Put Vicks on his nose?
I would consider the bear hide/rug too but I think it’s the random creepy dark animal moving that is probably tripping his trigger. Our horses have had to get used to moose, grizzlies and black bears in their pastures but they all have.
Possibly a solid fence? So he can’t see it? Canvas on the fence/etc to make a visual shield, just spit balling here.
Really have to disagree with you here about it being unusual. A bear is an apex predator - OF COURSE a horse will be naturally afraid of them! I had a pregnant mare very nearly kill herself and unborn foal trying to run from a bear. (Both turned out OK with emergency veterinary care). “Most horses” absolutely DO care about them. Big cats as well. I’m glad you find your horses to take the wildlife in stride, that’s wonderful, but IME it’s the exception, not the rule.
In my world horses get used to them. Extremely rare for a bear to bother horses in my experience. I think it’s more that horses that don’t know that hurt themselves being scared of them, not that they have good reason to be scared. A black bear isn’t going to care all that much about horses, here anyway. More so the apples/berries etc that are in the pasture or nearby.
All I can say is following out of curiosity, and I’m sorry you are having to deal with this! Let us know if you find a solution.
At the OP - we have a lot of black bears in my area too. Our Fish and Game enforcement have also quit relocating them because there just aren’t places to take them. Like your state, they will only euthanize a bear that has become a threat.
Best advice I have is make sure there are no garbage containers or bird feeders where the bears can get to them (it’s an attractant). Also, if you have blackberries or other wild fruit that might attract the bears, make sure to clear that out.
Lastly, if your pasture area isn’t too huge, you could regularly spray bear spray around the outside of the fencing to help discourage their appearances.
If it were my horse and he needed to be conditioned to accept the occasional presence of bears that are not threatening, I would probably look for a bear skin or something that I could use to get him accustomed to the scent of bears. Then slowly increasing his time with that scent until finally, putting him out where he can see them and when one arrives try to keep him as calm as possible until he gets past it.
Based on other posts here, it sounds as though it can be done. I don’t envy your situation. Good luck.
You are right! I couldn’t recall the name ( happens) and @hoope is right, call your local DNR fish and wildlife.
I’m not sure if this will be helpful to you or not, depending on the changes you’d want to make to your farm “residents”. I live in an area with black bears, bob cats, deer, coy wolves, and the occasional mountain lion. If hunting them is illegal, the best deterrent to large predators that I know of is a canine livestock guardian. Varieties such as Anatolians (and their crosses) or Kangals make an area unfriendly to predatory wildlife. There are other choices. Our neighbors have Anatolian/Pyrenees dogs that are very effective property guardians. The Malinois females my DD trained were also excellent guardians, but I wouldn’t recommend that breed unless you’re looking for another full time job.
On a side note, my pony cross mare chases black bears away herself. She has very little patience with predators. The gelding we had several years ago would do the same. He actually jumped out of his pasture to chase a bear, and jumped back in after he had secured the area. 
Lol I thinking the same thing…seems to be a legit concern. I’d be afraid of the bear too!
Thanks for the replies. It is funny about the pony mare by the way…if left to her own devices she Will chase bears, all 14 hands, 21 years old, arthritic little mare. She has sent them up and over the stone wall that runs along two of the hedgerows routinely in the years before I got this young horse. The two boys: 3 years old (the problem one) and 13, and both heading towards the better part of a ton? Not so much. Unfortunately, she is subordinate to both drafts.
I’m leaning towards the scary, crazy concept of desensitizing through smell. I can’t get an untreated pelt in this state, but I can get bear scent from a company that creates it for tracking dogs. I can create a stationary bear and put it in with them, close my eyes, and pray. Well not really! There are some safety measures I will take.
Now, before anybody freaks out more. The only reason I’m even considering this idea is that what this horse is NOT doing is blind panic. What he is doing is rounding up the other two and standing firmly on guard for hours, food, water, and other comforts be d—ed. Unless I am willing to be out there and take over guard duty… But, in that level of hyper alert he really isn’t safe on the ground either. So I have to work on it. He had the same approach last year to balloons when a bunch drifted in from somewhere…and then he stomped them to death because I let him figure it out. I’m thinking that if I let him deal with a ‘bear’ he might be more comfortable.
On a better note, he was an absolute angel for a new farrier this morning. (my old farrier has had to stop working on drafts 
) I know that sounds simple, but when I got him a year and a half ago he put everyone into the wall more than once. He is a very, very smart horse, it is a matter of asking the right question and letting him answer it if that makes sense?
(for those suggesting LG dogs or moving the paddocks, really good ideas, just totally not feasible in this instance, but I don’t want to go into an essay, but I do appreciate the suggestions)
One of the few reasons to be glad I live in Illinois. No bears in my neck of the woods.
Smart horses can be the spookier, more opinionated ones, for sure! They think too much. They see problems where others don’t see problems. They think they know and humans don’t know. They think that if not for them, the herd would all be dead. Probably the humans, too. 
Maybe explain it to him? I don’t really believe in that - except occasionally it works. 
this will attract the bears, don’t do this. It’s not a bear repellent, it’s pepper spray. Once it dries it smells interesting to them.
I think herd behavior will usually reflect the behavior of the dominant horse. You have a problem with 3 causes-the bear, youngster, and dominance. Any chance you could put him in with an older, more dominant horse that would give him a chance to learn a different behavior around bears?
They’re coming…
OP, can you string up something electric, make it HOT, and encourage the bear to touch it? This is often used to make a lasting impression on frequent-visitor coyotes.
I agree with others that if this is a traveling route for the bear, you have two options:
Divert Mr. Bear, or…
Get rid of scaredy-pants horse.
My parents don’t have a dog so they see bears hanging out at their farm almost daily through the warmer months (Ontario).
My mom sent me a video just last week of a sow with two cubs munching on clover by the house, you can see the two horses grazing on the opposite hill. The funny thing is that the gelding has always treated bears and cows the same way. They’re ignored if they’re on the other side of the fence, but it they come into his field he’ll put the run on them.
Deer, fox, coyotes are totally ignored. He got sprayed by a skunk a couple years ago 
Moose put them all on alert. And nesting geese get a wide berth 
We’ve had weanlings and bottle calves on that problem without issue. But the bears did tear into a chicken coop and kill most of the birds. My mom gave up on poultry after that. They also destroyed a bee hive when the power went out one afternoon following a storm. That was the end of my dad’s beekeeping.
Oooh! Good to know. Thanks for the correction, I appreciate it!
It will take long time for that bear to make it up by me. I hope……
As a far NW Indiana resident - ME TOO!!
I had the same problem when next door went and bought black cattle without asking our horses first.
It didn’t matter one iota that we have some black cattle.
THEN they went and put a couple in their own paddock that usually has foals.
To add to that the steers were coming up to the corner to make friends.
As above they would not even come down for food or water.
My advice and what worked for me, is to separate him. Put up a fence so he is furthest away from the bear and can not go to it. He has his own food and water. The others on the other side of the fence, maybe move food and water so it is not near the bear.
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