Limited sleep/relaxation for horses and lack of energy

[B.F.G]

I was wondering if anyone had experience of horses suffering with either sleep deprivation or just tiredness from disturbed sleep?
My horses were always up for anything really but a new livery moved into our barn in April time and she goes up between 4 and 5am everyday and turns lights on, wakes the horses up and if they stay asleep she goes in to their stable make sure they are ok. In the last 3 months mine and a couple of others just always seem tired. We have spoken to the YO but they all say that horses don't get tired from being woken up like that and also this livery is doing us a favour by checking the horses so early.
I just want to know if there is any medical studies done to check this out and if there has been could someone point me in the direction of the papers please?

 

[be positive]

I have no idea about any studies done but she has no right to enter their stables or do anything to make them get up, as they seem to have chosen to ignore her arrival they are obviously relaxed in general so she has no excuse to interfere with them, if one was unwell with colic it should be obvious and then she could act but otherwise she should be told to leave them be, as a former YO I always tried to leave any that were lying down unless I had reason to be concerned and they learned they could stay down at any time of day or night I visited them for checks.
As for them being tired I think missing their sleep regularly could certainly have an effect, they may learn to go down earlier but 3-5 am does seem to be a good time for many to get a rest.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

I would be livid if someone was deliberately waking my horse up everyday at such an early hour. Yes, a quick glance over the door but going in and waking them up absolutely not. No wonder they are tired, so would I be if someone kept doing that to me.

 

[The Jokers Girl]

The livery has no right to go in stable or interfere with anyone else's horse. your yard owner also seems clueless and irresponsible with the responses you have received when complaint and i would wonder what else they are totally clueless about in relation to running livery yard and horse welfare. Do you have the option to move. Sometimes liveries leaving is the only thing that wakes some YO's up to how to actually run their business and what owners deem appropriate.

 

[SEL]

Our YO often checks about midnight if her dogs want to go out but absolutely doesn't wake anything up that is dozing or asleep. First livery on the yard at 5 but the horses know this is the routine and that means they get their breakfast. I think if there is a set routine horses adapt within it, but I'd get annoyed if someone came into my bedroom and woke me up if I was having a kip!

 

[B.F.G]

Thank you for replies.
They are last checked around 11pm so by the time they get fully settled down for the night they are getting little downtime. The livery moans that we are using wrong rugs for temp etc and says it is too hot when she goes in in the morning. She thinks she knows everything there is to know but always needs everyone (yo/staff/liveries) to help her do the simplest of tasks.
The horses just stand when tied up yawning and sleeping, before she moved into the stable they would be quite alert. I was hoping to give the info to her and the yo if there were any facts etc on sleep deprivation.

 

[P.forpony]

Sod the studies, tell her in no uncertain terms to stay out of your stable!

I had subtle issues with my mare for a few months before I realised she was absolutely refusing to lie down on a shavings bed. Changed it to straw and flat poos and grubby mare every morning. Much perkier and happier in her work.

But realistically if they have a window of between 11 and 4 that should be a reasonable window for a lie down sleep.
Limited research on it but what there is suggests that although lateral or sternal recumbency is necessary for them to achieve REM sleep they only require minutes of it, not hours. Their rest needs are then met by standing naps throughout the day/night.

I’d be more bothered about the interference and obvious lack of boundaries in your situation.