I know it's not a good idea to ride a spirited stallion the first time you ride but there is the other extreme as well. When I was a kid they parked me on a horse named Beauty. She did everything the way she was supposed to every time whether I did the right thing or not. It was a nice ride but I really didn't learn a thing about riding. There was one horse that one of the older boys was riding and she was always doing the wrong thing. The instructor said that horse was the best one for learning because if you didn't do your part right neither would she. What do you think is the best type of horse to learn on?

Well I'm for sticking kids and new riders on the easy horse first, so they get a feel for balance and riding and they don't have negative consequences. Riding a horse the first couple times can be scary for people, and that is the first thing they need to get over. After that, they can switch to the feistier horse to get better.

Maybe it depends on the rider. I learn well by "trial by fire" kinda situations, so a less docile horse is fine with me. Though I get the point about fear of riding.

I had one of the slow, stubborn horses my first couple rides, but soon progressed to one of the many horses who had, lets call them quirks. Most of the lesson horses knew how to behave, but each had a different way of being asked and different things they liked or didn't. I think a horse thats not an automatic ride despite you yanking on their mouth, kicking their sides, or riding backwards is a good way to learn, so long as they are level-headed and not apt to take off with you after doing the wrong thing.