Whether you ride horses or just admire them from afar, at some point you might have wondered how they sleep. Maybe you saw a pony lying in a field and wondered if they sleep lying down or standing up. If you have pets, you probably already know that the sleep habits of dogs and cats differ quite a bit from that of humans. Just like other animals, horses have their own unique sleep requirements and patterns that differ from ours.
This article put together by tuck.com, focuses on everything you might want to know about how horses sleep. Do they really sleep standing up or must they lie down? Can they dream like humans do? How many hours of sleep do they need on a daily basis? How are horses’ sleeping habits the same or different compared to those of other large animals?
(Spoiler alert… One thing we do now know is that, contrary to popular belief, while equines can rest standing up, they need to lie down to achieve the REM phase of the sleep cycle.)
Read the article here and find the answers to your questions. (Re-directs to Tuck.com)
Read the results of a scientific study into sleep deprivation in horses.