Just curious as to how often your horses lay down…
We think our of our guys is feeling NQR and he’s been laying down a lot more lately - in the afternoon for a while and then again for an hour or so in the evening. We know he likes his sleep time, but he’s been down a lot more recently…
Some of our horses take regular naps, others take less time napping.
We have a sand pile in their pasture and they use it regularly.
When a horse is acting different, then is when they bear watching.
If your horse is a light napper and is now napping more, it does make you wonder if it means something is not right, or if he is just more relaxed.
My brother leased a TB down in Florida who routinely took naps, stretched flat on his side. He even would lie down and ‘play dead’ if he knew you were coming to get him out of the paddock! (“No. I’m dead. Go away. Dead horses don’t get ridden. Go away.”)
He sleeps in the stall, he sleeps in the pasture, he sleeps in the run in shed. He even sits up like a dog and watches things. He’s a warmblood, when he is not eating, he is sleeping, flat out, no dorsal sleeping for him.
However any changes in sleeping patterns should be watched. When Cloudy lay down and didn’t eat dinner over a year ago, the BO called as she knew he was colicking. So watch for changes in sleeping patterns, in eating, and of course in drinking.
Wait, is this the lame horse from the giveaways thread? If so, call the vet.
The frequency of my horse’s laying down is a direct function of how muddy her paddock is. 
I think there is a bit of variety in this, from horse to horse, but the key (as has been noted here) is that deviation from your horse’s own typical behavior is what to watch out for.
Same = good.
Different = bad. (or at least worth watching)
:My mare seems to do it almost every day, but apparently is doing it late at night or early in the morning as I never SEE her doing it. She just ends up with the telltale mud spots of where her body was against the ground. :lol:
My horse doesn’t lay down much, unless there’s a fresh round bale in the field. He likes to nap while eating.
I agree if you sense a change in routine keep an eye on it. I personally would rather be paranoid than wrong.
My 29-year old TB - NEVER and I mean never lays down. I tell anyone that if they see him lying down to call me asap as I know there is something seriously wrong.
Now my 10-year old TB - she naps daily and at night :D.
The whole herd of them crashes hard mid morning EVERY day. The ponies crash at 3pm siesta time :lol: Here’s Kate and Paco…
[quote=Lori B;4533678]
The frequency of my horse’s laying down is a direct function of how muddy her paddock is.
:lol::lol::lol:With Cloudy, it’s in direct relation to the amt of manure he can place in strategic places so he can get covered from head to tail.
I have lazy equine potato chips… just call them a bag o’ Lays.
I do late night check 10/11 ish and they are usually all snug as bugs curled up in the shavings. They aren’t snoozing for very long but they are all, always down. Between breakfast and lunch is the ‘daytime’ nap- sometimes spent standing and sometimes flat out in the sand. Donkey sleeps the most but I think he’s making up for lost time. Don’t get much sleep tied to a fence with a short rope.
They might also take a snooze after lunch hay.
The Mare is the late morning sleeper- sometimes I have to ‘wake’ her up for breakfast. Which always results in lots of complaining.
Ted and Bow will snooze like this, nose to nose, in the appropriate weather.
I have seen Matt laying down twice in the four years I’ve owned him. Prior to seeing him laying down just this year, the only way I knew he’s been down at night is the tail-tell shavings in his tail/stuck to his blanket, and the stains on coat.
My boss’ horse takes a regular nap every morning after coming in from the paddock. He gets very cranky if he doesn’t get his nap.
When ever we had a warm sunny day in winter, Trav and Rico would crash out in the sun like they were dead. Rico lays down a lot, but he always has. I don’t recall ever seeing Inky lay down, but judging from the amount of manure/pee all over him in the mornings, I can only assume he does.
When they’re laid out like corpes snoozing, with no on standing guard, its a good sign that they’re feeling very safe and secure.
My mare takes several naps during the day and I know she lays down at night.
Just from local observation (I drive by a whole bunch of ranches) horses lay down a heck of a lot more in the winter. I may never see them down in the summer, but this time of year there’s always someone stretched out sunning themselves.
Our horses take their regular naps all the time.
If one were to change habits, we would be worrying and watching it, just in case.
Here, two days ago, the 29 year old paint, that got the best spot with the pillow and the 19 year old, taking their morning nap:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a298/Robintoo/Horses2-20-071113.jpg?t=1259816749
Red s down all the time, she just loves laying in the sun, or rolling around, she takes at least daily naps.
I had a colt who I swear laid down more then he stood up. Everytime we went to his stall he would be down. He liked to eat his hay laying down too, unless we put it in a haynet. I have a filly who likes to lay but not nothing like the stud colt.
I have owned my horse for 15 yrs. I have seen him nap 2 times. However, he always sleeps on his side every night when nobody is aroudn because he is covered in shavings and has manure stains. He does it secretly.
I hope the OP’s horse is still fine, if a little sleepier than normal for him.
Any news?
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
