The Importance of Equine Sleep
Sleepy Willowtrail Fell Ponies. The one standing up is the lead mare. The fully recumbent one is 9 months old. They definitely prefer hard bare ground for their napping location.
We likely have been told how important good quality sleep is to our own health. It turns out that the same is true for our equine friends. New research in 2019 found that the majority of horses studied are not getting enough sleep in their usual environments and that there is a correlation between inadequate sleep and collapse with associated injuries. (1) Veterinarians say that equine owners should know how much sleep their equines are getting to avoid the risk of collapse.
We know that our equine friends can sleep standing up, but it turns out its important for them to sleep lying down each day, too. Dr. Michael Hewetson at the Royal Veterinary College says, “A normal horse requires a minimum of one hour’s REM sleep per day which requires the horse to lie down. If a horse lies down for less than that, they have an increased risk of sleep deprivation which can lead to collapse.” (2) REM sleep can occur either when a horse is lying down with its head still up but resting it on the ground or when the horse is flat out on its side. (3)
The 2019 study by Juan de Benedetti of Brunel University, Uxbridge, found that 20 percent of the horses monitored were lying down less than one hour per day, and nine percent were lying down less than 30 minutes per day. The longer rest periods (35 minutes on average) were between midnight and 3am and the next longest (25 minutes on average) were between 9pm and midnight. These were horses “living most of the time in a stable and turned out in a field or paddock at least for a few hours every day.” (4) Dr. Hewetson says, “At the hospital we see cases of sleep-deprived horses due either to an underlying painful condition or because the horse is insecure in its environment.” (5)
In normal herds, one or two members remain alert while the others rest. Often it is the lead mare, as shown in this picture. She gets rest when a ‘second-in-command’ assumes the watch duty. This system can be disrupted by stalling, by herd groupings that are unstable, or by an equine living totally alone, leading to sleep deprivation. The articles I read suggested that large barns with their many comings and goings and diverse noises can be problematic for some equines regarding adequate healthful sleep.
Foals, of course, sleep more than mature equines. A university of Georgia study found that the average foal is resting lying down 32 percent of the time during the first week of life. By four months of age, they are resting lying down only 5.1 percent of the time. As a foal matures, more of its rest time is done standing, up to 23 percent when they’re older from 3.6 percent in the first week. (6) I have observed that up to at least a year of age, I’m more likely to see weanlings resting lying down than adult ponies.
I never thought about it until it was stated in an article and I recognized it to be true, but equines in paddocks or on pasture tend to prefer to lie down on hard-packed or heavily grazed areas, as shown in this picture. (7) It may be because it’s easier to get up quickly on firm footing. It may also be that sound carries more easily across an open area than into grass and the same with being able to see, and for prey animals the quicker information arrives, the better.
When I see an adult pony lying down, I am immediately watchful. I wonder if they are okay or experiencing some sort of upset. With this new understanding of the importance of their sleep, I will try to be thankful for their recumbent rest rather than worry about it immediately!
“Study shows sleep pattern concerns,” The Westmorland Gazette, December 2019, p. 29. Courtesy my colleague Eddie McDonough.
Same as #1.
Mariette, Kim. “Help Your Horse Sleep Better,” Equus #497, Summer 2019, p. 47.
Same as #1.
Same as #1.
“Sleeping Like a Baby,” Equus #497, Summer 2019, p. 50.
Same as #3.
© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020
You can find more stories like this one in my book The Partnered Pony, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.
