Once my daughter has seen enough Western cartoons and TV shows devoted to horses, and asked me, "Mom, how sleeping horse?"To be honest, at first I was confused.The fact is that we - the people of the city, we do not have its agriculture and barnyard.That's why I could not clearly answer his daughter.Shame on me, my friends!So, let's sort out the matter with this interesting.
Like sleeping horse?
To answer this question, it was enough to open any book on the life of horses!Here's what I learned.Basically, the horses and the horses sleep standing up, but not always!No wonder my instincts warned me that not all here, "pure"!The fact is that for a good rest this equine animals just need to take a nap at least a couple of hours lying down.This will allow them to gather strength for a new day.Yet their main sleep comes, so to speak, to his feet.
Why horse sleeps standing up?
"mechanism" action
And the truth!Why is that?To answer this question, we must first understand how did they get it.Digging deeper into the literature, I found that it helps to sleep standing unique bone structure!The fact that the bones and ligaments in the legs of horses are arranged in such a way that is very easily blocked.Precisely because of this there is complete relaxation, while a horse sleeps.Her muscles relax, and the total weight of the body is quite reliable "suspended" on the limbs blocked.
Why is standing, not lying?
I said above, that the horse sleeps standing most of the time all of the rest.But why?It's simple!The fact that for a long time to rest in the supine position our artiodactyl just uncomfortable.It's quite heavy and massive animals with huge muscles can not be said of their brittle bones ... If horses and horses will be a long time to lie in the same position, this will lead to the fact that the animal is injured.
Self-defense
Digging in the works of some scientists and naturalists, among them the well-known explorer Przewalski, I learned not only how the horse is sleeping, but also how it is, roughly speaking, "has come to such a life!"Scientists believe that it is - common habit that eventually evolved to a protective mechanism.The fact that a horse's speed - it is their basic "self-defense techniques" in the wild, and the standing position during sleep can maintain an animal in a "combat" readiness.In other words, if they are in danger, they can immediately embark on their heels!Probably do not need to explain that any animal with long, slender legs (antelopes, camels, gazelles, cows) in order to be able to get up from his lying position, you need to spend much more time than others!
Mutual assistance
So we know that a short time a horse lying asleep.But even this little amount of time they need some kind of guarantee that the next predator does not wander, preparing them for lunch ... In the role of such "insurance" are their cousins!When the horses are kept in herds, they protect each other by turns: while one is sleeping, the other is there, and vice versa.
Finally
That's the whole answer to the question as sleeping horse friends!Now I can your child exactly and confidently tell about it!It remains only to wait until my daughter wakes up ... Good luck!
