A Review of Equine Sleep: Implications for Equine Welfare
Sleep is a significant biological requirement for all living mammals due to its restorative properties and its cognitive role in memory consolidation. Sleep is ubiquitous amongst all mammals but sleep profiles differ between species dependent upon a range of biological and environmental factors. Giv...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.916737/full |
| _version_ | 1811321170129059840 |
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| author | Linda Greening Sebastian McBride |
| author_facet | Linda Greening Sebastian McBride |
| author_sort | Linda Greening |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sleep is a significant biological requirement for all living mammals due to its restorative properties and its cognitive role in memory consolidation. Sleep is ubiquitous amongst all mammals but sleep profiles differ between species dependent upon a range of biological and environmental factors. Given the functional importance of sleep, it is important to understand these differences in order to ensure good physical and psychological wellbeing for domesticated animals. This review focuses specifically on the domestic horse and aims to consolidate current information on equine sleep, in relation to other species, in order to (a) identify both quantitatively and qualitatively what constitutes normal sleep in the horse, (b) identify optimal methods to measure equine sleep (logistically and in terms of accuracy), (c) determine whether changes in equine sleep quantity and quality reflect changes in the animal's welfare, and (d) recognize the primary factors that affect the quantity and quality of equine sleep. The review then discusses gaps in current knowledge and uses this information to identify and set the direction of future equine sleep research with the ultimate aim of improving equine performance and welfare. The conclusions from this review are also contextualized within the current discussions around the “social license” of horse use from a welfare perspective. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T13:13:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d5886ddfe42e41bdb11a9b1db559c857 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2297-1769 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T13:13:23Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-d5886ddfe42e41bdb11a9b1db559c8572022-12-22T02:45:33ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Veterinary Science2297-17692022-08-01910.3389/fvets.2022.916737916737A Review of Equine Sleep: Implications for Equine WelfareLinda Greening0Sebastian McBride1Hartpury University and Hartpury College, Gloucester, United KingdomInstitute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Science, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, United KingdomSleep is a significant biological requirement for all living mammals due to its restorative properties and its cognitive role in memory consolidation. Sleep is ubiquitous amongst all mammals but sleep profiles differ between species dependent upon a range of biological and environmental factors. Given the functional importance of sleep, it is important to understand these differences in order to ensure good physical and psychological wellbeing for domesticated animals. This review focuses specifically on the domestic horse and aims to consolidate current information on equine sleep, in relation to other species, in order to (a) identify both quantitatively and qualitatively what constitutes normal sleep in the horse, (b) identify optimal methods to measure equine sleep (logistically and in terms of accuracy), (c) determine whether changes in equine sleep quantity and quality reflect changes in the animal's welfare, and (d) recognize the primary factors that affect the quantity and quality of equine sleep. The review then discusses gaps in current knowledge and uses this information to identify and set the direction of future equine sleep research with the ultimate aim of improving equine performance and welfare. The conclusions from this review are also contextualized within the current discussions around the “social license” of horse use from a welfare perspective.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.916737/fullequinehorsebehaviorsleep cyclesleep qualitysleep quantity |
| spellingShingle | Linda Greening Sebastian McBride A Review of Equine Sleep: Implications for Equine Welfare Frontiers in Veterinary Science equine horse behavior sleep cycle sleep quality sleep quantity |
| title | A Review of Equine Sleep: Implications for Equine Welfare |
| title_full | A Review of Equine Sleep: Implications for Equine Welfare |
| title_fullStr | A Review of Equine Sleep: Implications for Equine Welfare |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Review of Equine Sleep: Implications for Equine Welfare |
| title_short | A Review of Equine Sleep: Implications for Equine Welfare |
| title_sort | review of equine sleep implications for equine welfare |
| topic | equine horse behavior sleep cycle sleep quality sleep quantity |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.916737/full |
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