Media coverage
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Media coverage
Title Understanding equine sleep Country/Territory United States Date 20/6/24 Description
Sleep provides an important rest and recovery period known to repair muscles, reinvigorate the immune system, and literally flush the brain of accumulated toxins.
Those are great benefits—but they come with a flip side: a significantly altered state of consciousness and physical readiness. And although horses can sleep standing up, REM sleep can only occur lying down—making these open-grasslands prey animals even more vulnerable. That probably explains why horses evolved to require remarkably little sleep, says Linda Greening, PhD & Senior Lecturer in Hartpury University’s Equine Department, in the U.K.
Still, despite needing a mere half the sleep that we do—plus being able to take taking mini-naps throughout the day—many it is becoming increasingly apparent that more and more domestic horses lack sufficient sleep, Greening says. To better understand the problem, her team has just developed an equine sleep scoring system based not only on quantity, but on quality as well.
What’s good quality sleep, and how much do horses need? How do you know if your horse is getting that, and how can you improve it? This article addresses those questions and more with helpful information and tips from leading equine sleep experts.Persons Linda Greening