Alayne and I were over at Beauty's Barn this morning when we looked across and saw blind Luna appearing to rest her head on a snowbank while she snoozed. We stood and watched, and indeed, that's what she was doing. Because of recent days in the 30s and nights in single-digits (this morning it was 0 degrees when we headed out to do chores), that drift has a thick layer of crusty snow that's as hard as ice.
Luna was in the classic equine sleeping-while-standing mode where they're dozing but conscious of their surroundings. Her ears swiveled back in my direction when she heard me approach with the camera. The snowbank was just the perfect height as a prop for her chin. From Beauty's Barn I could see indentations in the snow where the combination of the weight from her head and the warmth from her breathing had left "muzzle prints."
I walked out across the snow -- yes, it was so crusty I stayed on top -- to get a closer shot, and here's what it looked like:
Usually when a horse like Luna sleeps standing up, she'll let her head hang down at about chest height -- but apparently she found this posture much more comfortable!
Bet she had a pretty cold nose when she woke up!
Posted by: Colleen & Sweet Kitty Erin | February 23, 2009 at 12:15 AM
If you or I tried this, we'd fall right over. But horse's legs are different. Go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_behavior and scroll down to "Sleep Patterns" to see how they do it!
Posted by: Janet in Cambridge | February 22, 2009 at 06:23 PM