It sounds as if your new attitude is having an effect, sans round pen!

 Quote: Lisa skinner

I think these suggestions are terrific and I thank you all.
But, what do I do if I don't have a round pen?
BTW, she hasn't threatened me since

Yeah!!!! She sounds like a good horse who just needed the right person with an alpha attitude.

You really don't need a round pen for the vast majority of horses. I would not recommend one until you can identify horse body language very well and have very good timing with pressure and release. I made sooo many mistakes when I first started using a round pen.

When you are handling the horses, or just in the same space with them, keep an eye on them, make sure their attention is on you, shoo them away if they crowd you, be fair, and be nice when they are being nice.

A rude, pushy horse that over-reacts to any small correction (jerks your arm off when they bolt away) or one who is always crowding/ignoring/disrespecting me, would get his butt carefully worked in a round pen, otherwise, I just use a rope halter and lead rope when I am working an individual horse. I haven't used the round pen for round pen training in years. It makes a very nice paddock.

Right now my round pen is keeping the formerly-escaped-and-very hard-to-catch bull contained. Which actually wasn't so bad because I got to ride for hours looking for him in the neighboring fence rows, and then the next day I got to use my horse to herd the neighbor's cow herd (with the troublesome bull amongst them) to the pens, then cut the bull out to a smaller pen so that we could commence the bull fight at the trailer. Bruised, battered, and rope burned later we finally got him contained. He now has an appointment with my dinner plate. The bull with the good disposition is wooing my cows.

Gee, I am making some headway, then. lol
I do have another question about the babies. It follows the same premise. The babies crowd us, again, at feeding time. They are either so laid back or so worn down (very thin) that they just don't back away when you shoo at them. I have been taking my alpha horse stick to describe my 'bubble, but they seem oblivious to it. Please tell me I don't have to pop them with it, although I am guessing I may have to 'bite or kick' them with it. Apparantly the neighbor has been letting her 13 yo son play with them, he hangs all over them and treats them like puppies, they have gotten much more obnoxius since he started that. I asked her to not let him do that with the excuse that I don't trust the mare not to hurt him, etc. They don't bite or kick, just push and lean. I am guessing that will get worse with time and size.
What do I do with the boys without getting ugly with them?
Thank you.
(Do you ever come to TX and give lessons? I think I couold really learn a lot from you!)

Try going into the pen without the food and see how well they listen to you. Also, make your bubble bigger so that you can take a step or two toward them as you wave the bag. You may have to do some serious gyrations right in front of their face to get them to take one small step back. When the do, stop. Reward the right answer. Make sure you aren't stepping back when they crowd you. Yes they will get worse if you let them.

I know it's hard to overcome our polite human society conditioning, but it is necessary. Rule #1: Don't back up unless you think you're going to die.

Don't whack them with the bag or stick. Rule #2: Don't get physical.

Would they crowd the alpha horse if she was eating her grain? No.

Watch how the alpha mare gets them out of her space and copy that, minus the actual kicking and biting. Most of the time she probably just threatens to kick or bite before they get very close to her.

Yeah, I'll come to Texas, if you pay me enough.

As soon as I win the lottery, I'm sending you an invitation and a plane ticket. lol
I'll try that with them. I wonder if I can find a plastic surgeon to give me bigger ears that I can pin........

OK! Maybe I'll see you in Texas one day.

Oh, they know "The Look", even with the little nothing ears we have.

If you do get pin on ears we want to see pictures.

I'm thinking Spock ears, you know, start small, I can add to them if nec.
I am working on perfecting 'The Look.' Mine works on my dogs, but maybe I need to intensify it somehow. Although, with the rather intense dogs I have, it should be almost perfect now. lol