I would suggest being careful in my ideas for shelter and containment. Cattle panel might work if covered so hooves can't get thru. If there are holes, a horse will try to injure themselves by sticking a leg into it. And the Vet bills will take a second mortgage to pay off! Many wonderful new meds and they all cost a mint. OTTB are not the most trained of animals, just be fairly nice in a stall, walk quietly to the track with the pony horse, and run as directed. No exposure to farm equipment, often no horsey social manners because they have not been in herd settings. Seldom even out in paddocks. As Dibbet said, electric wire may be NEW, something they don't know how to deal with. We bought a 10yr old horse who had never seen electric, but very exposed to other things, not a feather brain. His first touch of electric, with his feet in a puddle, knocked him down flat! We were lucky his TB side didn't kick in then, and after he jumped back up, he stood stiff in the center of paddock, afraid to move anyplace instead of racing madly THRU the wire to escape the invisible monster. He did come around but that first touch was terrible, we again were lucky he held onto his brains instead of just reacting as other horses might have. Hot Wire or tape in a stall setting, REALLY sounds like trouble because you don't know what he will do when surprised with the shock. Or what part of him will hit it, could be an ear, lip, as well as body parts. Tender spots!! How would you react if hit there by surprise? I figure he will jump exactly opposite the shock spot, may hit the other side of fence!! Going to get nasty then. The stall walls and Make-Do stuff is rather fragile if horse of 1000# decided to do anything like rub on it. Blankets get pretty itchy. Most animals don't need blankets until they shiver. KY is not as cold as many places. Blankets are easy to get snagged on things, even catch a leg in the girths. Some horses don't leave their clothes on, have problems being fitted well so blankets are always twisted, may fight with them. First thing horse does when "grabbed" is jump the opposite way, and try to escape. They will fight tangled leg in fence, girth, blanket snagged on anything. I almost never have something on horses out in paddocks or fields, too easy to hurt them with it. This would include halters. Young animals from the track usually have to be managed a bit carefully until they learn basic things about turnout, good manners in fields, outside sheds. Stuff suggested here might work for some farm raised ponies, minis, but would be a problem with larger horses, especially silly young ones. It just is not designed for big bodies, with weight and mucle behind them. Pallets I have known are made of mostly junk wood. Break fairly easy if you just jump on them! Not designed to last out in weather, they rot pretty quick. Have lots of rough edges, nails exposed. Do make a visual barrier, but not good when leaned on or kicked by horses. Not sure if you can locate a local Salvage type place to shop at. They have a little of everything so you might be able to find mis-matched sheet metal for walls, put plywood inside to prevent kicking thru. Might have fence posts or local auctions where you could find them cheaply. We have farm sales and there is often much to be found there, less expensively. Make sure metal edges are covered, roof is high enough he won't hit even if he does the telescope neck when being "looky" or frightened. Make doors very wide. Handle him with attention, don't get distracted so he could react before you can change things. Being in the paddock to watch will help get him used to many things, but farm stuff is very different than track setting. Don't need you getting run over or smashed against the wall. Best of luck to you and him.

What a wonderfully thought out house. I like that the guest room can accommodate a health aide, in the future. Something like that can extend the amount of time one can maintain some form of relative independence in one's own home. We're also building an empty-nester house & we could have reduced the footprint of the house by putting all of the "guest" bedrooms in the lower level (unfinished, for now). However, we chose to generously size the room and include an en suite bath so that whoever may need to stay there for a more extended period than the occasional guest would be comfortable. Even if we don't have a health aide, there may come a time when one of us needs extra equipment (hospital type bed, oxygen, etc.) so it will be nice if the other can rest more comfortably in another room while still being within calling distance. Tell your kiddos, "Well done!" You have every right to be proud and thank you for sharing. Jo Ann

minipadv -- The symbiosis of child with mother is recognized as existing until around the fourth month. The neonate mental state is autistic. Separation from the mother then is experienced by the child as the loss of a part of oneself. It's not The End of the World as long as other needs are met, but it's not optimum, and it affects different babies to a greater or lesser extent. We know that absent early security, a child has a difficult time with trust -- and with claiming himself as a separate individual. Sometimes adults only start noticing the self emerge when a child is mobile enough to venture away from Mother a few feet, then back again, then out further, back again, etc. We all can *hear* the individuation process once the child can talk. We call it the Terrible Two's, when a child asserts and strengthens his self by opposing Mom. Individuation goes on through life, even into adulthood.

All of you, this thread has been sooooo helpful. I wish I had the time to address each of you individually. Know that your comments are being read and carefully pondered. Lukkiirish, a group gift would be a wonderful idea. I'm an only child, mom is divorced (and dad passed away last year.) My mom, one of six kids, has one remaining brother who lives several states away, and we only see him every few years. Our formerly tight-knit family has dwindled so much. I did find out the name of the rescue organization last night, so I plan to see what they have to say. As we talked about Shortie I was encouraged to hear that Shortie does get excited to see mom and her Man Friend, enjoys cuddling with them, and now has a routine where he enjoys playing for a half hour or so each night. They live a very routine, habituated lifestyle, so that is in their favor. MF has suggested getting another dog might be helpful, too. Who gives up their well-adjusted dogs, though? Part of the reason they went with a rescue was that the dog would be older, past the puppy stage. Now I realize how important that puppy stage really is! Mom said last night how she wishes she could wave a magic wand and say, "OK, you're a real dog now!" She also made reference to wishing there was a dog whisperer in her area. She will be going into semi-retirement starting in the new year, so technically there would be the time for her to work with the dog. I do feel working one on one with someone who could point out specific techniques to help, in addition to what they might be doing to undermine Shortie's confidence would be beneficial. But if the training involved keeping the dog off the furniture, "putting him in his place", or withholding affection, ain't happening! I really don't think that is the style of trainer I found, though. I wanted the gift to be a surprise...but it might have to come down to some conversation...