barn sour/ lunging/head tossing........

Question
Hi my name is hannah i am 15 yrs old and have had 4 horses so far which i have to buy everything with my own mony$ anyways my first horse was to much for me and bucked, and by other 2 where AWESOME, but now i currently have a 7 , almost 8 yr old arabian mare , sassy ( u can guess how she got her name:) anyways the previous owners who had sassy only had her for 2 maybe 3 yrs but she was barely ever ridden, and when she was rode it was always in her paster.  Anyways i purchesed Sas 2 weeks ago and i think she is getting barn sour, like the first 3 days ridiner her she was GREAT , but lately she tries to turn around and back down the way we came, so i turn her in tight cirles to the right and then kick her to go forward , but i cant do circles with her to the left, she just does NOT go that way, she tosses her head if i try to make her go left when she wants to turn around, but usually i can get her going with the circles but every few feet she KEEPS trying to go back! ( she also has a habit of throwing her head, not bad but a little one, i have been trying to turn her in tight circles when she does that or back her up) anyways a few days ago i was on sassy like infront of the barn and she did NOT want to go forward so i kicked her but she still didnt go, but as i was kicking her she bucked! she has never bucked with me before, and i was so unprepared for it, i went up in the saddle and would have fallend but i grabbed her neck and came down on my saddle scraping my face on i think my saddle horn? anyways i have noticed she gets pretty mad when i try to make her to go somwhere, her ears go back and she tosses her head, but now i am AFRAID that she is going to buck if i keep persisting her:( i mean she is like AWESOME in an arena she listens almost perfectly, the only problem is getting her down the road TO the arena!  also when i lunge her she always wants to TROT, but i was lunging her in a SMALL round pen, to small to lope , barely big enough to trot, so i was just haveing her walk in circles on a lunge line but she stoped i think she cornered herself anyways she faced me kicked at me, i moved but i dont know if its cuz she traped herself or if she turned on me, i once took her in a yard and had her and was haveing her walk around me but but then she would stop face me with her hind quarters so i would get out of the way just incase she is going to kick me, like she acts like she will, and once i get the courage to get her on a LONG lunge line, like she doesnt want to stop, how do i get her to stop if she isnt listening to voice commands? I know i REALLY need to work on lunging her for i have only done it about twice with her and she NEEDS to know i am in control but i am kind of afraid to:( i would consider myself an intermediate to somewhat expereinced rider, but if she bucks or rears up i easily get frightened, i try to stay calm but my heart is still racing and when i ride alone i get frightened MUCH easier! i'm sorry if some of this is not worded correctly or doesnt make sence but if u could answer these questions taht would be GREAT, i dont know what to do anymore? she is a SWEET horse she loves attention but she is spirited.
thanks and i hope u can help me:)

p.s. i am working on training her to be a barrel horse, and she LOVES It she is PERFECT in the arena and gaits PERFECTLY for me!

Answer
Hello Hannah. From what you have discribed it sounds to me that you may have a saddle problem. If you'r saddle dosent fit properly it will pinch you horses back and make it incredibaly uncomftorbal for her. This can cause the horse to buck and get angrey when you ask her to move forward. Part of the reason being when they push off to walk there shoulder blade moves back under the saddle and an ill fitting saddle will cause your horse sever pain. One of the ways to tell if her back is in pain put pressure on her withers and back where the saddle goes with your fingers if there is a spot that is hurting her she will flinch or jump slightly just like you would if some one poked you in a sore spot. Pay close attention to pain in teh withers and shoulder areas. If this is the issue then she will be tossing her head and not wanting to move wether you are in the arena or trying to go out on the trails.

If the problems are only when you are trying to take her out on the road or trails by herself she might just simply not want to go. Many horses wont leave the saftey of the stable without another horse because they are herd animals or perhaps she has had a bad experiance out in the trails or on the road. To solve this problem take her out on walks starting with just a halter and lead and maybe bring a crop along to encourage her to keep moving. After she becomes comftorbal with this (you should give her about a week). Start taking her on walks tacked up (about a week or so of this also). Then try to bring her out riding on the road or trail. Always give her big praise and let her know she is being good. Dont push her if you can see its really not going to happen dont force her.

If these arent the problems the I would suggest calling the vet. Explain to your vet what is happening. There could be something wrong with her back or her legs or hooves. Head tossing is usullay a sign of pain and that there is something wrong or making the horse uncomftorbal.

I hope that I have helped you out if you have any more questions feel free to ask :)