Training: calmness is good

I have found the fastest progress is made with a horse that is calm.  I recently read that horses (and people) do not learn when in flight mode.  (November's Dressaage Today article on dealing with stress).  It is also the safest for the people involved too.
A horse will not be calm at the beginning of training or when training something new so I have found it is best to go slowly:  baby steps.  Ask for a little, praise a lot and go do something the horse can do easily.  That might be standing, or letting go for a wander.  Food helps to relax a horse.
You can tell the horse is tense by the ears:  moving lots, not moving, pricked with the head up, and by the horse is moving.  The tenser the horse gets the stiffer and slower/shorter the steps.  This is a good time to stop and get the hrose more relaxed.  Using your aids stronger will not help the situation.  Stoking, treat helps.  Back down.  The more time you give the horse to figure out what you want in the beginning the faster his progress will be.  The better you are as a trainer, the less tense your horse will be. (if you can "read" the horse, then you will know sooner).

Tenseness will result in the horse getting rid of the problem at some point.
Signs of Tension are
tight tail (clamped or not swinging)
kink in tail
tail curled to one side shows tenseness on that side
head up
ears not relaxed
looking back at the rider
running off
bucking, rearing
refusing to move
slowing down
short steps (because the head is up)
swishing tail
shorter steps than usual

Signs of Relaxation
tail swinging
head and neck down (around withers level or above)
chewing on the bit quietly
foam a the bit (like lipstick)
ears at half mast
moving to front, back, side
one ear on the lunger or rider is always good
no wrinkles above the eye

The horse does not have to master a lesson before you move on to the next.  An introduction is good, then go back to it the next time all is good, and you should find the horse does a little more.  You want a little or what the horse offers.  In the beginning the horse will not have a clue what you are asking for.  So accept a little and then back off.  Leave it.

A rule of thumb is to repeat three times.  Then leave it and come back another time.  Don't keep asking for something.  The horse does not know what it is you want.

The horse is not wrong.  You are wrong.  Horses do not have a right and wrong.  If you are not getting what you are asking for then stop asking and figure out what you are doing wrong.  If you were doing it right the horse would do it.

Start on the ground, then on the horse's back with the ground person controlling, then gradually the rider takes over.  This is fast, and does not cause tension because changes are gradual.

If you teach the horse to buck, tense up, rear, bolt then the horse will use those to to deal with tension at a later time. So take your time.

Training sessions should be short.  End on  a good note.  Do not go onto something else.  Just stop.  Sessions will gradually get longer as the horse learns more.  The learning portion will stay short.

The horse will revert to what first learned.  If all was calm then the horse will revert to calm.  If the horse learned through fear and tension then the horse will tense up and have anxiety when something new comes up.

Just some thoughts on training I have learned over the years