What would you do if you saw a horse lying down in a field? If you’re like most people who don’t really know much about horses, you’d probably be concerned for the welfare of the animal. According to Wonderopolis, many people call the police on sunny days when they see horses lying down in fields.
As unusual as it sounds, the the horses are actually taking naps lying down. A video on Rumble (see below) shows what horse napping looks like. In the video a couple of horses are stretched out in a field. As the cameraman gets closer to the horses you can see their backs rise and fall with each breath. As the cameraman ventures closer still you can actually hear the horses snoring.
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Is sleeping lying down common for horses?
Horses usually stand up when they are going to sleep. They have developed the ability to lock their knees when they are sleeping standing up, Wonderopolis reports. This ensures that the horse won’t fall over. Horses prefer standing to sleep because they wouldn’t be able to get up fast enough to escape predators due to their elongated backs. Though horses stand up to get their nightly 40 winks, they do occasionally lie down on their sides for naps to rest their legs. Usually when horses lie down for naps, another horse keeps watch.
Horses usually stand up when they are going to sleep. They have developed the ability to lock their knees when they are sleeping standing up, Wonderopolis reports. This ensures that the horse won’t fall over. Horses prefer standing to sleep because they wouldn’t be able to get up fast enough to escape predators due to their elongated backs. Though horses stand up to get their nightly 40 winks, they do occasionally lie down on their sides for naps to rest their legs. Usually when horses lie down for naps, another horse keeps watch.
Surprising facts about horses
1. Horses have huge eyes. In fact, they have the largest eyes of any land dwelling mammal, according to Double D Trailers.
2. Have you ever seen a horse laughing? If you have, it probably wasn’t. It was probably performing flehmen. Flehmen, Listverse reports, is a way that a horse moves its mouth and nose to determine if something smells good or bad.
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3. Need to tell whether a horse is male or female? If you can’t take a quick peek at the animal’s plumbing, count its teeth. Male horses have 40 teeth, but female horses only have 36, Double D Trailers writes on its website.