SLEEP AND HORSES
We discover some interesting thoughts on horses and their sleeping patterns and behaviours.

Did You Know?......

• While humans spend the night cosily inside and fast asleep for around 8 hours at a time, adult horses have been shown to be "polyphasic sleepers" meaning they catch their sleep in short bursts throughout the day, often for only a few minutes at a time.

• Horses living outside in a herd situation can generally spend anywhere from 4 to 15 hours a day standing at rest, with just a few minutes to several hours of this spent actually lying down. Deep sleep only accumulates to around a couple of hours a day and is taken in short bursts.

• Compare this to a young new born foal who can spend nearly half of their day fast asleep! Like most babies of any species, foals sleep more often and more deeply than their grown up parents do.

Foals spend lots of time sleeping compared to adult horses.

• It has been suggested that horses that live outside all of the time, or are at least turned out during the day, have better sleeping patterns than those horses constantly stabled (good news for NZ equines!).

• REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement) is an important sleeping phase and is thought to occur only when the horse is able to lie right out flat on their side. Acheiving regular amounts of REM sleep is said to result in a horse that is calmer and easier to train, also finding it easier to learn new things as this sleep phase plays a part in the formation of memories in the brain.

• Studies have found that constantly stabled horses spend less time in REM sleep (maybe due to their resticted space, isolation and possibly feeling unsafe at lying completely flat out). This is certainly something to consider if your horse is constantly stabled and you are finding them becoming unwilling and grouchy - just as we do with lack of good sleep! To alleviate boredom and encourage relaxation, ensure your stabled horse gets as much interaction as possible with both you and other horses - other horses stabled alongside (so the horses can see each other and even touch noses) can offer comfort and help simulate outdoor group situations, taking turns being on guard while the other sleeps etc. Also try to ensure that the environment and outlook from the stable is both peaceful and interesting, and perhaps give your horse some toys or games (apple bobbing, horse balls etc) to keep them amused.

• It has been found that mares sleep less than their male counterparts, probably due to their instinctive awareness of needing to be alert for danger with young foals at their side. (Even mares without foals sleep less showing this behaviour has been adapted in order to survive in the wild.) • In winter time, or in very cold conditions, horse sleep less than usual; scientists put this down to the fact that they spend more time foraging for food to provide energy and keep warm.

Horses usually spend less time sleeping when the weather is cold

• Despite a sudden change in routine (eg a 4.30am start to plait up and travel to shows) your horse is unlikely to suffer from any affected performance or sleep deprivation, due to their ability to catch quick naps here and there.

• Horses don't have to conciously exert any energy to remain standing up when they sleep - they have a unique system in their body called the 'stay apparatus' which can lock their legs in position and suspend their body weight without any strain while their muscles are completely relaxed.

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