Why do horses sleep standing up?

Horses sleep and rest while standing. If you observe carefully, you will find that they are not motionless when they stand. When they want to rest, they will bend one leg to change their body center of gravity.

Horses have been trained as domestic animals for more than 5,000 years. Horses sleeping standing up is inherited from the living habits of wild horses. Wild horses live in endless desert grasslands. In ancient times, they were not only hunted by humans, but also delicious food for carnivores such as jackals. Unlike sheep and cattle, they can't fight enemies with their horns. The only way is to run to escape. Carnivores such as jackals hide in bushes or rocks to rest during the day and come out to hunt at night. In order to escape from enemies quickly and in time, wild horses cannot sleep peacefully on the ground at night. They stand and take naps even during the day, and stay highly alert at all times. Although domestic horses are not attacked by natural enemies like wild horses, they are domesticated from wild horses, and the habit of sleeping standing up has been retained. If there is no danger, they will put their heads on their backs to sleep. Horses that are used to living in groups, as well as ponies living with their mothers, also put their heads on their backs and sleep peacefully.

Since horses have been domesticated as livestock, their living environment has changed a lot and they don’t need to be vigilant all the time. Therefore, their wild habits are also being lost and there are big differences between individuals. So if you see a horse lying on the ground with its neck and legs stretched out to sleep, or even snoring, don’t be too surprised.

The ancestors of horses were wild horses, which lived on the vast grasslands and were often attacked by wild beasts. Wild horses have poor fighting power and cannot fight wild beasts. They must be highly vigilant at all times and can quickly escape as soon as there is any movement. Therefore, today's horses retain the habits of their ancestors and even sleep standing up.

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