It's not boring, so why are horses yawning?

If you're sat in the classroom and someone sneaks out a yawn, do you find yourself yawning too?

Research from the University of Pisa, in Italy, say contagious yawning isn't just a human thing - horses do it too.

Scientists observed a herd of 48 semi-wild ponies and horses living on a preserve in Tuscany for seven months.

They found horses had a nearly 90% likelihood of yawning in response to another horse's yawn and think the behvaiour could help to strengthen social relationships.

Yawning has been observed in lots of animals but the exact reason for it is still a bit of a mystery to scientists.

There are two types of yawning - spontaneous and contagious.

The theories for why why spontaneously yawn - like when we wake up or when we're bored include helping to get blood flow to the brain, making us more alert, reducing anxiety or helping to cool down the brain.

But contagious yawning is even more intriguing.

It's been observed in humans, chimps, dogs and now horses too.

The scientists working on the study filmed more than 700 horse yawns in seven months.

They analysed which horses responded to the yawns.

If the behaviour was seen in another horse within three minutes of the first horse's yawn, it was classed as a contagious yawn.

Elisa­betta Palagi from the Uni­versity of Pisa worked on the study. She said:

"The mares were more likely to yawn in response to their rel­at­ives than to non­re­l­atives, and to those group­mates with whom they often groomed each other."

More research needs to be done to understand more about this complex behaviour but it strengthens the current theories around it being shaped by both social and physical needs.