Farm Animals

Totally Relaxed Horses


When I think of horses, I think of majestic beasts gracefully running through a meadow, their shining manes flowing freely in the wind. This hilarious video puts horses in whole new light, peacefully snoring and yes, farting away! I couldn’t help but laugh out loud when seeing these generally regal animals, relax and let it all out.

I remember hearing a long time ago that horses only sleep standing up, and if you thought the same thing, it’s both right and wrong. Horses unlike humans sleep for small periods at a time, and yes it’s generally done standing up. A standing, sleeping horse will carry its weight on the two forelegs and one hind leg. One hind leg will relax with the hoof resting up on it’s toe. The rotation of the hips triggers the stay function of the hind legs. The tendons and ligaments in both the font and the back legs enable them to fully rest without falling down!

When a horse lays down, the weight of their bodies causes a lot of pressure on their internal organs, so lying down can actually cause quite a bit of stress. These horses however don’t appear to be stressed in the slightest! Given a nice, comfy dry place to rest, horses will take the opportunity and get in a quick siesta. Some apparently relax so deeply they snore, dream, and well pass a little gas; I mean can you blame em?


Weather has a big impact on how horses sleep. In cloudy or wet weather horses tend to get even less sleep. Horses love the sun and it’s not uncommon to see several horses laying out for a nice communal sun bath. All in all horses just don’t really need that much sleep; they generally only sleep about 3 hours in a 24 hour period.

So the next time you’re in bed, stretch out, snore and feel free to even pass a little gas. If the beautiful majestic horse gets away with it, then you can too!


About the author

Wendy Aburto

Leave a Comment