24/08/2026
When I was at school, I was kicked out of my history class for yawning!
Reading has always been hard for me, and reading in front of my classmates was especially stressful. Many years later, I now understand that dyslexia was a big part of the reason why.
In our history class, we were regularly asked to read paragraphs, sometimes out loud to the class and other times silently. We would then be tested on what we had read.
I simply couldn’t learn that way. In fact, I’m not sure I learned anything in those lessons!
Although, looking back, I am actually very grateful to that teacher…..
I was frequently reprimanded for yawning in class. It was completely subconscious, I now believe it was connected to how overwhelmed I felt in those lessons.
The more the teacher reprimanded me for yawning, the more anxious and shut down I became. And the more I shut down, the more I yawned.
Eventually, she threw me out of the class.
She obviously didn’t understand what was really going on and thought I was simply being rude.
Despite trying really hard, I couldn’t progress with that way of being taught. I had reached a point where I felt I couldn’t succeed, no matter how hard I tried.
My school reports were full of “needs to try harder”…..
How many horses have you come across like this? (No school report needed!)
Horses that often appear quiet or compliant, but underneath are anxious, overwhelmed and struggling to process what is being asked of them.
Sometimes out of nowhere comes a massive reaction to something that may seem trivial to us or perhaps they are so very quiet and hard to motivate.
Having experienced something similar myself has helped me understand and relate to horses in these states.
Like me, they are rarely being “naughty”.
They may simply be trying to cope.
And perhaps this is one reason why I have found yawning so fascinating.
I don’t think yawning should automatically be interpreted as boredom, tiredness or rudeness.
I wonder if it may be part of a change in nervous-system state. Perhaps it helping us or our horses regulate, reset, refocus or simply cope with something that feels overwhelming.
There is still so much we don’t understand about yawning. Perhaps there are studies out there on yawning and the nervous system, I have struggled to find any.
But I know that, for me, it was telling me something long before I understood what it was.
During my school days, I would have described myself as a very quiet horse — one that tried incredibly hard to please, while inside feeling anxious and struggling to understand what was being asked.
Eventually, I shut down and was told ‘Could try harder!’ There are many horses in this state.
🐴What sort of horse would you have been at school? 🐴
Were you eager-to-please?
Distracted?
The one who couldn’t sit still?
The one who went quiet?
Perhaps, like me, you simply shut down?
Or maybe school was plain sailing for you?
Do you have a story about struggling to learn in a particular way?
Or perhaps you can remember a time when you found yourself yawning uncontrollably?
I’d love to hear your experiences.
