Charlie majorly good for Major Beale

I forgot to include in yesterday's post the hardest part about the collected canter - doing the uberstriechen when Charlie gives with his head.  That actually applies to all things Charlie does - I'm a good clamper but not good at letting go (like the rest of my life, actually).  So I need to concentrate on that.
I started today by asking Major Beale for specific exercises to improve Charlie's musculature on his topline.  In addition to transitions and marching, he said to do lateral work and today's exercises.  I also asked about bending properly, and he said that yes, the aids were right (a squeeze on the inside, leg aid on the inside, and a firm hand (but a bit of give, to give him room to bend) on the outside).  He suggested thinking of it as a contraction on the inside and a lengthening on the outside, because a horse can't actually bend through its ribcage, but also it is ok to bend a bit more in the neck at this stage.
So then we got started, and he was not happy with the walk to halt transition, especially after we worked on it yesterday.  Ominously, he got up, got down a lunge whip, and came out into the arena.
If Charlie is working with impulsion, he will naturally halt square.  So all my efforts to fanagle him into halting square would have been better spent working on the underlying cause - adequate impulsion and proper carriage - than trying to skid him into it and all my other shenanigans.
What he ended up doing was NOT beating me with the lunge whip, but using it like the stick with Charlie's hocks to encourage him to step up and under - like I have seen Mike do when he is teaching piaffe.
We worked on "half steps".  This is walking, then pull both legs back a bit (hard to do in my hips, side note), and ask for a trot aid, but then hold it to tiny steps.  From half steps, we would transition down to walk or to a regular trot.
The regular trot then felt lofty.  It was not rushed - something I tend to do when I try to get "big" - but there was suspension - I could feel how long I was in the air posting compared to normal.
From there we worked on small circles around Major Beale (maybe 10 meter or 8 meter?) with haunches out but neck bent in - so if we were moving counterclockwise, haunches were out to the right, but neck was bent a bit to the left.  Then we would go bigger, reverse it - haunches to the left - and then straighten and go to a trot or straight to a canter.  We did this several times both directions, with improvement each time.
My left leg (and Charlie's left hind leg) are still noticeably weaker than the right, making it much harder to do it with the left leg as the dominant aid, and I am also slow to put on my "outside" leg to keep him moving "forward".
But when we connected all the dots and then did trot or canter - yowza - his shoulders were so high it was like sitting on a pillow.  It was divine.
From there we did some shoulder-in to trot lengthening exercises, with the important part being to give Charlie enough time to collect again and BEND before we headed into the corners - I would just barrel into the corner and he'd lose his balance.
Major Beale said it is correct to give him tomorrow off - he'll probably be a bit stiff and sore from using all those muscles for so long, but I have to say - Charlie was such a gentleman.  It was hard work - he was sweating and huffing and puffing, but he tried to figure it out and then gave it his best.  He didn't get frustrated or worn out.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to ride with Major Beale and learn from him.  He is very good at describing what the rider and horse are doing, and how that affects the movement.  I felt like I learned more in these two days than in years of struggling on my own.  And I am so, so lucky to have Charlie.  He is just a phenomenal horse, exactly the right personality at exactly the right time.
I feel like I am finally starting to catch on, and that maybe it isn't hopeless after all.  I've made so much progress from when I first rode with him!