Kicking the habit....

The past two days Ace has exhibited a weird behavior that at first I didn't really understand. When I turn him out, for the first 5 minutes while he works out his frustration of not finding Copy out there again, he keeps running to the water bucket and rinsing his mouth every mintue or so. Today we went back to his stall and saw that his water bucket was indeed full, then it hit me....He's trying to break his oral fixation like a smoker. Because he can't go to the mare and nurse to calm himself, he's replacing it with a sip of water! Maybe I need to get him some milk flavored chewing gum! After he settles down and starts playing and exploring it stops. No wonder the poor kid has been a basket case! Too funny!