It is uncommon for a horse to be present at funerals, but the one here was not unnoticed.
It appeared as if it also felt sad about the death and approached the car with his head
hung low. Sereno, the name of Wagner de Lima Figueiredo's
favorite horse, was also very fond of him. Figuero had been a semipro cowboy and would
often have taken part in roping competitions to win cash prizes. When he wasn't in the
saddle though, the equestrian worked as a local authority clerk in his hometown of Paraiba
Brazil. At the same time, tragedy struck. Meanwhile,
Figueiredo had owned Sereno for eight years- enough time for the pair to become very close.
Indeed, in an image of the pair together posted to Facebook in November, 2016, Figueiredo
described the animal as- “my horse, my friend.” Sereno was so beautiful moreover, that many
people had offered to buy the white stallion. But there was no way Figueiredo was going
to let his favorite horse go. “He always refused to sell him,” Figueiredo his brother
Wando De lima told the daily mail in January, 2017.
“Wagner's life was this horse,” De Lima continued. “He had a passion and a great
love for him. Sometimes he would even stop buying things for himself to make sure he
could afford to buy horse feed.” It's safe to say then that Figueiredo and
Sereno were completely inseparable. However, their beautiful relationship was sadly cut
short. When Figueiredo was involved in a motorcycle accident on New Year’s Day 2017. He had
been riding his bike along the beach when he lost control.
And while the cowboy underwent emergency surgery, sadly, he still succumbed to his injuries.
Naturally then Figueiredo’s grieving family organized a funeral for him. So loved ones
could come and pay tribute. Because of the close friendship Figueiredo had with Sereno
though, de Lima made sure that the stallion would be present at the funeral as well.
Indeed, De lima wanted to pay tribute to Figueiredo’s interest in everything equine. Certainly,
he knew how important a horse is to a cowboy because he too is one. On the day of the funeral
Sereno was among the fellow mourners at the ceremony, but when Figueiredo casket arrived
in the back of a car, something amazing happened. It appeared in fact that the horse knew his
best friend was in there. And when the vehicle came to a stop, the stallion sniffed around
the casket before carefully laying his head on it, it was as though Sereno knew that this
would be the last chance he'd have to be close to his former owner. Like everyone else at
the funeral, it seemed the horse was grieving too.
Recalling the moving scenes in January, 2017. One eye witnessed told the Dodo that- “Sereno
began to walk around the coffin, smelling the coffin. Then he neighed. It was a very
strong emotion. Everyone who was there was moved. I cried myself when I saw that scene.”
And the horse’s outpouring of emotion didn't end there.
“He was also seen stamping his hooves, whinnying and was heard giving out a mournful whimper
throughout proceedings. This horse was everything to him. It was as if the horse knew what was
happening and wanted to say goodbye.” De Lima added to global news in January, 2017.
Meanwhile, family friend Francielia limiera was astonished to see just how deeply Sereno
seemed to be missing his late friend. “As she explained to the daily mail, 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 coffin out at the beginning of the funeral,
Sereno sounded like he was crying. And as if he recognized that his owner was finally
leaving him,” Lumiere added, “he pounded the ground with his hooves and kept winning.
It was very sad.” Yet, regardless of how unusual Serrno's behavior
seems, it's not totally unknown. That in Brazilian horse-riding Federation member Marcelo Servos
for one has stated- “that equines are more than capable of mourning a human's death.”
“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.” He told the daily mail.
Following this ceremony, Sereno marched with other mourners to Figueiredo's final resting
place. The cowboy was laid to rest in the nearby city of Casas. And it was there that
the horse and the rest of the funeral goers were able to say one final goodbye to their
loved one. In addition, Sereno's heartfelt reaction to
the death of his owner has garnered quite a bit of media attention. Indeed, not only
have news outlets in Figueiredo’s native Brazil covered the story, but those in the
U S, UK and Sweden have done so too. Meanwhile video footage of the funeral has been viewed
over 1 million times on YouTube and many viewers were so moved by the video that they shared
their feelings in the accompanying comments. “When my aunt passed at home her dog knew.
She kept crying and would not eat. This is when I knew animals have feelings. So sad,”
read one. Still while Sereno deals with his sad loss, he won't be left alone. He will
go on to be rehomed with Figueiredo’s brother and De Lima has vowed to take care of the
horse in a manner that would make his sibling proud.
“Wagner will stay with our family forever.” He told the daily mail. So, while he's grieving,
at least Sereno will be surrounded by his wider family. And perhaps even in time, the
horse will come to terms with his loss and maybe even be able to look back fondly on
his time with Figueiredo. Certainly, though Sereno's behavior seems to show how much emotion
animals can feel, even if they don't share it with us all the time.