Find out why a good night’s sleep is important for your horse, and learn how you can make sure he gets the rest he needs at home and on the road.
Think about how you feel after a good night’s sleep. Rested, alert, and ready to take on the world. Now imagine a morning when you were up all night, disturbed by a party at the neighbor’s house, awakened by your kids coming in late at night, or just unable to turn off your brain from thinking about all the things on your to-do list. Tired, crabby, and wishing you could just check out for the day. Not such a great feeling, right?
Guess what? Your horse feels the same way! You may not think he sleeps that much, but sleep is just as important for his well-being as it is for yours. Sleep is a critical component of both mental and physical good health. It allows the body time to recharge and regulate itself without the need to immediately respond to things that are happening in the environment. Without it, we all suffer. In fact, sleep is so important for health and welfare that sleep deprivation tactics are a well-known strategy used for human torture. That alone should be enough to convince you how important it is to make sure your horse gets the sleep he needs every night.
In this article, I’m going to give you an overview of sleep science, including how your horse sleeps, what kind of schedule he needs, and why certain conditions are so important for healthy sleep. Then I’ll give you a list of seven steps that you can take to make sure your horse gets the rest he needs, both at home and on the road.
Sleep Science: The What and Why
Sleep is a physiological state of decreased brain activity that requires a higher level of stimulus to cause arousal than what it takes when fully awake. It can also be rapidly reversed. That means when your horse is sleeping, his brain can take a break from worrying about what’s happening in the barn, unless a very loud noise, bright light, or other disturbance wakes him up.
There are two different types of sleep that have been defined using measures of brain activity, non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. NREM sleep is further divided into four different stages. Interspersed within periods of sleep are periods when your horse is resting, but in a state of semi-wakefulness when he’s more easily aroused than when he’s asleep. If there’s a disturbance that screams “danger! danger!” when he’s in this semi-awake state, he’ll wake up fully and may have trouble getting back to sleep.
Your horse is a prey animal, and while he might not seem so vulnerable standing in his stall, his instincts tell him otherwise. If your horse were living in the wild, his large size would often force him to sleep in exposed and vulnerable locations. It would be hard for him to sneak underneath a bush to rest. This is especially true for REM sleep, which your horse can only do when he’s lying down, either flat out on his side or on his chest with his muzzle resting on the ground.
In fact, if your horse enters a REM sleep state while he’s standing up, he’ll experience a complete loss of muscle tone which will cause his neck to drop and his forelimbs to buckle until his muzzle hits the ground. NREM sleep usually occurs when standing but can also happen when he’s lying down. As a prey animal, your horse knows he’s vulnerable, especially when he’s sleeping. This instinctive vulnerability underlies many of the characteristics of his sleeping patterns and behaviors.
Horses are what is known as polyphasic sleepers, meaning they sleep in short bouts frequently throughout the day. While bouts of sleeping happen all day long, your horse is most likely to lie down and get quality sleep during the late hours of the night. Horses have also evolved to require much less sleep than many other species. If your horse is an “average sleeper,” he’ll need approximately 230 minutes of total sleep each day, which includes 40 minutes of REM sleep. Compare this to the average adult human who typically gets seven to nine hours (420 to 540 minutes) of total sleep, and two hours (120 minutes) of REM sleep each day. Both the short total time and intermittent nature of a horse’s sleep pattern means they can stay more vigilant, which helps keep them safe.
Horses are also social sleepers, and exhibit a behavior known as “synchronized social sleep.” When living in the wild, one horse will get some shut eye while the others remain alert. You may notice this behavior if your horse is turned out in a group. Even when your horse is living in a stall environment, chances are your horse and his next-door neighbor swap out sleeping time.
Sleep Deprivation
How can you tell if your horse is sleep deprived? You may notice unexplained signs of trauma, especially on his face, front fetlocks, or knees. And if you ever see him suddenly drop his neck, buckle his front legs, and hit the ground with his nose you’ve most likely seen one of those moments when he entered REM sleep while he was still standing up. Many people mistake these signs for evidence of narcolepsy but in reality, narcolepsy, an inherited brain disorder, presents itself a little differently.
While an episode of narcolepsy may involve forelimb collapse and a sudden fall to the ground similar to sleep deprivation, it’s typically triggered by outside stimuli, such as a loud noise, stressful event, or even simply being fed. It doesn’t happen when he’s resting peacefully. Narcolepsy is also much less common than sleep deprivation.
If you suspect your horse is falling down because he’s falling asleep on his feet, assume sleep deprivation until proven otherwise. Pay attention to whether he regularly has shavings in his mane or tail that might indicate whether he’s been lying down overnight. And if you do decide your horse may not be getting the sleep he needs, our seven steps for better sleep can help.
UNDERSTAND EQUINE SLEEP PATTERNS
7 Steps for Better Sleep
Step 1: Control the Light
White light decreases the production of melatonin, an important hormone that regulates circadian rhythm and can impact sleep. Exposure to any bright light, especially at night, can disturb your horse’s sleep. Do you leave the lights on 24-hours a day as a security measure in your barn? What about night check? Do you flip on the lights to check your horse before heading to bed yourself? Both things can interfere with your horse’s sleep schedule.
It’s best to have that security light on a timer that allows your horse at least six hours of continuous dark at night so he can sleep. And if you must do that late-night barn check, consider a red-light flashlight to help you find your way. Studies have shown that red light does not have the same impact on melatonin as white light and may improve the chances that your horse will sleep right through the disturbance, as long as you do it quietly.
At a horse show? If the rules don’t specify lighting requirements ask horse show management if they can turn the lights off in the stables overnight.
Step 2: Control the Noise
Remember that your horse is in a constant state of vigilance. Sudden or loud noises are likely to disturb his sleep cycle by arousing him even when he’s in a state of semi-wakefulness. And once he’s fully aroused, he may have trouble going back to sleep. You obviously can’t control the amount of noise in a busy barn throughout the day, but you can take steps to minimize disturbances at night. Do your at-home barn checks as quietly as possible. If you’re in a boarding situation, talk with the barn manager about establishing quiet hours at night. If you are at a horse show or in a barn where you have minimal control, low-level, continuous sound may actually be helpful. Consider playing music quietly by your horse’s stall.
Step 3: Bed Heavily
Your horse needs to lie down to get REM sleep. That means taking steps to make sure he’s comfortable. Studies have demonstrated that horses spend more time lying down when bedded on straw then they do with other types of bedding, although we all know straw bedding isn’t always practical or even possible.
It’s also been reported that horses will lie down more when wood shavings are six inches deep than when they are four inches deep. Make sure you horse has deep enough bedding to be comfortable, even if it means paying a little bit extra at the boarding stable for a deep bed or using a couple of extra bales of shavings in your horse show stall.
Step 4: Give Him Space
Similar to bedding, your horse won’t lie down if he doesn’t have adequate space. And if he doesn’t lie down, he won’t sleep well. Research has demonstrated that horses with access to larger sleeping spaces have longer periods when they lie down, so make sure your horse’s stall is big enough to accommodate his size. Traveling to a horse show that only offers 10-foot by 10-foot stalls for your 16-plus hand horse? Ask show management ahead of time whether there are larger stalls available anywhere on the grounds.
Step 5: Provide Companionship
Remember that a big part of your horse’s natural sleep behavior involves others in his herd keeping watch while he checks out. He’ll sleep much better if he knows he has a friend nearby to keep him safe. Turning him out with others during the day can help, and make sure he’s stabled next to a familiar face at night. Traveling to a competition? Try to stable barn-mates side-by-side.
Step 6: Control the Temperature
Research shows that your horse’s sleep can suffer if he’s too hot. While you can’t control the temperature outside, you can take steps to ensure he stays cool, especially at night. Install fans, minimize blankets when it’s warm, and body clip when needed. If you’re trying to keep your horse clean at a summer horse show, make sure any blanket you choose is lightweight and provides good airflow. Better yet? Leave him naked if you can.
Step 7: Make Him Comfortable
Finally, if your horse is experiencing any physical issues like arthritis that make it difficult for him to get up and down, he may not sleep well. In fact, he may miss out on essential REM sleep altogether. Talk to your veterinarian about whether there are treatments or medications that might make him more comfortable so he can get up and down more easily. Banking stall walls to provide your horse something to push against when getting up is another strategy that can help. He won’t lie down if he knows he’s likely to have trouble getting up.
What’s the take home message? Your horse may not seem to sleep that much, but adequate, quality sleep is critical for his mental and physical well-being. Most important, for your horse to sleep, he must feel safe in his environment. And for him to get the REM sleep he needs, it’s essential that he be comfortable lying down. By taking steps to ensure he’s both safe and comfortable, you can help your horse stay physically and mentally strong by making sure gets the sleep he needs.
