Horses Yawning

dogs yawn as a sign of anxiety or nervousness and for a lot of other reasons. i suspect that horses also yawn for many reasons other than boredom and being tired.

My horse seems to yawn most when hes anxious or away from his friends and wants to be with them, and when hes nervous sometimes too. But it could just be him.

The Horse | What Makes a Horse Yawn?

Bored, Tired, or What? Why do Horses Yawn? EQUINE Ink

My mare yawns all the time. Sometimes after I take the bridle off, sometimes when I'm trying to put her bridle on, sometimes when I'm grooming her, sometimes when I get to the barn on the early side and wake her up, she's just a big yawner. =]

Awwww! That is so cute when she yawns!

I am too now yawning...LOL

I've heard a few reasons why horses yawn, but don't know if one of them is right, or both.
First I've heard that they yawn when they are nervous since they take shorter breaths and need oxygen.
The second is that they yawn when they are relaxed.

I've sat up many a night watching mares who were about ready to foal. We have a camera system in our barn. Many times a mare will yawn many times before she lies down to foal. In fact, I've heard many times that excessive yawning can be a sign of foaling.

Other times, horses yawn because of other reasons. I cannot say I've seen a colicky horse yawn. Have you?

That's really weird. Most of the times I see the horses yawn, they're just chillaxin in the pasture. Once in awhile it's when you're riding, but I would assume if it was from pain, there would be some other signals. I've never seen a yawning horse give even the slightest sign of discomfort, it's always a very relaxed horse. Interesting, I wonder what makes them say that...

If you think about that, it does make sense. I mean when a person is nervous they take short breaths or even hold their breath. I suppose the brain is telling the brain that it is running out if oxygen. LOL