The yawning horse!

[KBC]

The Wonder Horse is very annoying…probably my fault, most things are

See she yawns and gapes, and is often marked down in tests for it, not accepting the bit…Now some of this actually was my issue, took me a long time to grasp how to to get light and quiet hands, rather than heavy busy ones…thank you old trainer for your fixation on the head!)

Recently at a dressage retreat, where we got to ride twice a day for 3 days, with a bunch of people we didn’t know…the general consensus is that she now isn’t resisting, she just likes to yawn and gape…even poodling around with zero contact, she gapes…she’s either bored, or she just likes doing it!

We ride western dressage, so no nosebands allowed, I have just come back from a visit to the UK, with 3 different bits to try. She has regular teeth and chiro and massage, no issues that anyone can pin point…

Any ideas, anyone relate…maybe I can get her a doctors note!:lol:

[SuzieQNutter]

Hmmmmmm I haven’t had this problem and I also ride dressage with no nosebands.

What happens if you add a noseband at home? It doesn’t have to be tight. If she has not had one on before lunge in it first for safety.

That might be enough to change the habit, but if it is because she likes doing it. Good luck.

[KBC]

@SuzieQNutter we tried that last year, didn’t do it so much with the noseband, but as soon as you take it off she’s back to it, love her.

[GraceLikeRain]

Have you ever x-rayed her head? Had a good evaluation by a chiropractor? I’m curious if there is something going on in her jaw or in the TMJ region and the chronic yawning is trying to relieve pressure, tension, aching, etc.

What happens if you ride her in a halter?

[JLR1]

Gaping and yawning are 2 different things…if she is gaping at the mouth she is avoiding contact with the bit…possible pain from uneducated hands or poor bit fit. Yawning is usually a way they release tension or stress.

[scruffy_the_cat]

Yawning is a stress behavior. Could be ulcers or other pain or distress, either in her mouth or elsewhere.

[KBC]

@GraceLikeRain

Have you ever x-rayed her head? Had a good evaluation by a chiropractor? I’m curious if there is something going on in her jaw or in the TMJ region and the chronic yawning is trying to relieve pressure, tension, aching, etc.

What happens if you ride her in a halter?

No Xrays, but has regular Chiro, will have them take a good look at at the jaw area… If I ride her in a bitless she is impossible…well she is fine indoors, though still yawns, outside our control vanishes.

@JLR1

Gaping and yawning are 2 different things…if she is gaping at the mouth she is avoiding contact with the bit…possible pain from uneducated hands or poor bit fit. Yawning is usually a way they release tension or stress.

She seems to so both, but more yawning. I get that it took us a while to gel, but now I am light with my hands and she gapes less.

@scruffy the cat

Yawning is a stress behavior. Could be ulcers or other pain or distress, either in her mouth or elsewhere.

I thought yawning was a release of stress? She yawns a lot when she gets her ‘release’ massages…

[scruffy_the_cat]

Perhaps it can be? But it also is an indicator of other stresses- Googling “yawning in horses” yields lots of interesting information.

[KBC]

@scruffy the cat

Perhaps it can be? But it also is an indicator of other stresses- Googling “yawning in horses” yields lots of interesting information.

Will do!

[CanteringCarrot]

They are signs of stress and resistance. I’d also have her TMJ checked out.

Typically horses gape when they are resisting or anticipating. They don’t have a true connection if they’re gaping. They should be soft and supple in your hand. Yawning while riding is somewhat odd and releasing tension that shouldn’t be there.

It’s rare that I see a working horse yawn…because if they’re forward, working, and engaged they don’t have time for that, they don’t need to do that. Puttering around at the end of a hard ride…maybe.

Perhaps your hands are getting better but aren’t all the way there yet, or she remembers from before. Or it’s not all about the hand, and she’s behind the leg. Even hot horses can be behind the leg.

[KBC]

I’m now sitting on the shitty horse owners bench…I can’t believe that I have never Googled this, I have always accepted it as being either me, or just a habit of hers. I will have her checked out next time all the various people are at the barn…WOW, can’t believe it…

[scruffy_the_cat]

Don’t beat yourself up. You cared enough to keep investigating and questioning. You can immediately give her some Nexium or a few days of a tube of Ulcergard to see if the yawning is stomach related. If you see a change, have the vet out for a scope.

[alibi_18]

@KBC

I’m now sitting on the shitty horse owners bench…I can’t believe that I have never Googled this, I have always accepted it as being either me, or just a habit of hers. I will have her checked out next time all the various people are at the barn…WOW, can’t believe it…

Don’t beat yourself up…

As she always done this? Before/after you’ve bought her?

If this yawning was due to pain and lasted for quite some time, it might now have became a stereotypic behavior like cribbing or waving, so the pain might be gone.

[merrygoround]

I am not surprised when horses yawn at the end of a ride, particularly if learning something new. To my mind it has always shown a release of tension.

Tension is not always a bad thing when it’s the result of great attentiveness.

[TheHotSensitiveType]

As many have pointed out, this is often a sign of stress/tension/anxiety and figuring out exactly what it is can be challenging! Some things to think about, does she accept the bit during bridling quietly or does she chomp/yawn/gape? Does she chomp/gape during groundwork? She does the yawning/gaping when you are riding around on a completely loose rein walk/trot/canter, right? Does it get worse when you pick up the reins?

After you rule out physical causes, I would suggest looking for a ‘problem horse’ trainer. You need to find someone who is very experienced with anxiety issues and more often than not, dressage specific instructors are not that. I think you need to take several steps back to just working this bit issue before pressing forward with dressage. This is going to take a lot of time and patience to address… It could take months/years for you and your horse to work through this anxiety.

So many horses have issues with the bit… There is a horse I started working that is so stressed about the bit, even seeing it near his head (not even on his head) results in these weird yawns. I wanted to see what would happen when I put it on so I did, and he yawned and chomped and yawned and chomped non-stop. So I sent him to work on the ground he stopped doing that, but as soon as he stopped moving the yawning/chomping started again. I haven’t tried riding him in a bit… he is telling me very clearly he is stressed about the bit so why add to his current stress level?

Then there is another horse I have been riding for a long time, and after lots and lots and lots of work helping him chill out, I can ride him around on a loose rein in a bit walk/trot/canter/whoa/steer, but if there is two rein pressure, he gets immediately anxious and takes a long time to calm down. It isn’t as bad as it was, but it still happens despite years of work. Since he isn’t angling towards anything require a bit, I finally decided to can the bit and ride him in a halter with permission from his owner. He is so calm in a halter (along with that de-stressing work for years!!!) that my 5 year old can ride him by herself. No bit isn’t an option for you, but just an experience of mine.

[KBC]

Updates!

while I was in the UK I bought 3 new bits for her to try, the very expensive Verbindend, a nice 3 piece eggbutt snaffle, and at coaches insistence, the same mouthpiece in a loose ring, which was a bargain basement buy, at £10!

tried the bargain basement today and she loves it! No gaping she was so soft and supple in it, coach said it is the quietist and most consistent that she has ever gone.

The only yawning we had was on a loose rein walk following my first ever counter canter loop!

i think we have one piece of the puzzle, now to check the rest of the pieces!

[mydogs]

As well as the TMJ issue (I know alllll about this), I would also look into the bridle fit. Horses have very sensitive nerves along their face.

My horse yawns and opens his mouth at the end of a ride as soon as the bridle comes off. I’ve attributed it to irritation from the bridle and tension in his jaw. It is a work in progress to find the solution that works for him but I’m getting there. I make sure that his cheek pieces don’t rub his TMJ and that the crown piece is padded so his poll and the back of ears aren’t irritated. I compare what he is feeling to wearing a pony tail or winter hat all day long. After awhile, my head and the nerves in my head hurt and I just need to rub it to make it feel better. My horse absolutely loves having his ears and poll area scratched and rubbed, so I am guessing he is a bit more sensitive in that area than the average horse.

I read that horses who yawn or want to rub their heads once their bridles come off do this because their face hurts for one reason or another, but typically due to nerve irritation. My experiments with my horse tends to prove that correct.

[Mondo]

Glad to hear you are seeing improvement with the new bit. That aside, if I were you, I would still check for bridle fit as mydogs suggested, and go ahead with the ulcer treatment. If she doesn’t have ulcers, it won’t hurt, but if she does, you’ll have made her feel much better.

[KBC]

She got a new bridle a few months ago, had already figured that the last one was giving her issues behind her ears. This one she is great to bridle, and also to unpack.

As so often seems that I have been causing her issues, some of which we called habits, for some time. Still finding answers, just stil shocked that I have been taking it as habit…

[soloudinhere]

@KBC

Updates!

while I was in the UK I bought 3 new bits for her to try, the very expensive Verbindend, a nice 3 piece eggbutt snaffle, and at coaches insistence, the same mouthpiece in a loose ring, which was a bargain basement buy, at £10!

tried the bargain basement today and she loves it! No gaping she was so soft and supple in it, coach said it is the quietist and most consistent that she has ever gone.

The only yawning we had was on a loose rein walk following my first ever counter canter loop!

i think we have one piece of the puzzle, now to check the rest of the pieces!

Bits are, in my experience, even more important and harder to fit than saddles. Whenever I have an issue with a horse, I usually go to the bit and bridle first and start messing around.