Help your horse sleep better
Deep slumber is as important for your horse’s health as it is for your own. Here’s how to ensure that he gets enough of the right kind of rest.
Deep slumber is as important for your horse’s health as it is for your own. Here’s how to ensure that he gets enough of the right kind of rest.
Just about any working adult appreciates a good night’s sleep, and a whole industry has grown up to help us achieve that goal: From custom-stuffed pillows to white noise machines, there’s no end to the products and services designed to ensure restorative slumber. Concern about sleep rarely extends to our horses, however. We know that rest is important to equine health but pretty much leave it up to our horses to get the sleep they need. And that can be a problem. Bustling modern barns and equestrian facilities aren’t always conducive to normal equine sleep patterns, and it can be particularly difficult for horses to get rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
The deepest and most restorative phase of slumber, REM sleep is vital to a horse’s well-being. But to achieve REM sleep, a horse must lie down--either in sternal recumbency or flat out on his side.
That means he won’t get enough by dozing while standing in the paddock or in a trailer between classes at a horse show.
Trouble is, it’s easy to miss the earliest signs of sleep deprivation in horses. Much like a person who manages to subsist on five hours of sleep per night, a horse can soldier on for days or even weeks without quality sleep. But it will catch up with him. An exhausted horse may literally fall asleep on his feet, seeming to collapse as his knees buckle. Or he may slowly sink to the ground as if he’s passing out.
A sleep-deprived horse can get drowsy just about anywhere, but his lapses are most often noticed when he’s standing tied to be groomed or tacked up. Usually it takes only one or two of these startling---and potentially dangerous---episodes for an owner to recognize that something is wrong and call the veterinarian.
Of course, it would be better to head off sleep deprivation in the first place. And it’s easier than you might think to help your horse get the sleep he needs. By taking a critical look at his routine and environment, you’ll likely find simple ways to improve the quality and quantity of his sleep. Some problems will be obvious, others less so. Here are four questions that will help you determine whether your horse is getting the sleep he needs.
1. DOES YOUR HORSE FEEL SAFE?
As prey animals, horses can’t relax unless they feel safe. Exactly what that means varies among individuals ---some horses feel secure enough in their environment to doze even if they are alone. Often, however, horses rely on a system of sentinels, where one or two members of a herd stand watch while the rest lie down to sleep. You’ve probably seen this system in action if you’ve observed your herd on pasture during sunny, breezy days, which seems to be preferred equine napping weather. What you might not notice is that horses take turns standing
Call your veterinarian if you suspect your horse isn’t sleeping because he finds it too painful to lower himself to the ground.
guard throughout the night, so that each member of the herd can rest. Even horses kept in stalls exhibit this behavior. If you visit your barn at night, you’ll likely find most of the residents in various stages of dozing, sleeping and wakefulness. Even though they aren’t in a natural herd situation, one or two animals will always be awake, taking their shift of the night watch as their neighbors sleep.
Horses who rely on the sentinel system need to have a trusted peer nearby. In an established herd situation, alpha mares typically fulfill this role. (The guard mare gets her rest when her second-in-command) relieves her.) However, in an unstable herd---where the pecking order is unclear or in flux---a fearful horse may not feel comfortable enough to lie down. Horses kept in stalls can have similar reservations, as can horses kept alone.
If you suspect your horse isn’t sleeping because he feels insecure, try experimenting with herd regroupings. See which horses he associates with, then try putting that group in a paddock or in adjoining stalls. Give the new arrangement a few days before deciding whether it’s helpful. If you suspect your solo horse needs company to sleep, consider adopting or fostering a friendly rescue horse to fill the role.
2. IS HE IN PAIN?
Horses need to lie down to enter REM sleep, but illness or orthopedic problems may make this too difficult or painful. Arthritic knees or hocks may prevent a horse from lying down, for example. And, in one case documented
by a veterinarian, an exhausted horse had enteroliths---stone-like mineral formations in his intestines---that shifted and caused pain when he was on the ground.
A good way to determine if pain is preventing a horse from sleeping is to watch him over the course of a week to see if he rolls. Most horses love a good roll, particularly in the summer after sweating or being hosed off. Rolling, however, will be as painful as lying down to sleep, so a horse who avoids it might have a physical problem.
Call your veterinarian if you suspect your horse isn’t sleeping because he has trouble lowering himself to the ground. Sometimes sleep deprivation is the first sign of arthritis. In other cases, worsening arthritis keeps horses from deep sleep. Your veterinarian may suggest a simple solution such as giving the horse a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory medication like bute. If more intervention is called for, joint injections might make sense. Don’t expect instantaneous results, though. It may take a few days for the horse to become comfortable enough to lie down and sleep.
If arthritis isn’t the cause of pain-related sleep deprivation, your veterinarian will try to rule out other possible causes. This process may require some time and money, but consider it an investment: A problem significant enough to keep a horse from sleeping may be affecting his health in other ways as well.
3. IS HE SURROUNDED BY ACTIVITY?
Horses who spend most of their time in stalls or even small paddocks may have trouble ignoring the hustle and bustle of a busy barn. A horse may maintain a heightened level of alertness if there are always horses cross-tied in the aisle by his stall or a parade of horses and riders constantly going by. And, especially in the summer, barn activity can begin before dawn and stretch late into the night.
Also, horses may develop temporary but significant sleep deprivation at shows and other events. The activity at the show grounds, compounded with the physical stress of the competition, means that a three-day show can leave a horse exhausted.
If your barn tends to be busy, observe your horse to see if the activity level is keeping him awake. Is he able to doze as a horse is tacked up in the aisle nearby? Have you ever seen him lying down in his stall when there is activity around him? Individual responses will vary; what’s normal to one horse may be chaos to another and your horse may feel the need to stay on his feet even if others don’t. Also be aware that horses can change in this respect. As he ages, even a seasoned show veteran may become less tolerant of the excitement of a busy barn.
If possible, arrange for your horse to spend several hours a day---or overnight hours---in a quieter part of the property. This might be a larger paddock, where he can move away from any commotion, or a stall at the end
of the aisle, out of the heaviest traffic patterns. Also consider enforcing “quiet hours” when everyone except essential workers must stay clear of the barn.
Horses quickly learn a barn’s routine and respond accordingly. Quiet hours from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. aren’t unreasonable at most properties. Keep lights as dim as possible during the early mornings and late evenings, and turn them off overnight. Darkness in the barn and a schedule for quiet time can help horses get the downtime they need.
If you’re away from home at a show or event, you’ll be lucky if there’s an enforced quiet time at the barn. To ensure your equine athlete gets his rest, try to get a stall on the end of the row so that he only has neighbors on one side and behind him. You can also hang a heavy canvas or some type of stall-darkening cover over the bars at night to help your horse relax and sleep.
4. IS HIS ENVIRONMENT COMFORTABLE?
Comfort is a key component in equine sleep but what we consider luxurious might not seem that way to your horse. For instance, you might think that a horse would like to lie down in a stall deeply bedded with wood shavings. But studies have shown that horses bedded on shavings lie down less often and for shorter periods than do those in stalls with straw bedding. Meanwhile, horses at pasture seem to prefer hard-packed surfaces to lie on, choosing dirt or an overgrazed area of sparse grass for dozing or sleep. This might be rooted in instinct: A horse needs to be able to get to his feet quickly in a crisis---and that’s easier to do on a firm surface. Of course, each horse has personal preferences as well.
Indulge your horse’s inner Goldilocks by finding the surface that’s “just right” for him. It may be a new type of bedding, rubber mats or a combination of the two. (Keep in mind that stall mats can lose their “spring” over the years and become smelly if urine becomes trapped beneath them. The solution may be to replace the ones you are currently using.) Likewise, you can create a quick-drying, firm area in your horse’s paddock by putting down crusher run gravel and covering it with stabilized topsoil. Not every bedding/ footing combination is feasible logistically or financially, but with some creative thinking, you can probably come up with a few options to try.
Ahorse fast asleep on his stall floor is adorable, and one laid out flat, snoring in the sun, is the picture of contentment. But sleep in horses isn’t just a behavior, it’s a physiological process that is critical to his wellbeing. Ensuring your horse gets the best quality sleep possible is part of protecting his overall health.
Often horses rely on a system of sentinels, where one or two members of a herd remain standing while the rest lie down to sleep.