Learning to listen...

I rode Anky in the school for the first time in a while, but before riding we had a short in-hand session to re-inforce the relaxation of the jaw and to encourage lowering and stretching her head and neck. She was pretty relaxed and I noticed immediately the difference in feel from the contact. I worked on small circles, trying to keep softness through the bend and encourage her to stretch out to my hand. It was inconsistent, but when she got it right there wasl no resistance in the movement and not once in the whole session did she throw her head up against the hand. Now that I've ridden her, I feel sure that the recent work from the ground is really helping.  I'm hopeful that she's going to continue to improve and her issues with the contact and relaxation will slowly get less and less.
I had a nice in-hand session with Remy, he was calm and attentive and he's learning to listen (I think that can be said about both of us) and to wait.