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Senior
Welfare
Does your older horse still dare to lie down?
As your horse gets older, it also becomes stiffer and more rigid. Sometimes, behavioural changes are also noticeable, or your older horse gets a different, lower position in the herd's hierarchy. It is important to be alert to this. Do you know if your horse still dares to lie down? And is it actually bad if he no longer does?. Horses require about half an hour of deep REM sleep each day. This is very important for their health. REM sleep only occurs when they lie flat on the ground. Therefore, lying flat for half an hour a day is essential for every horse. Merely resting or dozing while standing is not enough. Feeling Unsafe As prey animals, horses in the wild are vulnerable to predators, making lying flat to sleep a risky moment. In a herd, standing horses keep watch over those that are lying down. Even so, the sleep...