What does Clinton Anderson teach about what to do the moment you land in the saddle?

Clinton Anderson's instruction for the moment a rider lands in the saddle is specific and directly connected to safety: do not immediately ask the horse to walk off. He teaches sitting quietly for a moment, finding balance in the seat, and asking the horse to stand before anything else is requested. The reason is practical. The moment of landing in the saddle is when a horse is most likely to move, spook, or begin an unwanted behavior — the sudden weight, the shift in balance, and the sound of the rider settling all happen at once. A rider who immediately picks up the reins and asks for forward movement is compressing the horse's response window and has no established stillness to return to if something goes wrong. Anderson teaches establishing a quiet stand for at least several seconds before asking the horse to walk. During that stand, the rider does the one-rein flexion check from the saddle — picking up the left rein and asking the horse to tip its nose to the left stirrup, then the right — confirming the horse is soft and responsive before any forward movement begins. This in-saddle flexion check is the same as the ground check and gives the rider the same information: is the horse soft and with me right now, or stiff and somewhere else mentally. For young horses or horses that are fresh, Anderson extends the standing period, asking the horse to stand quietly until it has relaxed its back and dropped its head before walking off. He teaches that a horse that is allowed to walk off immediately every time it is mounted learns to anticipate movement and begins moving before the rider is fully seated — which is the origin of most mounting-movement problems.