Horse Dreams and Other Wonders of Technology

Having a barn cam system - extravagant. Being able to see what goes on in our absence - priceless.
The receiver for the 2 wireless barn cams is in the study. So, with powering on that TV/Monitor comes the ability to see all the animals at night.
"The Secret Life of Farm Animals" starring horses Chief and Zeke, donkey Emma, and goats Rose and pregnant Chanel.
The system is primarily to monitor the behavior of Chanel in case we need to be alerted to imminent delivery behavior (if only we knew what the hell that really looked like) and to make sure horses do not have a stomachache after eating dinner (horses get colic easily and it can be deadly, so a bit of paranoia is appropriate).

Last night around 2 a.m., I turned on the TV to check on the animals, as I do a couple of times each night. Horses can sleep standing up (as most herd animals can), but to reach deep sleep they need to feel safe enough to lay down at least a couple of hours. Our horses obviously feel safe in the barn and sleep lying down often.

I saw Chief lying flat, head down and legs stiff. I was initially frightened something might be very wrong, but then became intrigued as I saw his legs move. He looked like a dog dreaming of chasing something. He was also making a noise rather like snoring. I had NO idea horses did this, since approaching a sleeping horse usually wakes them up. Thanks to this technology, I got to see behavior normally not observable. Waaay cool!!!!

I do wonder though what horse dreams are made of...

Fondly,