7 Steps to Better Sleep

Find out why a good night's sleep is important for your horse, and learn how you can make sure he gets the rest he needs at home and on the road.

- BY BARB CRABBE, DVM

Think about how you feel after a good night's sleep. Rested, alert, and ready to take on the world. Now imagine a morning when you were up all night, disturbed by a party at the neighbor's house, awakened by your kids coming in late at night, or just unable to turn off your brain from thinking about all the things on your to-do list. Tired, crabby, and wishing you could just check out for the day. Not such a great feeling, right?

Guess what? Your horse feels the same way! You may not think he sleeps that much, but sleep is just as important for his well-being as it is for yours. Sleep is a critical component of both mental and physical good health. It allows the body time to recharge and regulate itself without the need to immediately respond to things that are happening in the environment. Without it, we all suffer. In fact, sleep is so important for health and welfare that sleep deprivation tactics are a well-known strategy used for human torture. That alone should be enough to convince you how important it is to make sure your horse gets the sleep he needs every night.

In this article, I'm going to give you an overview of sleep science, including how your horse sleeps, what kind of schedule he needs, and why certain conditions are so important for healthy sleep. Then I'll give you a list of seven steps that you can take to make sure your horse gets the rest he needs, both at home and on the road.

Sleep Science: The What and Why

Sleep is a physiological state of decreased brain activity that requires a higher level of stimulus to cause arousal than what it takes when fully awake. It can also be rapidly reversed. That means when your horse is sleeping, his brain can take a break from worrying about what's happening in the barn, unless a very loud noise, bright light, or other disturbance wakes him up.