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Study on yawning

3K views 14 replies 10 participants last post by  loosie 
#1 ·
I noticed some yawning in stressful situations in my horses, so wasn't that surprised to read this, but still thought it was of interest. Also of interest, horses kept in more open stabling arrangements (more turnout, etc.) yawned less, which, according to this theory, may mean they are less stressed. Thoughts?

They Aren't Just Bored: Find out Why Horses Yawn
 
#2 ·
I think it's a result of them having held a lot of tension in their jaws.

all I have to do is THINK about yawning, and I'll yawn! try it: now, DONT think about yawning, no! no, no, don't do it. don't think about the large , relaxing breath you draw in, don 't think about the wonderful stretch of your jaw, don't think about then swallowing a few times and feeling a moment of pure calm. don't think about that.
 
#4 ·
I've noticed that my horses will yawn after they were just learning something new. Once we stop they will stand there and yawn. I've been told that they are absorbing what they have learned. My mare also yawned a lot in the days just prior to giving birth.

LOL @tinyliny You just made me yawn too.
 
#15 ·
Or convey a release of tension. It is a 'calming signal' in dogs, and you can actually help a dog relax about stuff by yawning at it, & other 'calming' bodylanguage. They will very often yawn back - or yawn first, then if you do it back, they act like "Oh well, that's all right then!"

Ever since I learned that(20 years ago or thereabouts), I wondered about the same with horses, and other animals. I think it is indeed also a 'calming signal' for horses & cats, and perhaps at a level we're nearly 'deaf' to, people. I suspect that's the reason 'yawns are catching'. Since learning to yawn to convey 'chill out, no worries' to dogs all those years ago, I've found myself doing it to horses, cats, and, when I'm in confrontational situations with people, I often yawn too... tho I don't reckon that goes down the right way...

Of course there are other reasons for yawning too - my pony will yawn repeatedly during & after a cranio-sacral treatment, and I reckon that's the physical release of stress.
 
#6 ·
I have heart failure when my IR horse yawns too much.

He has foundered, has a fractured sacrum from an old injury, the vet confirmed early high ringbone, and the reason he kept rubbing his temple was TMJ. Once that got fixed his yawning slowed down.

Duke and Streeter had their own issues but I never saw either of them yawn, during their entire lives.

So that's my first hand experience with a yawning horse - I think it's one of those things the owner really needs to know their horse and look for eye stress. If there's also stress wrinkles above the eyes it might be time to worry:)
 
#7 ·
From a veterinarian's perspective

Yawning can occur with TMJ pain and is also considered a sign of a neurologic problem. For example in liver failure excess toxins circulate through the horse's body and cause brain dysfunction leading to yawning. This also holds true with brain abscesses.

So yawning in a horses is not necessarily benign. It is good to keep track of the frequency of your horse's yawning. If it seems excessive then contact your vet.
 
#9 ·
From a veterinarian's perspective

Yawning can occur with TMJ pain and is also considered a sign of a neurologic problem. For example in liver failure excess toxins circulate through the horse's body and cause brain dysfunction leading to yawning. contact your vet.
^^^<sigh>. annnnd my IR horse's liver enzymes were "slightly elevated" in his March blood tests. It probably didn't occur to the farm vet (who knows this horse well) to ask if he was yawning a lot:( :(

BlueMoonRising, thank you for posting:D

I'm glad this thread was started but I doubt the OP ever imagined it would go down this road:pinkunicorn:
 
#14 ·
I don't like tight nose bands either but one time I got a nice horse that was a previous dressage horse gone ring sour and when I went to bridle him, he would start to yawn several times, never had a horse do that before but I wondered if the previous riders (being dressage) did the nose band up tight and he was anticipating this.
I don't remember any horse yawning after riding but that's just me. What most of my horses want to do is have a scratch on the face when the bridle comes off.
 
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