They may also yawn when they are looking forward to something - hucul mare; when we go home from pasture, she yawns a lot becuse she knows there will be something yummy after work. And then when waiting to go back to the pasture - there is grass. She is not alone, has another mare and they are 24/7 outside. BUT, that might be "release of tension" as well. "Hurry, hurry, where is he? Ah, he´s coming!" and then yaawn! But I guess it´s highly situational :) The other reasons are new to me, so thanks :)
The horse that i ride with always yawns a lot before i put his bridle on. I know i myself yawn a lot when i’m stressed, so i thought maybe it’s the same with him. How can i make him more comfortable? Or maybe he’s trying to tell me something else?
Hi Sanelma, perhaps try and make bridling fun, by giving him a treat once the bridle is on? I do this with my horses, and they really engage and look forward to the treat when the bridle is on, I use a click to reinforce the reward. Clicker Training is a wonderful way to get horses to engage for positive reinforcement. Here is the site of a Lady that I find very good and there is lots of free video on her site too. clickthathorse.com/. I don't get paid for this link, it is just a lady that we have done an Interview with in the past. Try this first, I hope that helps