Do you know how horses sleep?

To understand a horse, you need to study its physiology, its inner world. This knowledge will explain the behavior of the horse. One of the most salient aspects of equine physiology is vision and its effect on how the animal responds to certain situations. The second, no less interesting aspect is sleep.

How do horses sleep

From time immemorial, it was believed that horses sleep while standing, and lie down only when they become ill. Horses can stand and sleep, and doze off, and sick animals generally never lie down, being afraid not to get up. Only being in the stable, where the horse feels safe, can she lie down for a while and sleep longer. Standing on its feet, the animal is alert, regardless of whether it is sleeping or asleep. In case of danger, for example, when a predator appears, the horse can take flight. If she slept lying down, could she have run away so quickly? Of course not. This is why horses sleep while standing. Why does a horse not get tired to stand practically all his life? It’s just that in these animals the knee joint can “block”. In this position, the horse has the most relaxed muscles. Nature endowed her with very hardy legs. The main remedy for a horse is the speed it develops thanks to this feature.

Life in the herd

Of interest is the way horses that live in herds in the wild sleep . Mostly they doze if they do not play and do not eat. The leader of the herd stallion may not sleep deeply for a long time. He makes sure that the opponent does not cover the mares of his herd. In natural conditions, the horse sleeps up to eight hours a day - this is a nap, fast and deep sleep. Deep sleep horses in the herd sleep in turn, standing on their feet. Foals allow themselves to sleep lying down, since they are under the protection of mothers. In the wild, horses almost never go to bed or sleep. Having long legs and a large body mass, they can quickly rise and begin to fall to their knees and damage their legs. The exception is childbirth when a mare lays on the ground and gives birth. Childbirth occurs mainly at night, when the animal can completely relax.

Life in the stable

Domestic horses, maintaining the habits of their wild ancestors, rarely lie on the ground. They are resting on their feet. Horses can doze and stand upright all the time. While in the stable, the horse spends time in a nap, as nothing threatens her, she is full and warm. But a horse can get deep peace or the so-called quick sleep only lying down, relaxing. Sometimes, snoring loudly, as they say, “throwing off the hooves”, a sleeping horse appears before us. Photos taken during such a dream are simply unique. In a state of REM sleep, the horse is more sensitive. She reacts to noises, hears sounds, tugs at her skin. Waking up, the horse stretches, yawns. It is interesting to watch how the horses sleep in the phase of deep sleep. They are fully extended

they bark their neck and legs, do not respond to sounds, and can even snore. They do not immediately leave the state of sleep; they need time. This is how horses sleep when they are out of danger. Interesting fact: hippology scientists confirm that horses see dreams. One can observe how in the phase of deep sleep animals move their limbs as if they are running, you can see how their eyes move under closed eyelids. Sometimes you can watch how the stallions in a dream come into sexual arousal and woke up, trying to cover the mare. This behavior allows us to judge that the stallion had an erotic dream.