separation anxiety--training problem

[Suzanne Mounts <mountss@usfca.edu>]

OK, I have a problem.  I have two backyard horses.  Over the 4th of July
weekend, I took the gelding camping and left the mare at home.  I was away
from Friday until mid-day Tuesday.  

I took the mare out Wednesday and Friday without incident.  Yesterday a
friend took the gelding out and today I took him out.  Both of us had the
same problem.  A short distance from home he simply refused to go forward,
spun around back toward home, started to rear if a crop was used,
threatened to back off the trail, etc.  I got off and hand walked him for
at least a quarter of a mile and remounted on several occasions, thinking
if I got him a certain distance away from home his attitude might change.
Nope.  Finally, I decided I was getting too frustrated and that I had
better just come back.  I tried to use the return trip to school him a bit
(stop, backup--anything but go in the away direction--I knew I was not
going to win on that one), and stopped to do about ten minutes work in an
arena that is five minutes from home. 

I have had the gelding for over a year, and he has often gone out by
himself, both with me riding and with others.  Never a hint of this kind of
problem.  Was the four day separation somehow the triggering event for this
new behavior?  What do I do now?

Suzanne