Recumbency as an Equine Welfare Indicator in Geriatric Horses and Horses with Chronic Orthopaedic Disease.
Authors: Kelemen Zsofia, Grimm Herwig, Long Mariessa, Auer Ulrike, Jenner Florien
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary Recumbency behaviour is essential for horses to achieve restorative REM sleep, yet pain or environmental factors may prevent lying down, potentially compromising welfare and health status. Researchers used wearable accelerometers on 83 sanctuary horses to establish baseline recumbency, locomotion, and standing time budgets across four age and lameness categories, finding considerable individual variation (mean 67.4 minutes recumbency daily, ranging 0–319 minutes) but no significant effect of age or chronic orthopaedic lameness on lying time as categorical variables. However, eight horses displaying clinical signs consistent with REM sleep deficit showed markedly reduced recumbency (7.99 minutes versus 73.8 minutes in unaffected horses) and compromised activity budgets, indicating a distinct welfare-at-risk subpopulation identifiable through objective sensor technology. For equine practitioners, this suggests that wearable sensors offer a practical tool for identifying individual animals struggling to achieve adequate rest, particularly those showing behavioural or clinical signs of sleep deprivation, rather than relying on diagnosis alone. Early detection of recumbency deficiency could prompt targeted environmental modifications or pain management interventions before systemic health consequences develop.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Use wearable sensor technology to objectively monitor recumbency patterns in individual horses; very low lying times (<8 min/day) warrant investigation for pain, anxiety, or environmental factors limiting sleep
- •Chronic lameness and advanced age alone do not necessarily reduce lying behaviour, but horses with truly low recumbency require urgent assessment as this indicates serious welfare compromise and REM sleep deficit
- •Integrate recumbency monitoring into welfare assessments for geriatric and chronically lame horses to identify those at risk before clinical signs of sleep deprivation manifest
Key Findings
- •Mean recumbency time was 67.4 ± 61.9 minutes per day across all horses, with a range of 0–319 minutes
- •Neither age nor chronic lameness significantly influenced recumbency times in this cohort
- •Eight horses with low recumbency (7.99 ± 11.4 min) showed REM sleep deficit symptoms and reduced locomotion, indicating compromised welfare
- •Wearable sensor technology successfully identified horses at risk for REM sleep deficiency and welfare impairment