Lessons with Mike are completely amazing

Unfortunately, today's lesson and all I learned has been overshadowed by the problems I had with Mercury right after the lesson (blog post below).
We started with me describing the jumping problem at AF derby, and my theory - that it stems from me doing something wrong on the flat because I also have problems getting him to pay attention to me other times (at home, for example - the "easiest" place to pay attention).
We started with my position, and Mike gave me several homework assignments:
- First we did jump position. Again, a total miracle. There is a spot - god knows how I've made it this far in my life without ever feeling it - where your balance is just - absolute. It is the back arched, butt pushed back over the saddle, and legs - to me - forward. The alignment is like the stars aligning, and all of a sudden it is a spot you could be in forever. It's totally solid and I have never, I swear, ridden in it, because I would have remembered it.
It's also very, very hard to find on my own. Even with Mike's guidance, I would get it, feel it, and lose it.
- Next we worked on my seat and hips. This was kind of agonizing. It was different muscles than I usually ride with (not that my riding muscles are all that strong right now anyway, which is probably a blessing), and required some hip opening that I don't have, so it's back to the yoga mat for me.
Ok, so from the bottom up:
Heels go down. Down, down, down. But they go down by thinking "toes up" and what helps with "toes up" if I think "open knee" and open knee means "push your leg forward". Now, of course, it doesn't. You don't ride like a chair to have an open knee, which makes your leg long, which puts it underneath you, which helps you drop your heel. But that's what I had to think to make my leg do it.
This is out of order, but when we finished working without stirrups, when Mike said to pick them up, I picked up my legs, put them in the wrong place again and plonked my feet into the stirrup. So another homework assignment is to drop the stirrups, then pick them up by lifting my toes into them, instead of lifting my foot and dropping it down into the stirrup.
Toes also go IN, thinking pigeon toed, which actually just makes them only slightly out. I had to imagine keeping spurs off his sides to even get my legs close to pointed straight forward. Interestingly, for the brief moments I could hold the proper leg position, it felt really good and solid.
My leg goes back. Like I am pushing down against his stride and pulling back at the same time. My leg is way too far forward on the saddle. This was a really interesting feel. We did some sitting trot, and I held onto the pommel with one hand and thought about pushing my legs down into him instead of him pushing me up, and then tried to do loose hips. It turns out I can only hold about 3 new instructions in my head at any one time.
Mike said work 5-10 minutes every day without stirrups to work on this - the feel and loosening my hips and the sitting trot.
- Ok, then canter. It was similar to sitting trot, only I am bad about letting him run into it (his trot should not get quicker!), and I slouch in and collapse my chest. I am thinking about posture with a book on my head and consistency from him, and we tried how slow can I trot and then ask for canter. It is also thinking "leg back" but only my leg moving.
The canter movement is the same - pushing down with my legs and back and thinking of that pommel feeling, but it was harder for Willig with me shifting around, he kept breaking to trot and I kept not catching it in time to keep him going.
- We have a whole lot to work on in transitions.
- In general, Mike says lunging without side reins is not a good use of time. I am going to dig mine out and start using them again, but we'll start the next lesson with them to make sure I'm doing it right. He also said he thinks we're about "three chapters" away from jumping, and that he thinks a lot of the problems we fix with me will help Willig over the fences, but that it's likely he'll always be an insecure horse. Mike can help me with some baby jumps, and we'll work up to it - a pole, then 6", then cross rails. But first we are fixing me and the flat work.
And it felt great - there is so much to work on and it was so wonderful to be able to feel the difference and have something to strive for in between the lessons.
What was actually quite incredible was neglected Willig, while I've been dealing with Mercury, was really good (for him). He didn't do anything wild, and while our circles when I had one hand were more like amoebas, and he doesn't like it when I ride him inconsistently, it actually helps me know that I'm doing it wrong - he tells me. It's a nice way of looking at it - he's helping me improve.
I really like Mike's style. I had considered doing my lesson on Mercury since he was having problems, but then he was so good Tuesday I figured I didn't need it. I was wrong. Post-vet, I'm going to try to do an extra lesson with Merc if Mike has time as my first step towards what to do next with him.