Son of a Lynx was great today, he had his first sit, was mounted from the left and the right (I always do everything from both sides) and figured out that leg pressure means "go forward". We even went for a little wobbly walk as he determined how to carry a rider's weight. I do love a boring first ride, so we quit with that.
Compared to other methods it may seem a little slow to start like this in the beginning. However, I've found over the years that fast is slow and slow is fast when a horse is learning something new. I'd much rather have this all seem too easy and too simple for the horse than overface him or even just stress him out. This way he's interested in what we're doing, but not scared or worried by it. That mindset creates a horse who's eager to go to work, to learn the next thing, to spend time with the human who presents new puzzles to figure out.
