Do horses sit ?

Do horses sit ? Yes, horses CAN sit, but they rarely do so on their own.

Reasons why a horse might be sitting:

they have been trained to do so
they are getting up from a lying down position, and are pausing temporarily because there is an underlying issue (soreness in the back legs, colic symptoms, very tired, etc.)
Horses are large animals with relatively thin legs and small feet (hooves). The weight is supposed to be evenly spread over all four legs. Therefore, it would not be very comfortable for a horse to be in a sitting position, because the weight of the animal would be shifted to the back end. Also, the vertebrae in their backs are “fixed” - meaning the spine is somewhat flexible, but not nearly as flexible as a cat’s or dog’s (that’s one of the reasons why horses are relatively easy to ride, and can carry things on their backs). While sitting for an extended period of time, the spine would not be flexible enough to make this comfortable.

Also, horses are prey animals - they do not want to be caught in a vulnerable position where they can’t easily run off. That’s why you only see them lying down to sleep if they feel very comfortable and safe.

One more thing - both horses and cows lie down by putting their front half down first, followed by the back half. However, horses get up front half first, and cows get up back half first. Either way, I imagine it’s pretty unusual to see a horse or cow sitting on its own