Please critique horse and rider.

This is the update on our progress, in the past two weeks I have had 6, 30 minute lessons. Before that I was SUPPOSED to have had consistent lessons but my trainer had some stuff going on so she couldn't really come out, so I was riding pretty much only at the walk and we also had hit a plateau. Anyways, the first video is from 3 months ago and the second one is from today. Please give me opinions! Thanks!

There's a lot to like about both videos. Your position is very nice. Your lower leg is where it should be and nice and quiet. Your hands are in the correct position and quietly following your horse's motion. The basics are definitely there. Time to put it to better use to enhance your horse's way of moving.

When you first started trotting and came back to walk in the second video, that was the first time I saw your horse relax his jaw and poll and soften to the bit. He doesn't seem to be separating inside from outside rein in terms of communication. My suggestion would be to work him on a 20 meter circle. Use natural bend to your advantage. Forget the inside rein unless you need it to keep the proper flexion and ride him solely on the outside rein using only your inside leg to keep the bend and your outside leg to guard his hind end from coming off the circle. Once on the circle, do frequent walk/trot transitions. Keep that outside rein supple but steady and let him find the contact. Don't do it for him by pulling or squeezing with your legs. With each transition, he should soften a little more as his hind end starts to step more into the bit. Be patient and make sure to reward every try. Good luck!

To add to MBP's great critique, I also see that you are ready to start influencing this Mare's way of going more.
She rarely bends to the inside, but when she does, one can see her offer to reach more forward and down. When you feel those "offereings" I would take the opportunity to move her into long and low for a few strides if she will keep it. She still has a lot of underneck muscle which indicates that she may look soft, but is still bracing internally against the rein. She also seems to hold back, kind of "mincing along" in her trot. If you can get her to reach down and forward , a lot, she probably will slow the rythm of the trot but extend the reach of reach stride. You can encourage this by putting some leg on to galvanize some energy, but keeping your posting speed unchanged, so if she zooms forward, she will come out of sync with your posting speed, and will naturally slow to match you.

Long and low, bend to the inside and more engagement in the trot, but not FASTER.

I commented on your videos a ways back and still say that you have a lot of potential to be a very nice rider!

Grrr, you described the plateau I have hit :P I have managed to find a fairly decent position, but I just can't seem to be "effective". I will try that excercise the next time I ride (which will be in about two weeks) Thanks!

Thanks for commenting again :) as I told MBP I seemed to have reached the point where I am stuck and I can't quite put into action what will make her soften :/ I am thinking I am not rewarding in time, so it is making the process rather difficult. Her trot is actually better sad to say, but like you said it is still "mincing" I am also having trouble there because just until recently I wasn't posting correctly (I was doing something funky and it was locking up her back end) so I am trying to get the feel of it myself. Thanks! I will try more bending.

This might help. If your reins are of equal length, and you have the same amout of weight in both of them, you do not have enough bend. Logic is, if the horse is flexed properly to the inside, your inside rein will have more slack in it than the outside out of sheer physics. Tiny's right. It's all in the bend. Once you get the correct amout, the hose un-kinks and you get a connected horse.

When you do that circle work, if you still cannot get your horse to soften at the jaw, try practically leg yielding him around the circle. It'll be overkill, but will give you the result and feeling you need to work on.

I am definitely going to work on your suggestions, all I want is for her to relax!

I do have one more question for you, do you see any difference in the two videos? Thanks!

P.S I love your siggy!