Evie Summers
Horses are unique in that they can sleep standing up, but they also need to lie down to get the REM sleep necessary for their health and welfare. Horses are prey animals, and sleeping on their hooves is an adaptation to avoid predators. Standing up, they can quickly run away if they sense danger. However, they need to lie down for more restorative sleep. If they don't, they may experience sleep deprivation, which can be a serious health risk. Horses need to feel safe and comfortable before lying down, and they usually take turns to watch over each other while sleeping.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Ability to sleep standing up | True |
| Need to sleep lying down | True |
| Time spent lying down | 30 minutes to 2 hours every 24 hours |
| Time spent in REM sleep | 25 minutes to 1 hour every 24 hours |
| Total sleep time | 5 to 7 sessions spread over 24 hours |
| Average daily resting time | 6 hours |
| Average daily dozing time | 2 hours |
| Average daily sleep time | 4 hours |
| Preferred sleeping time | Night, between 8 pm and 5 am |
| Other sleeping time | Daytime, often between 12 pm and 2 pm |
| Factors influencing resting time | Type of accommodation, feed, type of ground, available surface area, weather, age, sex, hierarchical rank, and degree of familiarity with the environment |
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What You'll Learn
Horses sleep standing up to protect themselves from predators
Horses are prey animals, and sleeping while lying down can be dangerous for them. They have evolved to be able to run at almost any moment in case a predator arrives. Their ability to sleep standing up allows them to rest while also being able to quickly run away if they sense danger. This adaptation gives them a better chance of escaping predators.
Being large animals, horses require time and energy to get off the ground. Standing while sleeping allows them to be ready to run away when roused from sleep. This strategy is not unique to horses, as other large herbivores like zebras, bison, elephants, and giraffes also sleep on their feet.
Horses have specialized anatomical features that enable them to stay upright while sleeping. These features, known as the "stay apparatus," include a series of tendons and ligaments that act as tension bands to stabilize the joints in their legs. This mechanism allows horses to remain standing with minimal muscle tension.
While horses can sleep standing up, they need to lie down for more restorative REM sleep. Horses typically spend only about an hour in REM sleep over a 24-hour period. If they don't get enough REM sleep, they may experience health issues such as problems with concentration and mood, a weakened immune system, and impaired cell growth. Therefore, it is crucial for horses to feel safe and comfortable before they lie down to sleep. In feral horse populations, there is usually at least one horse that remains standing, keeping watch for potential threats.
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They need to lie down for REM sleep
Horses are unique in that they can sleep standing up. This is an evolutionary adaptation to help them survive in the wild. As a prey species, they need to be able to run from predators at a moment's notice. Standing gives them a "jump on predators" and a better chance of getting away than if they were lying down.
However, while horses do most of their sleeping while standing, they do need to lie down for more restorative sleep. This is because they can only reach full REM sleep when lying down. REM sleep is essential to their health and welfare. During REM sleep, dreaming can occur, and muscles become temporarily paralysed so we don't act out our dreams. REM sleep is also when the brain consolidates and processes new information for long-term memories.
An adequately rested horse requires at least 25 minutes of REM sleep per day, which can only happen while lying down. If they don't get enough REM sleep, they may experience problems with mental concentration and mood regulation, a weakened immune system, and less cell growth. They may also be at risk of falling and injuring themselves.
Because standing while sleeping is an adaptation to avoid predators, horses need to feel comfortable and safe before they are willing to lie down and sleep. In feral horse populations, if multiple horses lie down to get REM sleep at the same time, there will always be at least one horse that remains standing, likely to watch for potential predators.
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Horses can lock their legs to rest standing up
Horses have evolved to be able to sleep standing up. As a prey species, they needed to be able to see quickly if another animal that might eat them (a predator) was nearby. Being able to rest or sleep standing up meant they could get some rest, but if they saw a predator, they could quickly run away.
Horses can rest standing up or lying down. The most interesting part of horses resting standing up is how they do it. In horses, there is a special arrangement of muscles, ligaments, and tendons called the stay apparatus. This allows horses to stand on three legs and rest the other leg. They can change the leg they rest so that all of their legs get a break.
Horses can rest upright or recumbent, in both sternal and lateral recumbency positions. When a horse relaxes its leg muscles, the stay apparatus ligaments and tendons act as tension bands that stabilize the shoulder, knee, and ankle joints in the legs. This enables the horse to remain standing without having to maintain much tension in their muscles.
While horses do most of their sleeping while standing, they do need to lie down for more restorative sleep. Horses will spend most of their time sleeping standing up, but they don't actually reach full REM sleep when they're standing. REM sleep absolutely requires a horse to lie down. During REM sleep, while brain activity is actually increased, muscle tone is greatly diminished. Because of this loss of muscle tone, REM sleep in horses only occurs during lateral recumbency, or when a horse can lie in sternal and lean heavily against something. Horses spend only about a total of an hour in REM sleep over a 24-hour period.
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They need to feel safe to lie down
Horses are prey animals, so they need to feel safe to lie down. They evolved in open plains, where they needed to be able to see if a predator was nearby. Being able to rest standing up meant they could quickly run away if they needed to.
Because of this, horses need to feel comfortable and safe before they are willing to lie down and sleep. In feral horse populations, if multiple horses lie down to get REM sleep at the same time, there will always be at least one horse that remains standing, likely to watch for potential predators.
"If they don't feel safe in their environment, or they don't have other horses with them, or if they're isolated, then they're less likely to feel safe enough to lay down to sleep," said Sarah Matlock, a senior instructor of equine behavior at Colorado State University.
Horses can rest standing up thanks to their "stay apparatus"—a set of muscles, tendons, and ligaments that enable the horse to lock the kneecap of its hind limb, thus preventing flexion of the leg joints. This allows them to relax their leg muscles while standing.
However, REM sleep, which is essential to their health and welfare, can only occur if they are lying down completely. Horses need at least 25 minutes of REM sleep per day. If they don't get it, they may experience sleep deprivation, which can be a serious health risk. For example, they might fall over while being ridden.
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Horses sleep in cycles
REM sleep, or rapid eye movement sleep, is characterised by a total absence of muscle tone and intense brain activity comparable to that of the waking phase. Dreaming occurs during this phase, and humans can experience problems with concentration and mood regulation if they do not get enough REM sleep. This phase of sleep is essential to a horse's health and welfare and can only occur when they are lying down completely.
Deep sleep can occur when a horse is standing or lying down. When standing, horses relax their leg muscles and use their stay apparatus—a set of tendons and ligaments—to lock their legs in place. This enables them to remain standing with minimal muscle tension.
Horses are polyphasic sleepers, which means they have multiple discrete sleep episodes within a 24-hour period. They spend one to three hours lying down and a total of around six hours resting within a 24-hour period. Their sleep cycles are spread out over the day and night, with sleep occurring mainly between 8 pm and 5 am, and also during the day, often between 12 pm and 2 pm.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, horses need to lie down to sleep. While they can sleep standing up, they need to lie down for more restorative sleep.
Horses need to lie down for at least 25 minutes of REM sleep per day. They spend a total of around 6 hours lying down every 24 hours.
Horses need to lie down to reach the deeper stages of sleep. If they don't get enough REM sleep, they may experience problems with concentration and mood, a weakened immune system, and less cell growth.
