My 7 yr old Mare

Question
I have recently purchased my first horse. She is a 7 yr old registered QH. I originally kept her at the ranch where she grew up (since she was 6 months old) but she was part of a group of owned horses and no one has ever really "owned" her. The ranch owners broke her and trained her so others could ride her, but extensive training was never done.
She was very quiet, calm, gentle and forgiving at first even though she hates working in an arena. It makes her nervous.
I have since moved her to a new stable and as she is settling in, she has developed an "attitude". I rode her while she was in heat (yikes) and she wouldn't listen to me or pay attention to my cues/commands. She now fusses while cross-tied and throws her head when ridden. She doesn't bite, kick, buck or rear, but she seems like she is trying to become "the boss". Could this be a result of her being moved to a new stable? I am starting an extensive ground training program (with a trainer's help) and hope this will help. I a have only owned her for a month so our bond isn't fully established yet. I love this horse and know she has great potential. I am willing to dedicate the time and effort to work her through this.
Do you think alot of this behavoir is due to the recent stable change?

Answer
Hi Susan

Thanks you for the question and I will certainly try  my best to be of any help

Firstly congratulations on your new horse  she sounds  alovely little lady.

You have really answered  your own query in a way.   She is trying you out, to see just how much  you are willing to let her get away with!  

As you so willingly admit  the bond between the two of you has not yet been properly established, it does take  time and patience and effort but you are making all the right moves.

However there is a couple of other things you can do   to reinforce the behaviour message.

Do NOT on any account shout or smack her, the behaviour she is displaying is normal, she hasn't (as yet) bitten or kicked out at you so thats good as she  does not percieve you to be threat to her or to stop you going on what is essentially her territory (the stable)  Display very negative body langauage to her, look away from her then a quick look back to her  but keep your hands away and just let her realise that this kind of behaviour produces no reaction from yourself, its just what a herd leader would do if she was in a group.   When she stops her antics then just quietly praise her for being good    

Do you have to cross tie her?   Can you teach her to stand quietly in her stable, I prefer this to cross tie-ing any horse,  all horses should from day one be taught to quietly stand in their stables when owners are grooming or saddling up, its far less stressful for them.  The head throwing might be something she does naturally, some horses do it some don;t , if it continues and is causing problems then get your vet to give her the once over and explain your  worries to him/her, it might be something is niggling and she can't tell you what it is.    She is trying in her way to make you the junior in this partnership and thats not the way to go, you need to make her realise you are the herd leader and she has to work with you not against you.

The ground training is a great idea, and you seem to have explored this thoroughly, keep that up, play games, reward her when she does things correctly and  just start again when (and it will) all goes wrong!    If you can find a book on Parelli training or read any of the Monty Roberts books, full of sounds advice and practical help as well.

Hope this helps  if you need any more info then please do  get back to me, and please let me know how things are going.