Choosing the right bedding
It may seems like a basic obvious thing… but there are things that need to be said about bedding! So here we are…
Dr Katherine Houpt specializes in the treatment of behavior problems of animals, primarily dogs, cats, and horses. She directed the Animal Behavior Clinic and taught at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, USA. In an interview for Epona TV she discuss bedding.
There are 3 types of common beddings:
Straw
Woodshaving
Newspaper shreds (I have seen these, it does exist!)
So Houpt says that
Horses prefer straw, which isn’t surprising as they can eat it and add forage to their diet, which his a natural behaviour.
They like to lie down on a soft surface: Horses who don’t have a soft surface might not lie down. They will go to R.E.M. sleep standing but after a few days they won’t and might eventually collapse.
If a horse doesn’t lie down it’s usually for 2 reasons according to Dr Katherine: It’s either not soft enough or they hurt (think arthritis, inflammation). The consequence is that the horse may be sleep deprived or the horse may hurt himself falling down.
It is also a vicious circle: no rest = sore legs, knees = reluctant to lie down = no rest.
I would personally add that a horse may not lie down if he/she doesn’t feel safe enough. This might be because it is a new place, or because the horse hasn’t bonded with the herd or companion yet and doesn’t feel like there is someone else looking out for then whilst they might go into deep sleep...
The other time when horses may fall asleep on their legs is if they are tied on stalls and not used to it.
There is a critical time when a horse learns to fall asleep lying down in a narrow space. Most draught horses have learnt the trick (as from what I understand it must be common practice for them to be tied in stable). But the smaller thoroughbreds have never been in a tight stall are more likely to fall asleep on their feet and refuse to lie down.
So basically, splash a bit more on more bedding, especially in winter and make sure it’s fluffy, thick, soft and spacious! Your horse will thank you for it in the morning x
