Wanted: Interior Designer for Persnickety Thoroughbred

Nox likes to rub the side of his head on the feed bucket hanging in his stall.  He'll rub it raw and sometimes even cut himself over his right eye.  Yesterday, I showed up to the barn and Nox had a fresh cut above his eye, and I thought, Enough is Enough!

After working him and grooming him in the arena, I led him into his stall.  I unhooked the feed bucket from the wall and put it on the floor, directly under where it was hanging.  If the feed bucket is on the floor, he won't be able to rub on it.

Well!  Once again, I discovered that any change in his environment, no matter how minor, will send Nox into a hissy fit.  When he saw the bucket on the floor instead of hanging on the wall - the same exact bucket he's been eating out of for 6 months - he backed into the opposite corner of the stall and snorted at the bucket like it was a lion ready to attack.  I could not believe it!  I poured some grain into the bucket and threw in some carrots and apple cookies to entice him, and stepped away in hopes that he'd figure it out.

20 minutes later I came back to find Nox stubbornly standing in the corner and the treats in the bucket untouched.  I went into the stall and stood close to Nox to reassure him.  He kept nudging me with his nose, as if asking me to fix the issue.  I am just as stubborn, however, and the bucket was not going to be hung up again.  

I added more treats to the bucket, coaxed him softly, and tried to lure him near enough so he could see the yumminess waiting for him in the bucket.  I took a video of his silliness for you all to see.  It was getting late, so the video is dark, but you'll get the idea.

In the end, after nearly 40 fruitless minutes, I pulled the bucket out of the stall.  The stable owners told me they'd put the bucket back in when they fed the grain, and pull it out again when he was finished.  They are so kind and understanding, and willing to laugh and put up with my silly, giant baby of a horse.