Horse nearly falls over when sleeping - should we be worried?

[diamondrockharvey]

Hi,

My friend has a 16.1hh TB gelding, 9 yrs old and very healthy. Currently out of work over the winter.
He is kept in the field nest to my work so I can see him out of our office window.
Often when he is drifting off to sleep standing up he will almost completely loose his balance and stumble to the side or backwards and then wake up.
I have never seen a horse do this before, most horses I know are perfectly stable when standing up sleeping.
Do you think this is something we should be worried about?

Thanks for reading!

 

[R.I.D]

Possibly early signs of Wobbler syndrome?? Common enough in Thoro-breds. Whats he like in general otherwise, walking and standing?

 

[AmyMay]

Poss narcolepsy.

 

[Paddy Irish]

Poss narcolepsy.

this^^^^ my neighbours pony used to do this , worth a phone call to the vets and/or a vet visit just to be on the safe side...i don't how much they can treat it , but the consequences of the horse actually falling ( i.e cut legs bangs and bruises ) should be minimised by making sure he/she can only fall on a soft surface i.e mats in stable or out in the field cos any other hard surface is gonna hurt!

 

[AmyMay]

but the consequences of the horse actually falling ( i.e cut legs bangs and bruises ) should be minimised by making sure he/she can only fall on a soft surface i.e mats in stable or out in the field cos any other hard surface is gonna hurt!

If the horse is having problems staying upright then the last place you want him is in a stable.

I had a horse that started to develop an alarming habit of just collapsing. It wasn't narcolepsy, but a heart problem. But after it had happened once or twice he was in the field 24/7 until he was put down. Far too much chance of significant damage being done with a collapsing horse in the stable. So they're better off out with plenty of space.

Your friend does need to get the vet up though to run some tests.

 

[stencilface]

Our old horse used to do this, I think his check ligaments (they thigns that keep them upright whilst asleep as I understand it) had gone - he was out in the field 24/7 and never injured himself.

 

[hayinamanger]

Sounds typical of narcolepsy, it's not life threatening but, as above, the horse can injure himself when/if he falls. Not all horses fall, they often wake up just before. They are mostly fine to be ridden. It can be controlled with drugs, used to be Imipramine, but could be something new now.

 

[Jingleballs]

My horse does this on occassion - never though much off it as it's only very occassional and most likely to happen if he is being groomed/massaged - I have had an instance when I was grooming his tail in the stable and he dozed off and nearly ended up on his backside pinning me to the wall in the process.

He does tend to catch himself before he goes down but think I'll mention it to the vet next time he's out.

 

[coss]

my old horse used to do this but only in the much later years of her life - it was like the stay reflex had stopped working. I have come across younger horses that do it too - both of them were shiverers though. So had a neurological issue. As long as the horse isn't stabled and/or tied up on hard standing for too long (for grooming, tacking up etc) then its usually fine. Also watch the owner/rider doesn't stand around too much when riding!
At that young age i'd be getting the vet out.
It can also be a sign the horse isn't getting enough rem sleep - ie, they aren't going and having a lay down to sleep at other times because they don't feel safe/secure enough to. Sometimes changing routine to a more strict rigid one and when they've got a very dominant leader it can keep them more relaxed so they do go and have a lay down.

 

[glenruby]

True narcolepsy is not common. Do you often see him lying down? Does he roll? Every horse needs a certain amount of rem sleep which can only be had lying down. It may signify a joint problem or pain. One simple test would be to do a bite trial and see if he lies down/ rolls/ sleeps standing still. Another possibility is ligament issues as the stay apparatus which allows the horse to sleep standing up comprises of these.

 

[*Maddy&Occhi*]

My instant thought was narcolepsy. Ive known a couple of horses to have this and showed the symptoms of your friends horse. Id get it checked out by the vet.

 

[Persephone]

This can also been linked to stress I believe.

 

[SmallHunter]

Our horse did exactly this and it was down to a lack of REM sleep caused by stress. He just would not lay down at all and so would end up in the field almost collapsing. we had the vet and they said he was fine. He doesn't do it anymore as we moved to a different yard where he is much more relaxed, he did it for the first couple of weeks because of the stress of the move but then we started getting poo stains on his body and realised he was laying down in his stable.
We did have to warn people about it though as they would get quite worried about him and think he was dying.

 

[beeswax]

sounds more like lack of REM sleep to me, which can be dangerous, is there no way he can be put in a stable with lots of bedding and good banks so he can have a good lie down, when my cob has been out overnight and i bring him in in the morning when i go back down to see check on him at lunch time i can see he has been lying down so must of needed it.

 

[diamondrockharvey]

Hi Guys, thanks for all of your thoughts on this,

sorry I haven't been able to get online for a few days.
Anyway, my horse has gone lame today and I think has an abcsess so I am having the vet out in the morning and he is going to look at my friend's horse at the same time.

Suprisingly he does lie down and sleep yes and does roll but I have never seen him roll all of the way over. Also, thinking about it he does sometimes slip when he gets up, usually his back end slips and then when he does get up he bucks and charges off like he has worried himself.

When he is dosing off he has always 'caught' himself and woken up again when I have seen him, but first his head goes right down to the ground and then his legs just seem to buckle.

It will be interesting to see what the vet thinks tomorrow!