with a metal nameplate.

Let us know how it goes. When she was being buried I asked the guy with the backhoe if he’d ever exhumed a horse before. He said you mean dig her back up? So it’s been since first of Sept of 07, but I want the girl moved from the barn where she died and I have good reasons.

The bones won’t be scattered unless the ground was disturbed that deep. Try getting some students from a nearby university to practice their archeology skills and maybe they can uncover the skeleton and get credit from a professor. I’m going to offer to pay some college students to bring up my mare. Flesh will be gone, so there will be bones and some leathery skin maybe. (My father once brought home a mule head from a hunting trip and it was not gross or stinky.)