Horses sleep in two different ways. There is what you see most often where the horse is standing with one hind leg cocked and eyes closed. Horses have a special “stay apparatus” in their legs that allow them to lock their legs so they don’t fall over while sleeping. In this state a horse can sleep but be able to wake up in an instant and run if there’s danger.

This standing mode of sleep, however, does not allow the horse to get REM sleep. Even though horses need less REM sleep than humans, they still need it in order to be healthy and fully functional. Horses need to lie down to get their REM sleep, either flat on their side or in a lounge position and they need to feel safe and comfortable to do so. The horse is in a very vulnerable position when lying down.

One of the many reasons horses need buddies is so that one horse can look out for predators while another lies down and sleeps. It’s highly possible for horses to become sleep deprived because they don’t feel safe enough to lie down and get their REM sleep.

(free photo from Canva - https://www.canva.com/ )

~ Saddle Up