When one horse lies down to rest, others usually will too, but at least one horse always remains standing on sentry duty. Most spend at least some time each day on their chests or flat on their sides for deeper sleep. Horses sleep efficiently standing up, and doze this way for an hour or more at a time. Horse legs are constructed to lock into place for sleep, so remaining upright requires no muscular effort.
Physiologically, it is actually more stressful for a horse to sleep lying down. Young foals have greater sleep requirements, and prefer to do most of it on the ground. With age, horses get more of their rest standing, with one hind leg cocked, head down, eyes open, in light sleep.
Certain behaviors are contagious.
If one horse rolls in a dusty flat to kill insects, scratch itches, and loosen shedding fur, others will follow suit. Yawning is as contagious in horses as it is in people.
This web site is an online companion to the book Hoofprints in the Sand: Wild Horses of the Atlantic Coast, serving as a scrapbook of information, observations, and photographs, and providing links to related sites.
Hoofprints in the Sand is published by Eclipse Press. You may order your copy at www.eclipsepress.com or from Amazon.com
