buddy sour

Question
Both my horses are buddy sour; they behave beautifully together and act like they're trained to do anything, but separated they're like green horses again. They scream, and fidget, and sometimes act as if they're angry at me for even getting on them. I have trouble on the ground as well as in the saddle--I sometimes lunge them before I ride, or just to exercise them. I've tried making one work if it gets antsy and letting it stand quietly if it behaves. If two of us are riding I usually keep the horse I'm on busy if the other one is ridden away from it. What else can I do to conquer this very common problem? I've spent quite a bit of time gaining the trust of one of them--the judge at an event I rode at even commented that he really liked me--and I'm working with the other one (I just haven't had her very long). He still makes quite a racket though. A trainer told me that some horses just need another horse to buddy up with that is ridden with them and that can't really be fixed. I want them to be calm, quiet horses that can do anything, not fidgety ones that stop listening as soon as I quit making them work hard. Is time, work, and trust all that will fix this problem? Is there a way to keep the one left in the field, if I'm just working one, from screaming and running like I've just taken its buddy away forever?

Answer
Hi Hannah,
One way to work this out is to take one horse out of the field but work with it just on the other side of the fence. You will be within sight and not very far from the other horse. Work with the horse and get the fenced in horse use to it. Then over time as the fenced horse becomes accustomed to it, start working farther and farther away from the fence. This will take quite a bit of time so be very patient with this process. Hope I have been of help to you. Good luck with your project.