Theyre able to do this through the stay apparatus a special system of tendons and ligaments that enables a horse to lock the major joints in its legs. If a horse is lying on the ground to sleep they are much more.
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Horses develop mutual trust and understanding when they are standing with their partners.

Why do horses sleep standing up. Horses always fear tripping over and damaging their foot muscles. They can doze experience slow wave sleep and dream during REM sleep. For the deep one they have to go down.
Even though they have been domesticated their natural instinct is in the wild hence the need to always protect themselves. Nature designed horses with a stay apparatus. The horse can then relax and nap without worrying about falling.
Horses do not actually sleep standing up. It is basically a protection mechanism. To avoid them they prefer to sleep while standing.
Most people assume that horses sleep standing which is only partially true. If they are standing in an unprotected environment they would coordinate with their partners and then sleep. The reason horses can sleep while standing for most of their sleep cycle is because it allows them to quickly escape an attack by a predator without having to waste time standing up which can be a slow process compared to a predator attack.
They are able to doze in light sleep while standing but since the REM sleep stage requires their muscles to be fully relaxed horses must lay down during deep sleep. This can also be attributed to the feeding patterns that are in place or it may just be that your horse suffers. To protect themselves horses instead doze while standing.
As such horses are able to sleep standing up to make up for times when they did not get enough sleep. We can conclude that horses sleep while standing because they can. When having intervals of light sleep they can stand.
Over time many horses are affected by inadequate sleep as a result of the training regime they have in place or the uncomfortable environment they are kept. This unique feature allows them to shift their weight and rest their muscles without falling. As a prey animal being able to snooze standing up is a survival trait.
They have evolved this way because if a predator attacks while theyre resting they can run away more. Horses sleep standing up for one main reason.
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