by 
hmmisee
ANSWERS: 20
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I'm not sure if they CANNOT, like they are forbidden but their legs lock up in a special way before they sleep so they won't fall down while they were asleep.
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Yes they can, but its not common. # http://horselover.net/forum/about1100.html
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They can, but they usually sleep standing. It's unsafe for them to lie down for long periods of time because they're such large heavy animals.
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Generally, if a horse is lying down, call the Vet.
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Most horses, healthy ones sleep standing up so that they can run at a moments notice if something were to come near them. They are a prey animal. They can lock their legs and have a quick sleep. SOme horse, the very young with moms to watch over them and some older ones, sleep lying down, often flat on their sides swishing flies during their nap. We had one 30 year old gelding with arthritis that would sleep on top of old dried up piles of manure because they stayed nice and warm. He never slep0t standing, but I guess at his age he deserved a nice nap on the warm ground:-)
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Horses can not enter a deep sleep while standing...yes, they can lock their legs and take a quick nap but they do not get a deep, refreshing sleep that way. Horses need to lay down to sleep for at least a bit in order for them to keep healthy. People tend to think they don't because they are a prey animal and are not likely to do this during the day and only do it at night when it is quiet and calm. They aren't going to just lay down and stretch out while people are running around in the barn. Ask a vet and you will get a very complicated answer about REM sleep and all that, but very simply YES they can sleep lying down and they DO sleep lying down...they simply nap while standing.
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Actually, while horses can doze on their feet, in order to enter REM sleep, they MUST lie down. Otherwise they will become sleep deprived. Horses don't require nearly as much sleep as humans, but they DO have to have REM sleep. Sleep deprivation can happen to horses that are in an ongoing situation in which they don't feel safe enough to lie flat down. It takes a while, but it CAN happen.
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they will nap standing up, but when they feel like theyr are safe enough, they will lie down and catch up on the sleep that is needed. you will not likely catch a skittish horse lying down. human's eyes are on the front of their head, like all predators', and the horse can not relax enough in predator company to lie down. this does not extend to all horses however. some are very trusting of people and will go down with them close by.
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Sure they can. When I was guiding I got caught in a very cold rainstorm in the mountains. All I had was my sleeping bag and a small canvas tarp. My horse layed down under a tree after I made a little camp to keep it's body heat contained at least on one side (towards the ground) I was freezing and thought "what the hell" and crawled up next to the horse and threw my little canvas tarp over both of us. The horse seemed a little concerned for a couple minutes but didn't get up and soon realized the tarp and extra body heat was keeping it warmer. We slept that way all night and in spite of being soaking wet at least I stayed warm. The horse relaxed and slept all night as well. Deer and elk curl up and sleep on the ground like that as well as it insulates at least one side of their body from the cold.
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yeah they can lay down and sleep, my youngster does it all the time - only for a couple of hours a day. A horse only needs 2-3hours of REM sleep a day.
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Yes. I took care of my father in-laws horses before he passed away and I've seen them sleeping standing up, laying down, leaning on a tree. Believe me if that horse wants to sleep it will no matter the position it finally decides on.
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Yes, horses sleep lying down, but only when they feel safe. And if you watch a group of horses, there is usually one horse standing to act as a look out. If the situation warrants, they will take turns acting as lookouts so that the whole group gets a turn to rest. However, a horse can't stay down for long periods of time as their own weight compromises their breathing.
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Yes, but almost all horses will sleep standing up unless they feel very at ease. Lately a group of our horses all go out and lay in the sun together after they're all full and happy from their breakfast.
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I worked in a horse stable when I was 13 (long ago.) In the winter at 6 a.m. (when it's still dark outside) we would open the barn doors and flip on the lights. Almost every horse in there would be struggling to get to their feet because they knew they were going to get fed. And they seemed to sleep pretty soundly too. Some of them didn't look very wide awake for quite a while. Maybe they lied down because they felt safe together in a barn, or because it was so cold that they felt warmer lying down in the straw, I can't say for sure. But I do know from experience that they can sleep lying down. I would think that wouldn't be the case in the wild, since they are very skittish animals and always on guard, and also because nobody beds them down with straw to lie on in an open field.
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yes-ive seen them lye down sleeping-but i think they most commonly stand sleeping(i could be wrong on that fact)
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Yes, I've seen them doing it before.
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Yes.
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Yes
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Yes, I've seen a horse sleeping while crouching. It didn't look wierd though... it looked natural, but I never seened a horse lied down completely on it's side... well once, but it was dead...
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The horse can sleep lying down if it so chooses, but lying down places stress on their internal organs.
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