yawning

[fleabitten]

Read in a horsey book that yawning is a sign of pain. I didnt know this before but read it in an older book when I was reading about colic.

Very interesting!

[jack]

QUESTION: Here is a “Why does my horse do that?” question. All of my horses, but my young horse especially, do something that at first appears to be a yawn. In fact that is what I thought it was, but the more I watched the more I saw the horses doing it three, four or more times in succession. Is the horse trying to communicate something with this action or is it just a yawn?
REPLY: Very good question and very observant of you! Usually the yawn means: he's just been holding his breath (literally) tensely earlier and now he's "letting down." He yawns there to try to regain air after that prolonged holding of breath. If a horse you are working with yawns a lot afterwards, count the yawns. If there are a lot of yawns, he's been holding his breath quite a long time there tensely. Only a couple of yawns and he's only been holding his breath for a few seconds.

You can actually get perceptive to a horse holding its breath while he's doing it if you stare along his belly where the rib cage ends. If he's holding his breath (what they do when they are tense/afraid, etc.), you'll see a big indention there all along that horizontal line right below his ribcage. If you want to learn to see it even better, in an exaggerated form first, when you're washing a horse, squirt cold water along his back and watch the gut suck in there along that line -- that's a horse gasping and holding his breath tensely.

Which can also happen if we push too hard or too fast in training sometimes, or when working with a wilder horse, at first.

Working to manually relax your horses using the bonding techniques throughout the training session will keep them less tense and less breath-holding going on and him in a better, relaxed spot to learn. Bonding/relaxing techniques are here: www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips58.html

It's harder for horses to learn when they are tense. When I see them tense up/holding their breath, I come in nurturingly and get a finger in the mouth, get the head to drop using pressure/release and then pause/rest, waiting for the sigh if I can. It helps to manually relax the horse there because they don't know how to do that themselves when tense. Do that enough and they will learn to turn to you to help them relax, losing the flight response when afraid. The horse sigh when I'm pausing there is also: them bringing air back into them, more relaxed now. Then I proceed with training.

[scattymare]

Really? Hmm not sure what that says about me - I'm yawning away like a good un. Though funnily enough my back does ache a bit....

Oh sorry you were talking about horses!
Is that if they are yawning a lot or even just every now and then?

[scattymare]

Oops just crossed posts!

[abi]

sox yawns about five or six times every time she sees the bridle - i think its jsut stretching off before having noseband done up, but its only a loose cavesson!

[baymare]

my girls are the same as abi.they yawn when putting on and off bridle.and i am sure they are not in any pain.bay.

[spotti]

Faith doesn't yawn...much...but she does do the breath holding thing. I never knew the line down her ribcage meant she was holding her breath (I figured it meant something wasn't quite right but never thought about her holding her breath...).

Thanks for that reply Jack, 'tis very useful

[brigadier]

I went to the races a couple of weeks ago and I used the 'tension' line when assessing the horses in the paddock, its fab,especially with the babies, nearly all the horses I thought were the most relaxed came in. Unfortunately I didnt have the right sort of bets on to win very much, its ok picking the winners but you have to know how to bet on them!!!!

Just on the tension line - some geldings that make the sheath noise when working will usually be tucked up and tense. Some people say it makes no difference and that some just 'do it' but Im not so sure- I think it is a stress noise.

Ive had a horse diagnosed with colic that was yawning a lot- they are trying to get more air in their blood stream!

[fimacg]

Brig thats really interesting about the sheath noise, Chompy when working properly get the sheath noise (despite me cleaning it) but when he does properly engage his back end I can clearly see his heave/tension line.

I don't think he is in any pain but will take a closer look next time

[scattymare]

That is interesting - I keep meaning to post about that - as Patrick makes 'that noise' when he's trotting, though only sometimes. I cleaned his sheath but he still does it. Though he certainly doesn't seem in any pain, I will have to watch someone else riding him to see if there is a patten.

[abi]

why does the "sheath noise" happen?

also- bit of an odd question, but can rabbits get it? our bunny (boy) makes a very similar noise sometimes when he runs!

[brigadier]

No one seems to know exactly- some will say its wind in the sheath, some will say its only geldings that do it.
Its just Ive always noticed geldings doing it when first working in or when the going gets tough in the school when pressure is put on. So I think they must hold themselves in which causes pressure noises in the gut. but if anyone has another theory Id be open to it!

[fleabitten]

I was wondering where that noise was coming from!! One of the horses at the RS who gets very wound up and overbent etc makes that noise - I thought it was the air going through the saddle gullet. Then Kieran was doing a nice floaty trot round the field and I heard it and then realised it def couldnt have been the saddle lol!

[scattymare]

I was always lead to believe it was because the sheath was dirty but I've since read & heard that its not that but no one seems to know what it is! I've definately only ever heard it in geldings before.
Patrick does it whilst trotting in the field too so don't think it can be stress/pressure on him. And its only whilst trotting - not walk or canter.
Bizzarre!