How Long do Horses Sleep?

Horses have pretty distinct sleeping patterns than humans. Most human sleep is often a lengthy, single stretch—roughly eight hours in a 24-hour day. Many individuals are curious about how much horse sleep they get and how they sleep. Horses have an innate tendency to rest in the wild, where they must always stay vigilant and guard themselves. This is generally the explanation for their unusual sleeping habits. This article will tell you all you want to know about horses’ sleeping habits.

Sleep Depend On Age

Horses sleep for varying amounts of time during the day and experience brief periods of profound slumber while lying down during the night. In addition, the sleeping habits of horses differ according to their age.

The typical sleep lasts around 15 minutes.

Young horse sleep

Foals take regular rest and sleep for roughly half of a day unless they are approximately three months young. Although foals below three months old may nap for 12 hours each day

Mature horse sleep

Horses’ sleeping habits alter as they become older. As  the foal grows older, the amount of naps decreases, and they are more inclined to stand instead of lie down. Therefore, older horses take more time napping when standing up than lying down in a profound nap.

During 24 hours, elderly horses only rest for around three hours. Older horses (like some senior people) may sleep a little more

Minimal REM Sleep

Horses, unlike people or other domestic pets, require extremely minimal REM sleep per day. This is the stage of a sleep cycle that we recognize as a ‘deep slumber,’ and it may be seen when horses lie down to nap.

Conclusion

Horses are known for functioning on very little sleep. They only sleep for about three hours each day and seldom relax for long periods. However, more miniature foals may sleep longer than older horses. On the other hand, Horses only have short minutes of REM sleep during any given sleeping session.