Need advice on An 18 year old that hasnt been ridden in 9 years

I have been given the challenge to work with an 18 year old mare that has not been ridden in 9 years! And the whole time she was not being ridden she was basically being treated like an over grown outside dog! So you can imagine after 9 years of lots of spoilling and not being asked to obey or do anything constructive that she has devoloped an " I'm Higher and Mightier than anyone and I don't have to do what you say! " attitude.. You Know! So first I had to see how she would act under the saddle and . MAN! She was a train wreck. She refused to move then when I used the bat to make her move she would through her head and almost rare... So I got off and lounged her around, Basically showing her She CAN TO Move with that saddle on... An After that she was acting a little better, but if I take her out of thr round pen she acts all frantic and scared! I think she has separation anxiety from the other two horses, so maybe I should ride with soomone and see?? Anyone have some advice??

My first question to you is ..Why didnt you do the ground work BEFORE you got on?

A mare with that attitude is going to be difficult at times.If shes nervous about being taken out of the round pen - incorporate your ground work to include not only the round pen but the surrounding areas? Take her for walks - you are going to need to build a relationship with her.Mares arent geldings, and frankly they dont take to being "bossed" - you need to build a relationship with her thats positive - wether thats through natural horsemanship or more traditional lunging and ground work.As for riding with someone else - thats a good idea, but start with taking walks with one or the other and have your friend take the other horse home about half way through your walk together.Do this on the ground first.Its going to take a week or more of this to see that the world doesnt end when her friends go home.