The horse, Sereno, seemed to be lamenting the death of his owner, who was killed in a motorcycle crash.
On January 1st, 2017, Wagner de Lima Figueiredo, a 34-year-old Paraguayan cowboy, was riding his motorcycle along a beach in Brazil when he lost control and crashed.
He was urgently taken to the hospital, where he underwent two critical operations, but he later passed away from his wounds.
2 days later, his funeral was held in Paraiba, north east Brazil. People who knew Wagner was aware of how much his beloved horse Sereno meant to him. Therefore, his brother, Wando de Lima decided to take the horse to Wagner’s funeral.
Sereno startled the mourners at the funeral when he began to cry and lament over the death of his master. The animal even rested its head on the casket.
Francielio Limiera, a friend of the family, said he wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it himself.
Francielio said “As we brought the coffin out at the beginning of the funeral, [Sereno] sounded like he was crying and as if he recognised that his owner was finally leaving him. He pounded the ground with his hooves and kept on whinnying. It was very sad”.
“Wagner’s life was this horse,” said his brother “Sometimes he would even stop buying things for himself to make sure he could afford to buy horse feed.”
During Wagner’s last 8 years, he had performed in rodeo shows with Sereno, winning numerous competitions and cash rewards. He was a clerk for a local authority as well.
After his brother died, Wando vowed to continue take care of Sereno.