Is she in heat?

My 4y/o amber, is the first mare i've ever owned, I've always had geldings. I've heard from many friends that their mares become total witches when they're in heat. Well I've had amber for about 3 months now and she's always been decently behaved when I ride her even if theres a week or 2 inbetween rides due to weather and such since we don't have an indoor arena. Any way I rode her yesterday for the first time in like 2 weeks and she was soooo bad, she kept spooking (something she never does) spinning, and trying to take off. And everytime my friend kim got to close to amber with her gelding bandit, amber would turn her butt at him and back up trying to kick him, she caught kim in the leg once. I have never seen her act like this and she's usually great around other horses. Could she be in heat?? Or just in a b*tchy mood??

Sounds like she's in heat.

However, don't give her an 'excuse' to be bad. 'Oh, she's just in heat!' She has to learn that however cranky she feels, she still has to listen to you and respect your commands. Look at it this way--if she was in the wild, and the boss mare wanted her to move and she was in heat, she'd do it anyway, or risk getting her butt kicked by the Boss! They are always capable of listening and being obedient.

That DOESN'T mean get 'rough' with her. You just have to get her attention, be patient and firm, and let her know that she absolutely can not get away with that behavior.

I agree with mayfeildk. She sounds like she is in heat but don't let her get away with anything or she will think she can do it anytime. My 5yo mare is different everytime she goes on heat. Some times she is extremely moody and badly behaved, sometime she gets depressed and goes off her food and sometimes her mood doesnt change at all. You just have to stay boss the whole time or she may think she has a chance at being boss.