There are certain horse facts/myths that might puzzle a lot of people. One of them is that horses can actually sleep while standing (Myth? or fact?). Along with this, many other myths exist about these animals, and with no further verification, they spread vigorously. However, it was of utmost importance to clear out all the misbeliefs, and an expert did it, logically.

A popular equestrian from Australia recently decided to clarify certain myths about horses. Among the ten myths she talked about, Han mentioned one about the strength of horses. Let’s find out her point of view on this matter.

An equestrian debunked misbeliefs

In September 2019, a horse rider from Australia named Han shared a video on her YouTube channel that capped off all myths about the now domesticated mammals. Among them, one myth was about whether dark hooves are stronger than white hooves. To shed a light on this, the expert stated, “I’ve heard this my entire life. I honestly thought that this was true.”

In fact, she also mentioned scientists who did research, gathering “squares” from different colored horses’ hooves. But they found, “there was no difference in the strength of the different-colored hooves.” Furthermore, Han indicated that the water content of different horses may lead to varying strength. She described, “a hoof with high water content is softer and therefore fell apart more easily. But that didn’t relate that back to the color of horses’ feet.” 

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There’s also another conception that Han herself was not so sure about, so she asked for viewers’ suggestions. The myth was about certain breeds of horses that don’t have a good reputation with strong feet, and she thought it to be the main reason behind the rumor. Although there is research still going on, Han moved to the next myth, the popular one, about the sleeping process of the animal.

Do horses sleep while standing?

People believe that horses sleep only while standing. As this fact is not completely false, it’s not completely true either. While addressing this myth, Hand first confirmed that the horses can sleep in a standing position. As she explained, “…now don’t get me wrong horses can sleep while they’re standing. I think we’ve all seen that before. They do have a locking mechanism which allows them to not fall flat on their faces while they’re doing that.”

But it doesn’t signify that the animal cannot lie on the ground and sleep. Han further stated, “…but they also still need REM sleep. Now that is essentially a very deep sleep, and they can only achieve it when they’re lying down.”

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So, to reiterate, the color of their hooves doesn’t judge the strength of the horses. This was a misconception, just like the other one, that the horses could just sleep while standing.