Sleeping - helps recovery and rehabilitation?

[A1fie]

Hi - I have a horse with a whole host of problems, navicular disease, arthritis and possibly ring bone as well. Previously he was out 24/7 as it was thought that it would help him to keep moving to prevent him stiffening up.

When the hot weather came he got very bothered with the heat and flies so I decided to keep him in during the day and out at night. Since he has been coming in he sleeps a lot during the day, it's really quite sweet. Some of the girls go in his stable with him during the day to have a cuddle!

I am slightly worried though that because of his problems he would be better off being out all the time but I think that the resting is helping him as well. I know that in human bodies rest is essential in helping the body to repair and I would assume that would be the same with horses. Does anyone know whether this is true or not?

Thanks

 

[Birker2020]

There is a lot in what you say actually. I remember reading a James Herriot book once where there was a dog with a terrible injury and James was going to put it to sleep but for some reason just put it into a coma with a general anaethetic. It slept for about 20 hours and then when it eventually woke up it was a lot easier because it just needed sleep in order to heal. I guess this is why people with head injuries are put into a drug induced coma. Sleep does help the body heal, and if you don't get enough sleep (deep REM sleep) then you can get all sorts of health issues.

I have often wondered why nobody had followedd up James Herriots theory of putting things to sleep for long periods to recover from their injuries, but I expect in those days things were very different and there was no money to do research.

 

[TarrSteps]

Also, it's difficult to do that "to order" without huge amounts of maintenance. The chances of blood pressure or temperature lowering, breathing becoming interrupted etc. are quite high in drug induced sleep and obviously the consequences could be severe.

On the original question, how do you know the horse wasn't sleeping enough before? Horses aren't technically diurnal and they have different sleep patterns than we do, including significantly less need for REM sleep. What they can and do do is adapt their patterns to their situation so your horse may very well be sleeping during the day because it's "safest" to do so (from an instinctual point of view) when before he would have slept more at night when the world was quiet.

That said, if he's out alone he might very well not be sleeping enough outside. Horse sleep in shifts so if there is no one around to keep watch he would never be able to really rest comfortably. In which case he may be sleeping inside precisely because there are other horses and people "keeping watch." There was a study that even when horses are stabled so they can't see each other they still trade shifts, often in the same sequence, and won't all lie down at the same time.

A group of colts I knew (riding ring in the middle of the paddocks at a breeders so hours to observe goings on) slept like logs, flat out, after breakfast in the morning, once the broodmares were let out into the large field bordering theirs. Then they got up after an hour or so, had a run round, and started their main daily activity of eating. You could set your watch by them. I suspect they didn't feel truly safe until the rest of the herd was in view, even though they were separated by two fences.

 

[A1fie]

Applecart - I read that book too! In fact I read all of his vet books and loved them all.

Tarrsteps - I think you're right. I don't know that he wasn't getting enough sleep outside I just assumed that it would be 'fitful' and not a deep sleep. I do think he was getting some sleep as he would often come in with mud all down one side of him! but I think that he is getting a better of quality of rest now because he feels more secure in his stable and can just sleep without worrying.

 

[traceyann]

I moved to a yard with 24 hour turn out thought my horse would love it 24 hours eating in his mind did it for two weeks but he never lays down in a field then one day point blank refused to go back to the field after riding even though everybody else was out so took back to stable he was on his side falling asleep before i could even get his headcollar off he slept soild all day snoring his head off now he will not live out at all and there was nothing wrong with him then he was only four i think he couldnt relax enough to lie down and sleep