I Understand That Horses Cannot Breathe Through Their Mouths. I Am Told That Yawning Is a Method of Increasing the Amount of Oxygen in the Blood. If Both These Statements Are True, Why Do Horses Yawn? | Notes and Queries
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I Understand That Horses Cannot Breathe Through Their Mouths. I Am Told That Yawning Is a Method of Increasing the Amount of Oxygen in the Blood. If Both These Statements Are True, Why Do Horses Yawn?
I understand that horses cannot breathe through their mouths. I am told that yawning is a method of increasing the amount of oxygen in the blood. If both these statements are true, why do horses yawn?
Pennie Goodman, Nottingham UK
- The yawn does increase the amount of oxygen in the blood. even if briefly. The fact that you're - in effect - taking a deep breath means this must be so. The more you fill your lungs the more oxygen you absorb. I've heard theories stating that it can be a mechanism to help alertness just before or after sleep.
Richard, Brighton UK
- When a horse appears to be yawning, it is saying something. Horses communicate mainly with body language and a yawn means they're saying something.
Liz Bolt, Brighton UK
