After I got Donut, one of the most frequent things I heard when I got out to the barn was, "Hey, I thought Donut was dead today, but I guess she was just sleeping? She seemed to be sleeping for a long time, though. Is that normal?" My response was always, "Yes, remember that she is a young horse and young animals, just like young humans, need lots of sleep." Nimo slept a lot too when I first got him. I can't say for sure what is generally normal for yearlings in terms of sleep, but my experience has definitely been that they enjoy having a daily nap.
I didn't have the privilege of seeing Donut take her daily naps for a few weeks, but I did finally get a picture of it.
Over time, it became clear that she really took her naps seriously!
And her snoring became the stuff of legend. Watch this video with the sound on to hear how loud it is!
I am interested to see if her napping habit continues as she gets older, and whether she will develop a preference for sleeping in her stall or outside.
Does your horse take a lot of naps?
Nappy boy over here, 7 years strong. He has a deep bedding of soft peat moss and he loves the safety of his stall. Outside, with his friends, he is a bit more shy.
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