Do You Know How Horses Sleep?

Most horses will lie down for deep sleep a few times each night, if they have a comfortable place to do so and feel safe. This is why it's important to provide a dry, sheltered area like a run-in shed or roomy stall, so your horse can stretch out safely for a snooze.

How Long Horses Sleep

Adult horses sleep for about three hours each 24-hour period. The length and type of sleep are affected by diet, temperature, workload, gestation, and gender. The period of each sleep phase is very brief, lasting only a few minutes at a time. Young horses tend to sleep more than mature horses. Senior horses may doze more frequently.

Sleeping Positions

A dozing horse will mostly carry its weight on the two forelegs and one hind leg. One hind leg will relax with the hoof resting up on its toe. The head and neck droop, the ears are relaxed, the eyes are closed and the lower lip may droop or twitch. When horses experience deep sleep lying down, they will stretch flat out on the ground.

Sleeping Habits

Horses will lie down to sun themselves, and it is not unusual for several horses to lie down at the same time for a communal sunbath on a warm spring day. Often while several horses lay down, one or two others will remain standing. This is a natural look-out behavior for the safety of the herd. Horses tend to spend less time lying down in cold snowy conditions, although on a sunny day, some will snooze stretched out in the snow. Each horse has its own sleeping habits. Some will sleep only at night while others sleep during the day as well.