Yawning a lot in the mornings!

E

Emma_1994

Active Member
Joined
1 May 2022
Messages
40
Visit site
Hi everyone,

A bit of a strange one but wondered if anyone has experienced anything similar.

My PRE gelding is doing a lot of yawning first thing in the morning. He's in at night and out from 7:30am to 6:30pm. Once he's fed, the minute I pick up his headcollar he becomes a bit fidgety with his head and starts yawning a lot and trying to nibble. To me I would say this is a stress response but I don't know what to. He is better when I get him in from the field, can throw his head up a bit but not like the mornings. I was worried that it could be something to do with ulcers since it's first thing but as I've never dealt with ulcers before I don't know if symptoms are worse in the mornings. He is a perfect weight and I can tack him up with no problems . He's not sensitive to being groomed or doing belly lifts.
Sometimes I'll ride him in the mornings and sometimes not. If I do ride in the morning he settles while I groom and tack him up so I can't believe that he is feeling stress about being ridden. It's just so strange.

I have decided to cut out Alfa a and now feeding his balancer (equilibra 500) with sugar beet as I thought perhaps it could be a food sensitivity or possibly not enough fibre. He has plenty of hay at night and some left over on the mornings.

If anyone has any ideas I'd welcome them very much! Thank you.
 
Yes yawning a lot/stress yawning cam be a sign of ulcers. Does he run out of forage overnight?

Could be general tension or anticipation too, but I would rule out ulcers first.

PREs can be a bit prone to internalising stress and it coming out in slightly odd ways.
 
Thank you, I think I will speak with the vet in case it could be that. He doesn't show any other signs but I suppose not everything is by the book. No he always has hay left over. It's just weird because it's the only thing he does and everything else is fine but I realise he must be telling me something so I want to listen to him. Thank you
 
My 20 year old Baggs had ulcers and he didn't show any of the textbook signs or symptoms - in fact he was the picture of health when he was scoped with grade 4 ulcers.....

With your boy being a PRE, I'd deffo get a scope done to be on the safe side as these wonderful guys show signs of stress etc in quite a few weird and wonderful ways.

Another thing to consider - is there a lot going on in the mornings when you go to him? Some horses don't like a busy atmosphere and will show signs of stress/anxiety and this can manifest as excessive yawning. My two lads don't like a busy environment and will nibble/yawn a few times to let me know (I'm moving them in less than a month to a yard better suited for them both so this will no longer be an occurrence).

Also is he getting enough sleep? I once knew a horse who wouldn't lie down to rest on a particular type of bedding and in the mornings, she would yawn excessively. Her owner had all health checks done and it wasn't until she went into a temporary stable with different bedding for a few weeks (and therefore stopped the yawning) that everyone put the pieces together x

He's obviously trying to tell you something and bravo for listening - we need more people like you x
 
AppyLover1996 said:
My 20 year old Baggs had ulcers and he didn't show any of the textbook signs or symptoms - in fact he was the picture of health when he was scoped with grade 4 ulcers.....

With your boy being a PRE, I'd deffo get a scope done to be on the safe side as these wonderful guys show signs of stress etc in quite a few weird and wonderful ways.

Another thing to consider - is there a lot going on in the mornings when you go to him? Some horses don't like a busy atmosphere and will show signs of stress/anxiety and this can manifest as excessive yawning. My two lads don't like a busy environment and will nibble/yawn a few times to let me know (I'm moving them in less than a month to a yard better suited for them both so this will no longer be an occurrence).

Also is he getting enough sleep? I once knew a horse who wouldn't lie down to rest on a particular type of bedding and in the mornings, she would yawn excessively. Her owner had all health checks done and it wasn't until she went into a temporary stable with different bedding for a few weeks (and therefore stopped the yawning) that everyone put the pieces together x

He's obviously trying to tell you something and bravo for listening - we need more people like you x
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for your response. It seems that actually a lot of horses don't display the typical symptoms so I think an ulcer check with the vet is definitely necessary. He's so sweet and I'd hate for him to be uncomfortable and unhappy but not show it to me.

So no in the mornings it's very calm and quiet. He's kept at my parents house in a small barn with 3 other horses who are very calm and relaxed in the mornings. This is why I was trying to understand why there would be stress since he is only handled by myself and my mum but I'm definitely feeling as if ulcers could be a possibility.

He does lie down because he's covered in stable stains every morning haha but that is really interesting about the horse that you knew who wouldn't sleep well on a certain type of bedding.

Thank you for your response, I felt a bit silly going to the vet and saying I'm worried because my horse is yawning a lot but the more I've thought about it the more my instinct is telling me it could well be ulcers.
 
Emma_1994 said:
Thank you so much for your response. It seems that actually a lot of horses don't display the typical symptoms so I think an ulcer check with the vet is definitely necessary. He's so sweet and I'd hate for him to be uncomfortable and unhappy but not show it to me.

So no in the mornings it's very calm and quiet. He's kept at my parents house in a small barn with 3 other horses who are very calm and relaxed in the mornings. This is why I was trying to understand why there would be stress since he is only handled by myself and my mum but I'm definitely feeling as if ulcers could be a possibility.

He does lie down because he's covered in stable stains every morning haha but that is really interesting about the horse that you knew who wouldn't sleep well on a certain type of bedding.

Thank you for your response, I felt a bit silly going to the vet and saying I'm worried because my horse is yawning a lot but the more I've thought about it the more my instinct is telling me it could well be ulcers.
Click to expand...

You are more than welcome my lovely :)

It's quite scary how many horses don't display the typical symptoms - for that matter alone, I always tend to lean towards scoping as you can never be too sure. My friend who competes up to Prix St George level in dressage only had the fact that her top horse was yawning and seemed a bit unsettled in the morning to go by in terms of symptoms, but when he was scoped he had grade 3 ulcers all around bless him. To look at him from the outside he was the picture of health - perfectly muscled without being fat, shiny coat, bright eyed, beautiful mane and tail, absolute sweetheart to handle and to ride he was exactly the same - none of your typical ulcer symptoms at all!

Definitely trust your gut - you know your boy better than the vets and the fact that it's constantly niggling away at you that something might not be right, goes to show how much you care for him and love him x
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top