Pictured here are Iggy and Mai Tai, two horses enjoying their field on a cool, April afternoon.
You can tell by this photo that Iggy and Mai Tai feel safe and comfortable enough to lay down in their pasture. Horses in the wild are reluctant to lay down because they are prey animals whose lives depend on their speed and ability to run away from predators like bobcats and wolves who look for the weakest horse or foal in a herd.
Although people are often told a horse should never lay down, this isn't true. There are times when laying down means the horse isn't feeling well, but a sick or colicky horse will be thrashing about, looking at their sides, getting up and laying back down, and often will be stretched out on their sides with their legs stiffened, like when a mare is giving birth. Horses like the two in the picture are relaxed and happy, obviously not in distress.
A horses digestive and respiratory systems don't function as well when they are laying down. This is one of the reasons they most often sleep standing up, and because their instincts tell them they must always be ready to run if a predator is looking for dinner.
* What characteristic must one parent of a gray horse always have to produce a gray foal?
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