We jumped!!

Okay, so it's not much of a jump, but I don't care!  He jumped it and I didn't die!!  He was a very good boy about it, too.  The first time, he broke to a walk and awkwardly hopped over it.  The second time, I didn't really ride and so he was like "ummmmm.... let's go over here instead" but was good when I steered him back.  He got better every time until he was happily trotting forward over it without hesitating or making a big deal about it.

Then we worked on being forward and relaxed and giving.  He was okay.

Last, I decided to try halting and asking him to flex and soften his jaw.  He was confused at first, so there was lots of backing up and going sideways while he tried to figure it out, but after a few minutes, he got it.  He actually softened his jaw and relaxed into the bit, AND we were able to flex from one side to the other without fuss!  Such a good princess!

Because he was good about flexing, even if he was confused and wiggling around, I asked him to trot, which he did (while relaxing and giving!!).  We just went halfway around the ring--just enough to end on a forward note.

We had a very very good ride!