> In my experience, it doesn't matter how long they have > been "home" whether 2 weeks or 10 years!
I was hoping someone would give that answer. That's my experience, too. Sometimes it actually gets better with time when both horses come to understand that they can be separated and reunited over and over and over and all is still right with the workd. With horse who are not prone to fat, feeding the home horse can help keep him occupied while he is alone. Be sure he's in a safe place, as Virginia's certainly was. Of more concern is the horse that bolted home. All of the folks I train with use Virginia's method of turning back away from the barn as many times as it takes until the horse is willing to return at a walk. I do not use this method. WIth the particular horse I'm riding, TWH Hunter, any jigging he might do is caused by anxiety. He is not going to become less anxious by being turned repeatedly from his goal. I just check him and reward him with pats and praise when he flattens out and relaxes. He rarely really RARELY begins to bounce anymore when we turn around to head home. Bev is always wanting to mix things up a bit, so one day she and I did a big forward trot up to the helicopter pad where the horses are usually asked to stand and rest quietly before we head back down the mountain. This day, she wanted to trot in, turn and trot out of the landing. I cued Hunter for a nice round turn and got a stock horse spin. He couldn't believe he was going to be allowed to trot in and out of the rest spot. Nancy
