Willow's Dilemma

Willow is very polite and well behaved except for one thing; he's always had a bad pawing habit, which was not helped when I boarded him with some wonderful folks who brought pitchers of carrots to the horses in the fields every day.  Truly, it was horse heaven, and his pawing in anticipation was ignored.  It's the one behavior I haven't been able to modify to my satisfaction, he knows I don't want him to paw, and he's pretty good about not doing it when tied with just a reminder, but at meal times he just can't help himself.  The hole he's dug in his turnout stall is impressive, and annoying if you forget and step or slide in to it, which inevitably happens now and then.  I tried many methods to try to stop him during my feed prep, including bringing the whole process to a halt until he'd cease and stand away from his hole, but nothing really worked.   But now I think I've got it!  If I hear him paw, I stop and run at him, yelling. At first, he'd shoot out of his stall in  bug-eyed alarm.  Now, he's come up with his own solution, which I am kind of impressed with.

He waits for me in his stall, and when I enter the barn, he purposefully leaves it.  Willow prances, then trots, then canters back and forth in front of his stall until he hears me dump the feed, then he plows to a halt and walks quickly in for his meal.   He's totally unflustered during this, but impatience radiates from every muscle.  He's found his best solution.  Keeping still, and -- God Forbid!-- not pawing is just too much to ask, so he takes his impatience and energy outside.   I'm amazed he doesn't just go outside, out of my 'reach' and paw.