HELP!! Sleep Crashing / Sleep deprivation

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Princess_P

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My girl will not lie down! I have had her 18 months and have tried all bedding etc - I believe she was getting a couple of minutes here and there under her field mate who got relocated in September 17 and has seemed quite content next to the guys in the next paddock - however she has been falling asleep on her feet and her legs give way she catches herself majority of the time but does sometimes go right over into her knees or completely over - it’s breaking my heart watching her of an eve on her stable cam - to make things worse she’s now on box rest with suspensory and the sleeping issue has worsened - I am lost what to do to help her - she has a new field mate coming this weekend but we still have another 6 weeks box rest maybe .. she is on 10 Acp a day and Danalon which doesn’t appear to be helping .. does anyone have any experience of this I would love to hear how you fixed it - she’s breaking my heart atm.
Vets have ruled out it being a pain issue.
Claire & Priya - 12yo Friesian mare
 
I am going through the exact same at the moment. My boy is falling and not sleep in the field or in his stable. He spends the night falling down.

Things i have found that are helping-

Bed - cover the entire stable floor right to the door. I was on pellets, then hunters and have now changed to bed max which are dust free, they are big and fluffly and he loves them. The night i made the bed cover more ground (almost to the door) he laid down and slept for 3.5 mins which for him was a massive improvement. It was interesting as he laid down in a spot which wasn't bedded before. This morning i put a couple more bales down and covered his entire stable.

Rugs- play about with them, see if it makes any difference. Mine seems to go down more without a rug on.

Calmers- if she isnt laying down because she is on guard and doesn't feel secure a herbal calmer may help. I was suggested to find something with Valerian in it (this is used for humans with insomnia) I purchased some herbal calm from Natural Horse supplies to see if it helps. I only started to feed this last night, i added boiling water to the herbs for them to stew and my god did the smell make me feel sleepy, i had to get my partner to drive!!! Im not sure if it helped him sleep as my camera decided to stop working at 1am :(

Mirrors - i have one that i am going to put up in on the weekend to see if it helps with the security issues.

i posted a couple of days ago about sleep deprivation and had lots of good tips.

I feel you pain as it is so hard.
 
hollyandivy123 said:
does she roll? i only ask if she is not lying down and also is not rolling it may be an indication of a problem with getting up etc?
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We were always taught that rolling was a sign of a horse confident in being able to get up, so the suspensory issue might be the root of the problem. More pain relief and/or support bandages? One for the vet I would think
 
While it might be a problem of not being able to get down - or up, from sleeping; there may also be a physical problem which prevents the knees from ‘locking’ so she can sleep standing up.

Horses do need to lie down do get REM sleep, but nearly all horses also sleep standing up too.
 
Thank you! I was thinking to myself to try taking her rug off!
Have extended her bed right to the door hasn’t made a difference atm and have tried multiple bedding, we are on hunters atm I may try the bigger flake then!
Glad your boy is getting a couple of mins - fingers crossed it’s permanent for him. Yes the vet suggested a mirror and leaving a radio on overnight so will get these ordered tomorrow too xx
 
Nope she can roll - and gets up easily enough in her stable when she falls over! Vets have ruled out pain issues and suspensory is new and the box rest is making the sleep crashing worse
 
Princess_P said:
Thank you! I was thinking to myself to try taking her rug off!
Have extended her bed right to the door hasn’t made a difference atm and have tried multiple bedding, we are on hunters atm I may try the bigger flake then!
Glad your boy is getting a couple of mins - fingers crossed it’s permanent for him. Yes the vet suggested a mirror and leaving a radio on overnight so will get these ordered tomorrow too xx
Click to expand...

I am going to put a mirror up on the weekend to! it arrived yesterday :) let me know how you get on with yours!

I have switched to bedmax this week, its made of pine, is fluffy and i think he likes the smell of it as keeps putting is moustache on it :P

I am two nights in on my Herbal calm from natural horse supplies and yesterday was his first night with the bed completely covering the entire stable and it was his best night yet! 4 mins laying down with nose on the floor (this is the longest he has been down since i had the camera) The temperature wasn't suppose to go lower than 4 last night so i left him rugless but it actually dropped to -1!!!! he has his belly shaved from scans and he didn't seem to mind being naked...
i wonder if being a little chilly encourages them to snuggle down -
last night
28059461_10156490788694063_5521321943297818336_n.jpg


Its really interesting as he is choosing to lay down right in front of the door next to his hay, this was previously standing area not bedded.

last week with fleece on and bed only at back of the stable
28167243_10156490788709063_2898989623393099016_n.jpg


this was with the bed covering half the stable, still wouldn't go down just doing his best sleepy starfish impression
27973286_10156490788714063_7067747733071247591_n.jpg



I am making little changes to see what helps. He seems to be laying down right next to his hay cube to my next idea is to maybe move that our of that corner if that is his proffered spot to go down.

Keep trying little changes and making notes of what helps and what doesn't.
 
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