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Re: [RC] Horse falls down when it sleeps!!? - CharlesSusan tells me that a study was done on this a few years back. It's not totally unknown. She doesn't remember the details, but it appears that an enzyme might be involved. That, or the horse locks its knees, but somehow they come unlocked while sleeping. I haven't looked it up on the www.thehorse.com yet. Charles ----- Original Message ----- From: "Laura Hayes" <mark@xxxxxxxxxx> To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Monday, July 14, 2003 6:45 PM Subject: [RC] Horse falls down when it sleeps!!? My mare has had some belly discomfort after a couple rides and though we have dealt with what we think are ulcers, I am still really paranoid about it, so I find myself watching her at night before and after rides. She has not had another occurrence of colic or discomfort, but, she has trained me not to sleep, and in the process I have noticed some very odd sleep behavior in her. Instead of just locking her knees and falling asleep, she appears to nod off and her head gets lower and one knee cocks, and all of a sudden she falls on her face! She has done this 5 or 6 times a night both before and after two separate rides. She always gets back up immediately and starts eating as if nothing ever happened. She was picketed at one ride, and tied to the trailer at another. Her rope is always long enough to reach the ground, and she appears comfortable in every other way. I have been racing this mare for over a year and have never noticed this before, in fact, I believe (but can't remember specifically), that I have seen her lay down on the picket at night. In retrospect, I realize that quite often in the morning, her knees and front of her fetlocks are muddy and scruffed. When I got her in Colorado 18 months ago, she had scars on the front of both her fetlocks, which sloughed off when she got here in the moister climate. I always wondered how she scruffed them up like that... Any thoughts on a horse who falls down when she sleeps?? My vet husband says he has never heard such a thing...BTW, this mare rarely trips or stumbles in general. Laura Hayes AERC#2741 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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