Horse yawning ?

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Welshboy

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I know this has been discussed before and it's generally considered that horses yawning is very different to humans, as they don't breath through their mouths and therefore use it for an oxygen boost.

So what does it mean ? My horse often yawns when I go to collect him from the field in the afternoon. It can happen before I even get to the gate and / or when putting in the head collar. He may then yawn again as we walk back to the yard.

Do you think it's releif, happiness or something else ? Would love to know!
 
If it were contentment, I imagine you'd see them all yawning their heads off all day in the field :)
 
Monty Roberts always maintained they do it when they start to relax
my friend also thinks hers do it when they are hungry
mine do tend to do it and it's often accompanied with their willies dropping too and i'm pretty certain i have happy horses .
 
Mine yawns a lot when people are around, about 5 or 6 times in the space of 10 minutes or so. He does it because he is anxious.

The other doesn't yawn very often and it is usually when he is chilling in the stable resting his leg.

I think it depends on the horse, it is also known to be a pain response too.
 
Very interesting - does seem like the reason might vary depending on the horse / situation. I'm thinking as he's chilling in the field, but usually keen to come in, it's a slight relief at me turning up !

Oh, and I will try yawning at him and see what happens (when no one is looking ;) )
 
I've always assumed its a sign of being relaxed & chilling out.

If doing groundwork for e.g., my trainer has said to look for the horse yawning as an indication that they are in a relaxed state of mind, not stressed.

Also if doing training, apparently you should similarly look for licking and chewing; which expresses that the horse is relaxed and mulling over the information just received :)

My boy always yawns when I've put him in for the night and coddled him up in his rug with a nice net of hay; a sort of a "thank you" mebbe? Who knows..
 
Any mammal if you yawn at them will yawn back. Plus reading this thread I suspect you are also yawning or wanting to. It's some evolutionary behaviour that we have developed as yawning is supposed to be so beneficial to us. Hence at work if one of you starts no-one can stop. Good for getting babies to sleep too!.
 
My lad did it as a way of releasing tension ... After a little while of being stood with him in the field, he`d yawn and yawn and yawn and really stretch his neck down and end up doing one of those really long snorts/ppppffffffffffffff type releases through his nose ... he`d then stand with his head low, resting against me, droopy lip, and really soft eye ...
 
blowsbubbles said:
Any mammal if you yawn at them will yawn back.
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Indeed! My horse and I regularly used to set each other off yawning - which is interesting because it shows that horses can, at some level, appreciate facial expressions in other creatures completely unlike themselves. One wonders what else about us they are capable of understanding or responding to that isn't instinctive predator-behaviour alerting or a taught/learned response.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
I've always assumed its a sign of being relaxed & chilling out.

If doing groundwork for e.g., my trainer has said to look for the horse yawning as an indication that they are in a relaxed state of mind, not stressed.

Also if doing training, apparently you should similarly look for licking and chewing; which expresses that the horse is relaxed and mulling over the information just received :)

My boy always yawns when I've put him in for the night and coddled him up in his rug with a nice net of hay; a sort of a "thank you" mebbe? Who knows..
Click to expand...

This ^^ bit of a story... I have just started having "think like a pony" groundwork lessons. last week was having a lesson having just received really upsetting news about a close family member. Just before the lesson started I was standing holding Stanley in a headcoller and long leadrope and was telling my instructor the news I had had. I was still upset and a bit teary. Stanley started yawning like mad.... really stretching his jaw and rolling his eyes. Instructor said sometimes horses feel our stress and yawn to try and release it and that was maybe why he was yawning so much. Found that really fascinating!
 
When my horse spooked and hit his head on the top of the stable door frame, he yawned a lot after and the Vet said it was due to slight concussion .... He was absolutely fine but I did stay with him for a few hours to make sure!! Silly Horse
 
I've heard so many conflicting opinions of lip licking/chewing and yawning I tend to try and interpret the yawning etc in conjunction with the rest of the horses body language and other information present at that particular time.

One thing I've noticed is that numerous short yawns in quick succession are more of a sign of stress/discomfort and one or a couple of long slow yawns seen to indicate a calmer more relaxed state of mind.

Coincidently I will yawn non stop waiting to go into the start box at the beginning of XC, usually getting the 'Oh, keeping you up are we?!' quip. I do not do it from nervousness or stress but adrenaline.
 
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