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    why do horses sleep standing?

    0  Views: 1183 Answers: 5 Posted: 13 years ago

    5 Answers

    Horses are pretty heavy to lay down for a long period of time, also there slow and cumbersome in getting up, If they had to get up quickly to get away from something they just couldn't do it.
    JDB got this most right.

    It is true that horses CAN sleep standing up, but to really sleep deeply a horse actually does need to lay down.

    In the wild, horses are prey animals. Horses sleep standing up because if a predator was to attack a herd of horses, the horses would lose precious escape time scrambling to their feet. A horse off it's feet is more vulnerable to attack. A horse's legs can lock in place, enabling them to fall asleep without falling over.

    But horses do lay down on their sides to sleep for periods of time, usually at night. In horse herds, even domesticated herds, one horse almost always remains standing while the others lay down and sleep, and this position is alternated through the night.
    There are no beds any big enough for a horse?
    Colleen

    Moderator
    No much of an xpert answer.
    cause their afraid of night "mares"
    horses have big lungs and rib cages; if down to long they will actually smother to death. -stormie-
    Colleen

    Moderator
    Where did you hear that? I've checked with a vet and she said no, not true. Here's what she said, "Horses sleep while standing up because they are more comfortable that way. They are so heavy that lying down for a longer period of time puts significant pressure on their downward side. This, in turn, can lead to tissue damage and tissue death." TISSUE DEATH, not horse death and not suffocation.


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