2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16
To understand a horse, you need to study its physiology, its inner world. This knowledge will explain the behavior of the horse. One of the most revealing aspects of equine physiology is vision and its influence on how the animal reacts to certain situations. The second, no less interesting, aspect is sleep.
How horses sleep
From time immemorial, it was believed that horses sleep standing up, and lie down only when they get sick. Horses can stand up and sleep, and doze off, and sick animals never lie down at all, afraid not to get up. Only being in the stable, where the horse feels safe, can he lie down for a while and sleep longer. Standing on its feet, the animal is on the alert, regardless of whether it is sleeping or dozing. In case of danger, for example, when a predator appears, the horse may take flight. If she slept lying down, would she be able to run away so fast? Of course not. This is why horses sleep standing up. Why does a horse not get tired of standing almost all his life? It's just that in these animals the knee joint can "block". In such a position,the horse's muscles are as relaxed as possible. Nature endowed her with very hardy legs. The main means of protection for a horse is the speed that it develops thanks to this feature.
Life in a herd
It's interesting how horses sleep in herds in the wild. They mostly doze when not playing and eating. The stallion-leader of the herd may not sleep deeply for a long time. He makes sure that the opponent does not cover the mares of his herd. Under natural conditions, the horse sleeps up to eight hours a day - this is a nap, fast and deep sleep. In a deep sleep, the horses in the herd sleep in turns, standing on their feet. Foals allow themselves to sleep lying down, as they are under the protection of their mothers. In the wild, horses almost never lie down or sleep lying down. They, having long legs and a large body weight, starting to rise quickly, can fall to their knees and injure their legs. An exception is childbirth, when the mare lies down on the ground and gives birth. Births occur mostly at night, when the animal can fully relax.
Life in a stable
Domestic horses, keeping the habits of their wild ancestors, rarely lie down on the ground. They rest on their feet. Horses can doze off while standing and spend all their time in an upright position. Being in the stable, the horse spends time in a nap, as nothing threatens it, it is full and warm. But deep rest or the so-called REM sleep a horse can get only lying down, relaxing. Sometimes, snoring loudly, as they say, "throwing its hooves", a sleeping horse appears before us. Photos taken during thissleep are simply unique. In REM sleep, the horse is more sensitive. She reacts to noises, hears sounds, pulls her skin. Waking up, the horse stretches, yawns. It is interesting to observe how horses sleep in the deep sleep phase. They are fully extended
wool the neck and legs, do not react to sounds and may even snore. They do not come out of the state of sleep immediately, they need time. This is how horses sleep when they are out of danger. An interesting fact: hippologists confirm that horses dream. It is possible to observe how, in the phase of deep sleep, animals move their limbs, as if running, you can see how their eyes move under closed eyelids. Sometimes you can watch stallions in a dream become sexually aroused and, waking up, try to cover the mare. This behavior makes it possible to judge that the stallion had an erotic dream.
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