Re: Naughty or a problem?
Hey, if you want a good book for bond building tips etc, try 'Perfect Manners' by Kelly Marks. It was literally a life saver for me!
Also, a very strict routine helps with horses generally. If you can stick to doing exactly the same thing everyday at the same time and only changing it little by little, it helps them feel less insecure. If a horse is acting up, there is usually something wrong, so try and find out what it is. Taking him into the arena on a leadrope and doing a few exercises (moving him around, over poles etc.) can be just as effective as join up (basically the 'dominant horse' is in charge of where the submissive horse moves and puts his feet etc.).
The catching is another way to use the join up principals without a pen. Just use the same rules, every time he is walking away from you, use aggressive body language - direct eye contact, square shoulders etc - and when he stops to look at you, stop, drop the eye contact, round and turn your shoulders. Wait for a few seconds, and if he doesn't walk towards you, keep the same body language and move quietly up to him. If he walks away, go back to the aggressive body language and repeat. If he lets you go up to him, let him sniff your hand, give him a scratch on the withers and walk away for 5mins or so. Then do it again and again. Put the headcollar on, and take it off as many times as you like. If you spend a week doing that 3 times ever day, I bet you won't have anymore problems!
Turning his bum to you is usually described as defensive rather than aggressive behaviour (attacking is head on aggression, such as baring teeth or biting), so you may want to find out why he is feeling threatened (could just be down to a bad past experience in a stable). Or he may have figured out that the best way to get a person to leave him alone is to turn his bum on them, you just have to figure out first what he want's from you (think about the way he is getting you to react), and second why he wants that. Sometimes, we do things wrong without even realising it, especially with sensitive horses.
Hope any of this helps, and that you manage to sort it out. Sometimes, it just takes a horse a while to settle in and get used to a new handler. Just be calm and consistent, and eventually he should quieten down. The more you can read up on horse psychology and behaviour the better.