How often does your horse lay down?

[greysandbays]

Mine depends on the weather. When it’s warm/hot, they do their flat-out snoozing in the early morning hours between midnight and sunrise. When it’s cool/cold, they take their snoozes in late morning sun. Some of them will do after-dark naps in the cold, some won’t.

Rain and or wind curtails extended snooze time. Sometimes, when the weather is about to change for the worse, I’ll see the whole bunch laying down at an “odd” time.

Generally speaking, if a horse gives a full body shake upon rising, he’s feeling fit as a fiddle. If he only shakes his head or doesn’t even do that, something may be amiss. Especially if he lays down again fairly shortly thereafter. (Caveat: this observation comes from outdoor horses; I don’t know if feeling-fine stalled horses will shake every time they rise or not.)

[Renn_aissance]

Sometimes I look into my horse’s stall and wonder if I have a horse or a bump on a log. If I sit with him while he is down for his nap, he will put his head in my lap, flop backwards, and go straight to sleep, complete with snoring. Apparently he is going green and trying to be energy-efficient.

Hope the OP’s horse is just hibernating a bit.

[horsetales]

Mine take regular naps - day and night. If the weather has been crappy for several days, they will all go flat out when the sun comes out and sleep more and for longer.

Hope your guys change is nothing more than I feel lazy

[KPF]

I’ve only caught my older guy laying down a handful of times in the 11 years I’ve had him. All were in his stall. My welsh pony LOVES to lay down in her stall, she has shavings on her most mornings but I never actually catch her in the act. She doesn’t lay down outside either. My newer old guy that I’ve had since this summer I haven’t seen lay down at all, other than to roll. But he has had shavings on him once or twice so I assume he does lay down occasionally in the stall.

Last winter I was free leasing a horse that would lay flat out in the pasture and nap every single day, without fail. It freaked me out a little the first time, but it was just how he was.

[Sport]

Fog lays down every night due to evidence on his gray body, but I have only actually seen him lying down once in the 16 years I have own him and he was very sick at the time.

Sport likes to take naps. He was a race horse and when he came to us he came with a routine afternoon nap. To the point that if he was turned out he thought he should come into his stall so that he could nap. If the barn is quiet in the afternoon you will see him curled up in his stall snoozing away if he is inside. He has got over insisting he needs to come in for his nap.

I think anything that varies from their norm should be watched. With Fog I knew that when I found him lying down he was not well as this was so unusual for him. Sport I would have a harder time gauging as he does take naps.

[Dapple_Dawn_Farm]

My guy is just the opposite, in 2 years I’ve never seen him lying down…

[Galadriel_Fefalas]

I’ve had my horse for 7 months and I’ve seen him laying down (curled up rather than flat out) twice. He lays down a lot tho as his rugs are always covered in poo

[Dressage_Art]

My mare lays down most of the times at night. but not in strange places, like shows and not at the barns

[Crosswinds_Rescue]

As a rescue whose horses live in pasture 24/7, we usually take laying down as a GREAT sign that they have settled down into a routine, so – I wonder if the change in your boy is due to a change in his situation? perhaps he’s got a new pasture buddy who stands guard? or a bully has moved off? …or?..

It’s a celebrated time here when a newcomer is laying down, esp during morning siesta time. It means the herd has accepted him/her, and she feels safe here. And it’s a REALLY big deal when the newcomer is the one standing guard so that her highness, the great and almighty Tessa (clydesdale benevolent dictator, ruler of all she surveys), may nap…:lol:

AMC

[AllAboutTheHorsesRescue]

Hello all!

I realize this is an old topic, but I understand how seeing your horse suddenly laying down could freak you out. As stated before, horses only get REM sleep when laying down, even though being polyphasic sleepers. When a horse lays down to sleep, it’s a good sign that they feel secure, comfortable and safe.

Our three nightly stalled rescues lay down multiple times during the night (we have cameras on each stall). Our biggest gelding curls into a tight ball, while the other two will stretch out…the youngest (8 yrs) will just flop over like he’s dead! :lol:

Considering that they came to us just a few months ago from horrible conditions, and with histories of physical abuse, we are ecstatic that they feel so safe and secure to sleep stretched out like they do!

[skykingismybaby1]

I had my old man in the same boarding barn for 15 years and the staff said he never lay down. He is now retired and when he went into a field of cranky old retired broodmares, the first thing he did was to lie down and take a two hour nap. I think he thought that as they were in charge, he could now relax.

[Bluey]

My 20 year old sleeps best when there are no other horses around.

I think with other horses around, he feels that he has to keep track of what they are doing all the time?

When napping on the sand pile with others around, he gets up in a few minutes, others may sleep for half an hour.
By himself, he may lay there and sleep for a whole hour.

Horses are individuals, with their own quirks and it is up to us to figure them out to keep them happy, best we can know what that may be and be aware of changes and proactive to change what we can to keep them happy.

[HenryisBlaisin]

Mine takes naps often when the weather is good. Flat. With his leg in the air for good measure, sometimes propped on the fence for dramatic effect. RIGHT by the road. Someone is ALWAYS calling the farm about the “dead horse” in the field. OMG.

He also lays down in his stall every night between dinner and night check. He’s always up by the time I come in, looking for a handout. We also have a mare who naps (sometimes also flat and stops traffic) frequently. She’s often down for the count when I do night check and gives me a look that suggests how dare I wake her up? She gets an extra feeding at night, so reluctantly gets to her feet for that.

The others sleep at night, because they have the shavings and manure stains to prove it (one grey really wants to be an appaloosa…), but I rarely catch them down. On an extra nice day it’s not uncommon to find five or six down all at once for a nap.

That said, I see them all enough that I’d definitely take note if somebody was out of the ordinary and at least monitor, or call the vet if I’m especially suspicious.

[SharonA]

My fella has been lying down significantly more than usual this past week. Is he happy to be back in his home barn after a couple months away, with a clean sand paddock instead of mud (but he’s been home a month)? Is he enjoying the re-emergence of that unfamiliar yellow burning thing in the sky (this week is really the first time the sun has been out consistently, and it made it over 40 degrees)? Do his feet hurt (they are bare, cold, hard, in good shape, and he is on a low-sugar diet and Prascend for his Cushings)? Is he colicking (but he is eating and pooping normally)?

Does he like toying with his various people and making them all worried?

Vet will be out on Tuesday for shots, and we will do hoof-testers then.

I haven’t owned him for a year yet, so don’t know if this is a seasonal thing.

[B_and_B]

‘Dead Horse!!’ I have care of a large, white Shire who likes his naps. He likes to be very flat. He is more flat than usual these days because he is recovering from a torn DDFT in his right hind, so he doesn’t tend to sleep standing up. All that is well and good. But he likes to nap in the most prominent location in the pasture where he is visible from the very popular dirt road for walkers, bikers, and leisurely drives in the country. He also favors naps at the times when the road is busiest. I am contemplating a sign. And yes, the hopeful vulture circling is really TOO much.

[cnigh]

Judging from the dirty belly, my mare lays down daily.