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This is theoretically possible, although in real life is probably not going to be seen. Horses can and do sleep standing up - they can lock their joints in place with tendons and stay upright while sleeping. If a horse were to die while sleeping standing up, and the joints stayed locked, it is potentially possible for the horse to be found dead standing up.

However, this is extremely unlikely. First, most horses don't simply die without premonitary signs. Horses that don't feel good will often lay down, and then die while lying down. Second, upon death, the body becomes deregulated and the local neuromuscular synapses can and do fire erratically. This will result in a horse that was standing up calmly to suddenly drop to the ground upon the moment of death. Third, the locking mechanism is only as good as the horse keeping it locked - it can be unlocked pretty easily by simply motions or flexions. As soon as the locking mechanism is unlocked, the horse will drop to the ground.

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11y ago

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