You've probably seen westerns where the bad guys sneak up on the good guys' camp at night and steal the horses. The horses are always just standing there, ready at a moment's notice to be stolen or stampeded or whatever it is the bad guys have in mind.
"What's the deal?" you ask. "Don't horses ever lie down?" Actually, horses do lie down sometimes. When they're sick, for instance. Or when a mare is giving birth (or "foaling," as they say).
But not usually. Horses can go for days and sometimes even weeks without ever leaving their feet. They have the ability to lock their knees into a standing position and catch some heavy Z's. If you tried the same thing you'd fall over and brain yourself. Not horses.
Some experts say horses are more comfortable and use less energy when standing. Part of the problem with lying down is that the great weight of the horse's body can make it difficult to breathe.
Horses aren't the only critters who sleep standing up. So do flamingoes. What's more, they do it on one leg, with the other leg tucked beneath them, while standing in shallow water. Why? Just to be weird, is my guess. But the water also makes it pretty hard to sneak up on a sleeping flamingo.
Copyright 1993 Chicago Reader
