More Beauty & the Beast jumps

We shared our lesson with Reece today, whose loaner horse got a little excited.  She did some good riding for a kid, and I got a little jealous that she's going to grow up to be such a good rider because she gets to spend her formative years learning from John.  Also, she "got" to learn how to solve a problem with John, where I "just" had super duper reliable Charlie carry me through it regardless of how I was flubbing it up.
John says when I jump at home, I don't need to jump more than 2'6" or 3', so that was super helpful.  He says he might do a few big jumps in a row, or just one once before a show, depending on what the horse needs.
For my lesson, my number one thing was to get my reins back faster.  He said it's fine if I slip them over the big fence so I'm not hitting Charlie in the mouth, but it shouldn't take me half the ring to pick them back up again.  I've also taken to sticking my left elbow out, like a chicken.  I have no idea why I'm doing that.
He also showed me with my hands where they should be when Charlie is on the bit, and how when he rounds up and then rounds down, how much that would pull them forward.  He said the only way to be able to do that is being super duper responsive in the hips, and since I'm no there yet, it's ok to slip them.
He was also telling me heels down and legs forward, and to keep my reins shorter heading into the fences than I wanted.  I also had to really think to squeeze my shoulder blades together, which we did at the start with some half seat in the canter and then some two point (around and around) at the trot.
We had one good learning moment over a big fence, when I looked down at it instead of up and out the door, and could immediately feel how it made me crumple in the air and as we landed, so it was a good demonstration of how important that head up is.
Charlie was great, nice and forward and round over the fences, but I still feel like triangle.  John said it's fine, it will get better, and it's not any worse than it was.
Charlie will be with John some part of this week (and maybe next week) depending on how my "Uncle Leo" trial goes.  There's a cold front coming in, and I am feeling terrible because I left Charlie's "snow suit" here at home so he won't be able to wear it standing in the stall.  I even left my trailer down there, so I had no excuse not to bring anything he might need.

Dressage without stirrups

John had us get right to it with some sitting trot, and then just a few blissfully ignorant minutes in, he had me drop my stirrups.  We probably did 2/3 of the lesson without stirrups, although it felt like eternity.  The whole riding my bike thing before the lesson does not result in me having the freshest of thigh muscles.
Anyway, I felt something very, very interesting.  Going to the right, especially at the canter, my entire body scrunches up and leans inside.  I have never felt that without stirrups, and I bet they're mitigating it a tiny bit, but I think this is a eureka moment.  It was brutal, trying not to lean in, and even when John said to make myself long between my hips and my ribs, he had to say "you're doing exactly the opposite of what I just told you to do" which made me laugh because I was trying to do it.
So Charlie moved like a dreamboat, good old Mr. Reliable, but I would scrunch so much my shoulder would be pointing into the center of the circle at John.  It was pretty remarkable Charlie could keep going on a round circle at all.
The other interesting thing was that Charlie was carrying his head really high, but also really round.  John said that's ok, as long as his poll is at the highest point.  He said Charlie probably felt really light in my hands (yes) and very easy to transition (yes), but I was surprised why his head was so high.  Normally, he is long and low and flat.  I will have to ask John next time why he held it high.
So John wanted more bend to the inside, by moving the bit around - not pulling but moving.  And then more forward, from asking with my seat, not my legs.
Charlie was very responsive, and it was a nice lesson.  Once I could pick up my stirrups, it felt like we ended too soon, but when I got off, I saw Charlie was sweaty underneath (which he never is when I ride him by myself at home) so clearly he got a workout.
Then I chatted with John about the points, came home and checked the spreadsheet, and realized that yes I had overlooked something - horses and riders in multiple divisions.  So Charlie is not horse of the year - a super duper upper level horse is (also for sale for $65,000, a two star horse who is 13), and I am not rider of the year - Jordan who is on the leaderboard in like five different divisions probably is.  Bummer.  But I'm going to hold out hope that Charlie gets reserve horse of the year.  That would still be pretty cool.
The other interesting thing is that he didn't have a chance of winning it at novice the year we did super well.  Not a snowball's chance.  Pretty much no horse does but the upper level ones.  If I did the math right, first place is 73.x, Charlie was 40.5, and third place was 40.

Breathe a little easier

I had to miss both lessons last week because of cold weather (snow, then ice), so I was eager for tonight's lesson.  John took care of Charlie first, and made sure he didn't get too sweaty so he wouldn't get cold on the ride home, so we quit a little early.  We were going to do the corner, but didn't.
I had my list of questions:
- Why does my back round on the far side of the fence?  It used to round all the way, and has gotten flatter and flatter, so this will probably go away.  Right now, I can only think of so much all the way through.
- Why are Area VII points different than national?  Because Area VII doubles champs and national doesn't.
- Why can't I do the 9' poles at home?  He doesn't know because I ride them fine with him.  Stop overriding them maybe.
- Why is Charlie throwing his head up in the transitions?  Because it's cold and he's stiff and to work him hard enough to get him round would make him all sweaty and John didn't want that tonight, it wasn't worth it.
- Why do I some nights have great lengthening and other nights great lateral?  This seemed like a stupid question but actually was a great one because John said the lengthening is how loose Charlie is in the warm up, and the lateral is how even I am.  So if I'm riding crooked, Charlie won't go as well.  I haven't been able to correlate it with how hard Charlie was worked, but it does - with hindsight - have to do with how hard I worked at the gym the day before, I think!

So we started with some warmup, which I like because it helps me think what I should do at home alone.  He had Charle much more round and forward, and had me do more alternating legs (like outside leg, then inside leg, then both legs), with a bit of bend to the outside.  (Which I don't think I'm doing enough at home.)
Then we did just the line of poles, then John made them longer (12' instead of 9') and Charlie didn't care.  Then we did them the other way, same thing.
Then we did them to a vertical that John quite quickly made into that same behemoth 4' thing.  The good news is (I think) we rode it much cleaner.  He said he wasn't going to tell me good because it would go to my head, but "better".  It felt a lot better than last time, when I felt completely uncoordinated up there.
It made my face grimace, but Charlie tackled it like a champ.
The only thing was he absolutely flat out refused to ever land on the left lead.  It was right - right - right.  John said use outside leg on the way in to the fence (when I was trying to land left) but it didn't make a difference.
John said he's probably a bit stiff on that side (the cold), and his right hind just doesn't want to push as much.  He said use that outside leg to remind him to use it, but not to make too big a deal out of it when it's cold and Charlie's going fine.
It was kind of frustrating because my reins kept getting longer over the line of poles, no matter how much I sucked them up after and how hard I tried not to let them slide.

Meg said she gave Manny a spur rub on the left, which is super interesting because I give Charlie spur rubs on the right, and Charlie hates landing on the left lead and Manny hates landing on the right lead.

I realized last week that what I like so much about John is he accepts me for the way I learn, and adjusts his teaching style to get through to me, instead of demanding that I learn his way.  He's a really, really good instructor.  He's very adaptable for the student/horse combination (and current issues), has good solutions, doesn't provide too much at once, but first and foremost takes care of the horse.  I'm really, really grateful I get to ride with him.

Work on 10 meter circles

Today we talked about fitness (human and horse), exercises I can do at work and home, and then did such hard work on 10 meter circles that now - 6 hours later - my butt is sore.
First, I wanted to know why I got so out of breath in my lessons (and sweaty).  John said he gets sweaty too, and that part of it is because I am using a whole bunch of muscles I don't use when I ride by myself (because it is harder for me to just keep going than to rely on John to tell me what to do next).  In a lot of my lessons, he is telling me to adjust things step by step, and that means muscles are always working.  He also said there's nothing else like riding to work the muscles - running and biking both just lengthen them.  He said the closest is swimming.
For Charlie, he said that yes, once Charlie is fit, he can maintain it with just a little bit of work.  Like how I got him fit for the three day, and then he lasted the next six weeks for the rest of the season without me needing to condition him.  He said it is a lot of work to get a horse up to a full format * fit, but then it is just a couple extra minutes of gallop to get them up to **.  He also said it is much harder now, when people don't have access to places like his where they can just go gallop around the 40 acres, then come back and keep jumping.
But yes, they can get dull, so break up the routine of work with just some walking around and chatting before going back to work.
For fitness, I can do the adductor at the gym, wall squats at work and at home (work up to 20 minutes!), and stairs.  But he said on the stairs to first walk on my heels and stretch out the Achilles Tendon so I don't injure it, then do the stairs with my heel hanging off the back.
He also said that my position is not good at the apex of the jump, but my leg is not swinging, and my approach and landing are good, so it was not as bad as I felt like it was.  (I was sure I was doomed from prelim and we were going to have years of basic work before he'll let me go up a level.)
For Charlie being stiff yesterday, he said yes, the long low work was good, and also add a bit of long low leg yield.  My lower back was probably sore from trying to keep my shoulder blades together, and holding the position over the top of the fence.
So today we did a lot of 10 meter circles, at the trot and canter.  Charlie threw one fit, kind of early on, and it was relatively brief.  This was one of those lessons where John gave me instructions at every step, so it was too much for me to repeat at home, but one big takeaway was to push down with inside seat bone with the canter aids (and then, even on a 10 meter circle, Charlie picked it up instantly).  For the down transition from canter to trot, don't drop my hands and keep my legs on so he doesn't plummet down.  Do NOT let my inside hand get dragged down, keep it up.  To have bend on a small circle, make the inside rein a couple inches shorter; then my hands can be even but I have bend in Charlie's neck.
We did 10 meter circle, shoulder-in on short side, another 10 meter circle, etc.  Then we did the same thing but going down the long side without changing anything and going deep in the corners.  John said we had a nice trot in the circle that used to be our lengthened trot.  Charlie tried to twist his head, so I had to put the inside hand up a lot and hold it there.  We did a lot of the work sitting.
Charlie also tried to bulge out the outside shoulder, and I had to use outside leg to keep him from escaping, but then he'd start moving in, so I had to follow it right away with inside leg.  It was a lot of concentration and a lot of reaction and requests all really fast.  Charlie did great (other than the one little tantrum), and it was - as usual - a great lesson.
John said that I can do work without stirrups also, but to be careful not to start pinching from my knee - to remember that exercise about holding the dollar bill.

Travel times

John says 14 hours to Fresno and there's a stop half way.
20 hours to Galway.

Also, hand on outside of thigh, above knee, replicates the motion your hand does on the rein (at the canter) to feel how much motion there is.

4' is really, really gigantic (which makes me sad)

We jumped this gigantic jump today; the biggest jump I've ever jumped.  I couldn't believe John kept making it bigger and then made it wider.  It was at the end of four poles, 9' apart.  When I measured it, I was sure it was like 4'6", maybe 4'3" if my eye was way off.
It was ONE MEASLY INCH above prelim level.  One inch.  I'm crushed.
Charlie jumped it like a freaking rock star.
I jumped it like an utter moron.  I just stood straight up in the air like Triangle and didn't even do a crest release.  John said that Charlie was rocking way back on his haunches to go over it (because of the 9' ground poles) so I didn't need a crest release the way that I do when he launches over one all flat, but it still felt like I would win a worst position award.  John also asked was I inhibiting him or catching him in the mouth, and I wasn't - I just had all this hang time to be above him, not in a two point.
I struggled with the 9' poles.  It turns out I've been coming around the corner and then barreling at the fence, and John wanted Charlie to back up, not lengthen, to have the power for the fence.  He said it teaches me I don't have to lengthen to get the power, and also lets me have that leg for when I really need it in an emergency.
We started by discussing Charlie's issue from yesterday; he didn't want to do a halt - trot transition without flinging his head up in the air.  When I tried to make him, he'd fling it higher, then run backwards.  So I whomped on him with my heels and beat him with the whip until he went forward, then we'd try again.  John said yes, he was probably just being a brat, but that the easier way to do it is halt - turn on the forehand - then trot off.  And then you can just bend towards a turn on the forehand and trot off.
We did some warm up, and John had me get in a two point with SHORT REINS and then not let them slip while we shot down the long side; then stand up a bit for the short side, then go back down the long side.  This was much harder than it sounds because I really did not want to keep my hands out in front of me.  You have to move your elbows to have hands in front with short reins.  I also got horribly out of breath (and sweaty) which pissed me off with all the bike riding I've been doing.
Then we did the ground poles, once horribly (John said I tried to ride the first one in stride instead of just letting Charlie deal with it and looking to the end).  The rest were fine.
Then he made the vertical at the end bigger and bigger.  We did just a bit of a nice trot in between.
In the ground poles, he asked me to change lead on the third pole, and while Charlie didn't do it successfully, he did try, and John said he liked that Charlie listened and tried.
John said not to think about pushing my hips back because I like to duck, but to think about pulling my shoulder blades together, to try to work on the position.
He said that at home work on keeping that feeling of contact (with short reins) all the time; because it is not just over fences, but on the flat that I am doing it too.  Last lesson I was curling my wrist, and he said the is the right feel, but wrong solution.  I just need a shorter rein.
Finally, we talked about the next horse.  He said that it will be anywhere from $20-100, and that he'd prefer to get a training level horse, ride it a year or two there to get to know it, and then go prelim.  He said he has too many students who buy a 1* and then want to immediately go 1* (so they're not "wasting" it) but it's not what's best for the horse, who has learned to communicate with his (former) rider, and then the new rider doesn't respect the signals
He said, for example, he just looked at one who was 5, could jump 4' without a rider, and then jumped 3' with a rider without getting all wound up.  That's the kind of horse he'd look for.  He also wants to look for one that if it doesn't work out, it can be sold, and I don't get stuck with it.  So I can get it, go training level, and if it's not the horse for me, sell it again and look again.  He also said he doesn't know if Charlie can do a 1*, he's never been fit enough for John to guess whether his legs can withstand the pounding for the distance and speed.
John said his primary concern with letting people go up a level is whether the horse is going to take care of itself.  He doesn't want to let people level up if the horse is just going to smash into the fence.  I like that I can trust him to tell me that.  He said also there will be times when the horse just seems tired or not into it, and then he'll say to scratch a show.  He said it's not worth it to push them at that level when they're not ready to go.
Even though my form was bad, I was impressed by how huge the jump was until I got home, measured it, and totally deflated.  He told me not to measure; he said it was prelim and not to worry about it, but I did it anyway.

Trailer and week 4 (?)

Today the trailer got its twice annual bath; this time at the I-5 truck wash at exit 88.  Thanks to the truck ahead of me, I asked them to clean the inside too, and it came out gorgeous and sparkling.  (For $50)
Then I cleaned under the mats, and much to my dismay, the slight "rust" in the aluminum floor got much worse over the summer.  There is one tiny (not even dime sized) hole and two others forming.  I don't think the trailer is even 4 years old and has been cleaned twice a year (and sprayed with rust protector at least once).
In better news, this week's exercise was three bikes (one outside, about 10 miles, to 14.5, in 50 minutes), one at spin, one for 30 minutes.  Two weights.  And yet I continue to get fatter.

Figure 8 verticals and a corner

We started with some flat work with Brooke.  Mom videoed yesterday, and I noticed Charlie's left lead canter was a bit stilted, with his haunches in down the long side.  Before I even told John, he fixed it by having me bend Charlie to the right both directions.  For the left lead, it was a counter bend, and it shifted his weight so he couldn't keep his haunches in.  But for the right lead, it was to the right to soften his stiff side.  It was interesting how well it worked, but was counterintuitive to what I would have tried to do (a counterbend both directions).
John also had me keep Charlie a bit more active, and that meant a lot more adjustment than I normally do.  For example, he'd have me push him to the outside with the inside leg, then do a half halt with the outside rein with a tap with the whip at the same time, and follow that by closing both legs and asking him to step forward.  We got some really nice trot out of it, but I'm not sure I'm quite ready yet to put all those steps together (or know when to use each one) on my own.
We started with a figure 8, which John gradually raised to be not very big fences.  We had a much harder time with the fence that was a change to the left off of the right lead, even though there was a lot more space to make the turn.  We spent a while making circles each time trying to get the lead, although it wasn't anywhere near as bad as last year.
I had one very pukey jump, and John said that at the last minute, I tried to fix it, but was too close.  He said that at the beginning of the ride, I'm not going to have the flexibility that I do after I've got him going, so I can't make changes at the last second.
We jumped the corner three times.  The first was ok, the second was perfect but we totally knocked it down, and the third was good.  John said not to worry about the knocked down one, it just happens sometimes and there was nothing about the jump he would have changed.
Charlie got quite forward to the fences, and John said the thing he liked the most today was Charlie's willingness to be responsive and to try.  I said it was him being forward, but I think it was the same thing.  I didn't really have to battle him all the way around to just go.
I did need my right heel down more, but in the videos mom and dad took, my form actually looks pretty decent.  My hands and lower leg seem to be pretty still, but there does look like a lot of motion in my upper back, like a vertical see saw going back and forth.
John also had us do some trot lengthening, right in the middle of the fences, which Charlie did absolutely brilliantly.
I asked him why my form last lesson was so bad over the big fence.  He said that Charlie rounds up really high, and I am having to kick him, tighten him, through the combination, so it doesn't really set me up to ride right.  He said because Charlie doesn't knock rails, we don't have to work much on his form, and his bascule is a big pop.  Well, that's the best way I can summarize it.
He also told me not to "curl" my left hand, which when I looked down, I was totally doing.  I think what I need instead are shorter reins.
We also did some haunches in, but I have (surprise) been doing them wrong.  His neck stays bent to the INSIDE, and then haunches come in.  So it is not just sideways, but with a bent neck. For example, if we're going right, his neck is bent right, and then the haunches come in to the right, so his body makes a C shape.  It is not an "I" or lowercase "l" stuck out from the wall, but a curve of his nose towards his tail.

Week 3 of the John Camlin Prelim fitness program

3 days of biking (2 spin; 1 outdoor) - 45 minutes each
Bike is about 4 minutes/mile (so 72 minutes to do 18 miles)
Went to cross road with "103" (102?) on Western Chehalis pulling dogs
Two days of weights (had to travel for work)
3 (?) days of core at home
Rode only 4 days (3 dressage; 1 jump) - no lesson, John in Fresno

Jumping a behemoth

We started today over a stack of three cavaletti, and then John put us straight to work going through the grid.  He then alternated the grid with the corner, from both directions.  If I looked up and over the corner AND counted strides, I could get the right distance (mostly), but if I looked down at it or forgot to count, we'd come in at an odd distance.
John had me put the reins in one hand and the whip in the other, and then smack Charlie and cluck at the same time through the grid twice.  After that, Charlie got a LOT more respectful for the cluck or the whip.  (Although he gave little "screw you" bucks through the grid.  Little ones.)
Then John made the oxer on the end of the grid ginormous.  I asked him at the end how big and he said "not that big" but I think it was over 4'.  (Which probably means it was like 2'9".  Ha ha.)
Charlie jumped like a champ, but my position was pretty bad over the huge grid.  I had to look ahead and watch the back rail from the first corner, or else we drifted.
It was awesome.  We were in the air SO LONG and it was so easy - even with terrible form - to get up and over Charlie's back because there was so much time in the air.  Charlie is so great.

Then we ran through my questions:
- 4 poles on the ground 9' apart, why did Charlie goof it up?  Even if he kicked the one on the end, it was no more than 1' off.  John said the purpose of the exercise is to make it easy for Charlie, and so yes, he "should" be able to adjust that 1', but that's not the point of the exercise.  He said pile some dirt around the base so they don't move so easy.
- 10 meter circle; we spent a lot of time on how I wanted a perfect circle but the measurement wasn't right.  John said to just walk to half way and then go up and down.  He said it is better to work off one cone (in the center) and not make the four.
- Charlie's weight; John said he will tell me if Charlie gets too fat, and if he is cleaning up all his hay, give him more to eat.  I increased it.  He said when Charlie goes into hard work with him (in Dec/Jan), he'll lose 150 pounds that week.  He said Charlie needs the weight to put the muscle on top and that his neck is already starting to fill out a little.  I increased it to 1 1/2 scoops strategy am & pm; 3 flakes Timothy am & pm; and he gets 2 flakes local pm.
- I asked him why my left leg sticks out all the time.  He said it is probably coming from my hip.  He said try to think of clamping the dollar bill - not under my knee, but on the part of my calf that connects to the knee.  He said you can ride without your knees touching (and made me do it at the trot, then in a two point), and in fact, it kind of prevents you from pivoting around your knee when you jump because when you close your leg, it closes the whole leg instead of just the knee.

Charlie got quite sweaty.  I haven't clipped him yet, but hope to tomorrow or over Thanksgiving.

Dressage in draw reins

Jessica hauled out with us and had a jump lesson before our dressage lesson.  When John came out with the draw reins, I assumed they were for her, but lo and behold, they were for me and Charlie.  And good lord they were a good choice.  John wanted to see how Charlie was doing without me having to fight with him about his frame (he told me after the lesson ended) and how Charlie was doing was moving like a dreamboat.  We did 8 meter circles, 10 meter circles, and 12 meter circles, leg yield at the trot and canter, and shoulder-in.  We did "medium" (not lengthened) trot, and Charlie lifted up like a motorboat taking off and just soared down the wall.  He got a lot of "good boys" from me during the lesson.
At the end, John told me that he could tell that when he rode Charlie (around September 3, the lesson before Aspen), I obviously was watching him, watched what he did, and watched how Charlie reacted, and then tried to incorporate it.  Which is true, but I think he is giving me too much credit for doing it successfully.  He said that at the canter, I've been behind the motion - trying to get Charlie to step up or go faster and then - eventually - going forward when Charlie is going backwards and not helping him with his legs.  But he said this time, I figured out the driving forward seat, and was using it properly.  I was glowing with the compliment, even though I felt like I totally didn't deserve it.  I thought it was just dumb luck that Charlie was moving so great during a lesson.
Jessica said after it looked like I had a dressage seat, and I said yeah, that's how it felt.  Like I was riding and thought "oh, this is why dressage riders look like this when they ride."
Next week I have to miss Thursday, so John said we'd jump on Saturday.  I asked didn't I need dressage more than jumping, and he said jumping was the reason the son shone.  I agree completely.
I am so, so, so lucky in life to have a great horse like Charlie and a great trainer like John and the means to be able to go down there and ride with him.  He is such an incredible instructor.

Man, I love being in a jump saddle

We had a jump lesson tonight.  Charlie was his usual fantastic self, after the first trip through the grid which sounded like he just decided to blast straight through as if there were no fences there.
First we did a line of three (?) ground poles that were 9-10' apart.  Then John turned them into a cross rail, then a vertical, and my job was to just stay in my two point and let Charlie figure it out.  I would send him forward on the long side, then look up to my fence, then use my outside leg to balance him, then look up and out to go over the line, regardless of whether it was ground poles or a fence.
The last couple, John said I was drifting to the left (which I could feel) but once he said it, I could focus on it and fix it.  And I did fix it!
That was to the right, so then we did grid work to the left.  This was easier because it was a nice grid - a ground pole, tiny cross rail, pole, vertical, pole, and then a vertical that ultimately became an oxer.
The three takeaways were:
- Keep my back flat; apparently I like to round it over the third fence (I don't know why)
- Keep my head up - keep looking down the line.  Charlie likes to plummet down after the last fence, and it keeps my head from slamming down towards his neck.
- Keep my legs forward.  Instead of rolling forward at the end, make sure to think about my legs being in front of me so they don't flip up after the last fence.
The last few fences we worked on Charlie landing to the left lead.  John put a ground pole out and so I'd land (looking left and with the whip in my right hand) and try to do a flying change over the ground pole.  Charlie didn't, but after a few rounds he voluntarily switched leads by the back door instead of having to go around in a circle.  John thinks he'll get it again as we go back to work.
John said the vertical exercise was a good one to do at home because it makes Charlie think about his feet and keeps me out of the way.
Charlie was soaking wet at the end, so I guess I'm going to have to go ahead and clip him (and he's out of shape).
I forgot to mention from the last lesson that John also suggested using the whip next to my leg, instead of back on his rump, with the leg aid, to intensify it.  He also suggested I try standing up for an hour or so a day, like when I'm reading, as a way to kind of get up and out of my chair but not have to spend an extra hour away from work.
I love lessons with John.  And I got the trailer parked successfully back in its spot, which is what I was the most anxious about.
I felt very - solid and tight - in the jump saddle.  A nice strong sort of feeling.  And John had me start working in a two point, trying to think of the maximum pressure being my upper/lower leg just below the knee - not pinching with the knee, but that spot right below the knee being the primary pressure point.  I was pleasantly surprised with how long it took for my thighs to burn (really my hamstrings), especially after hitting the gym so hard on Tuesday night.

Dressage lesson after Charlie's vacay

I tried to be efficient with personal life and Charlie, but he ended up with a three week vacation instead of a two week vacation.  We saw John a month ago for a great lesson, and I rode Charlie this week to get him ready to go back to work.
First, we went over rider fitness, following up on our last lesson.  For prelim, John says I have to take it up a notch.  Ideally, I'd be running 6 miles 5 days a week by show season, but because of my dumb foot, I've got to bike.  John says I have to do about triple the mileage on the bike for the equivalent of running, so about 80 minutes on the bike at about 80 rpm.  John also had some suggestions for PF treatment, which made me realize I have been ignoring it for far too long (since July) hoping it would go away on its own.  I need to be more proactive because I'd way rather run than ride the bike for hours and hours.
Then we got to work.  He reminded me of the three topline exercises we worked on last year (which I should have looked up on my own; that's the entire purpose of this blog).  One was spiral circles in with a counterbend and leg yield on the way out; one was shoulder-in on a long rein; and now I have forgotten the third.
I told him about Charlie leaping around like a mad man on Thursday when I tried to do a serpentine to the quarter line at the canter, and he said "you started flying changes again didn't you?" and I confessed that I had, and he said just leave them alone for a while and we'll work on them later.  (He also knew Ashley's horse was bucking with the eyes in the back of his head and how she was riding at that moment!)
I told him how Charlie was stiff and heavy on the left rein at the canter, so the first thing we did, when getting ready to canter right, was ask him to pick up the left lead on a right hand 20 meter circle which made Charlie have to spend a lot of time thinking about his legs, so after a few tries, when he didn't get it, and I asked him to pick up the right lead, it was quite lovely.
For the left lead, I asked him to bend his head way to the inside, then would very softly put it back in position.  I'd also lift my hand 8-10 inches up, and then pull back with bicep.
Charlie was great.  The Legend booster he got a few weeks ago really seems to make a difference, so my plan is to do injections twice a year and then 8 boosters.
It didn't feel like we rode that long or that hard, but Charlie was quite sweaty (I haven't clipped him yet), and he has not gotten anywhere near that sweaty on our regular rides at home so I guess I'm not working him hard enough.
It was a great lesson.  I'm so lucky to have John.

Humble pie jump lesson

Meg and I had a jump lesson on Tuesday this week because she and the Caber crew are going to Spokane instead of EI to start the season at the end of the week.  It was a good lesson, but good in the sense that I was learning things the slow, hard, stupid way instead of the naturally talented way.
First, I asked John my series of questions (why is my truck squeaking (ball needed grease), should I worry about Charlie's stifle (no, I will just make myself neurotic; it would swell if the suspensory ligament was rubbing on the end of the bone); did I ride the tall bank correctly (maybe); how do you ride the downhill with a half stride (he didn't know); can I do my lesson next Tuesday (yes)).
Then we rode.
We started with a vertical, but Charlie got a bug in his ear and couldn't handle it and I had to stop and try to get it out, and then we rode anyway, but he spent so much time shaking his head, we kept coming in wrong.  I didn't stop again because I wanted him to learn he had to work even if there was a bug in his ear.  After we did that jump several times, John stopped us and rubbed Charlie's ear for him.  John is apparently a better ear rubber than me.
Then we did an oxer going both directions, and I had some trouble getting Charlie uphill but not strung out (same problem I was having with vertical, although I thought that was because of the ear bug; and spoiler alert, the same problem I had all the way through the lesson).  It was a big oxer.  I think it was at John's belly and I meant to get off and check afterwards but forgot.
Then we did an airy vertical plank on a 4 stride line to an oxer, and angled the oxer.  I could not get the first fence and jumped it like a spazz several times.
From there, we went to a combination with three - a one stride to two stride.  John had me do the plank going the other way, then whip Charlie, then do it again.  That definitely sparked Charlie up.
From there, we did the combination backwards - the oxer - two stride - vertical - one stride - vertical - 5 stride to an oxer.  Both Meg and I flubbed this.  My flub was that we rode this - like two lessons ago and the lesson before that too - and the line is a straight line, then bend - like 1 1/2 strides of straight, not a bend in the air over the final fence of the combination.  John was mad because we both had ridden it, knew the line, and yet neither of us thought to ride it that way.  We just kept riding it as a bending line and coming in at a weird place.
This is where I got really frustrated.  I would have just ridden it with an awkward leap over and over and over again, never stopping to think how it needed to be ridden differently.  As soon as John gave up and reminded me, it rode perfectly.  But I'm mad because it didn't occur to me; and I already knew it.
John said that I need to ride Charlie uphill to the fences, that yes, he needs to be more responsive to my leg (each fence, it felt like we were just running out of steam as we got closer, but John says I am actually charging at each one), but that the fences are getting big enough that Charlie comes in cocky and ready to launch and then is like "oh shit" (my words) and kind of scrambles over it and that's where we get in trouble.  If I bring him in uphill, even if he doesn't have as much forward, he can rock back and get over it.  But if I bring him in forward, he comes in flat and downhill and can't get over it without some histrionics.
We ended with a discussion about clients, how there are some who expect John to fit them in the very next day (same for Meg, same for me) and others who are regular.  I may not be John's most talented student, but I'm nothing if not diligent in planning ahead and trying to keep a regular schedule.
I talked with John about this several lessons ago, but I am sliding back downhill again on the curve of competency, realizing just how much I don't know, but more, when I watch Meg, how much Charlie saves my ass and how must I trust him to do that.  I'm not sure that is making me a better rider, although the fact that I'm able to complain about Charlie taking care of me too much shows that I am truly capable of complaining about anything.
I am quite nervous about the show season.  I really want Charlie and I to rock the region and get ready for prelim.

My nemesis fence was worse in my imagination

As with most (but certainly not all) things, how I imagined the fence that took me and Charlie down last fall was much, much worse in my mind than in real life.  In fact, it was so easy in real life that I went from fear (pooping fear prior to leaving to drive down today) to disgust that such an easy fence knocked us out of 5th place in the champs class and resulted in so much rehab.  It rode easy peasy.
We warmed up over a vertical, and most of Charlie's jumps were pretty good.  Meg and I did a bit of 2 point in our canter warm up, but I stayed pretty light to keep Charlie fresh.
We started with a little log, then an easy ramp to an up ramp bank to an off bank.  Then an A frame with some decent scot's broom on it (so you had to jump on the right, left, or high over the center; I took the right).  Then we did my nemesis.
It was just riding up to it, 4 strides, up the bank, two strides, off the bank.  I was a little scared and stiff so my down bank was just me standing straight up and trying not to hit Charlie in the mouth, but he didn't bat an eye.  John confessed later that he was a bit anxious too, but then saw how easy it was for Charlie.  His additional theory is that Charlie, unlike most horses, accelerates when he comes into a new field.  He said most horses don't, but look around.  He said he saw it at Inavale too, but didn't notice it was consistent until he saw us do it today.  So he expected we came across the culvert, accelerated and just came in too long and fast and got it in 3 1/2 strides instead of 4.  I said that sounded exactly right.
He said he doesn't like for horses to jump cross country too much because they get dull to it, and especially for xc he likes to keep them sharp, but he let me jump it twice because it was obvious the first time that I didn't believe it was really that easy.  It was also nice that John knew I was scared, didn't make a big deal out of it, but worked around it.  He's the greatest instructor.
From there, we went down and did the ditch a few times each way, then the big honkin' ditch with the solid fence and scot's broom.  Just like the last (two) times I rode it, Charlie jumped it like a breeze, and I just had to not think about it and look up.
From there, we went to the water and came in between two fences, off the bank into the water, over the corner, and around a nice table.  Charlie hesitated a second looking at the water but then went on in.
John asked us if we wanted to do anything else and I said "yeah, the pimple" and he said "you know that's a 3' fence on top, right?" and I said "yes" (although I had no idea) and so we had to ride to it very forward, then pull him together, then kick-kick-kick.  At the top, Charlie hesitated, hung in the air, then went down the back side like it was no big thang.  But as we came up the hill, holy christ the fence was huge.  I completely froze, and thank god for sweet Charlie who figured it out, jumped it, and went on his merry way.  It was great to jump something like that with John right there (and telling us the sequence of steps) because it will make the log on the hill at Inavale now seem like nothing.
John said that we are both solid on xc, even if I have a "bewildered" look on my face a lot of the time, and that what he wants us to do next is start stringing the fences together, so that if we have a bit of a downhill after a table, we notice it and think ahead to the next fence and think, "I need to put him a bit together because that is also a bit downhill".
It was a really fun lesson.  I get it, not wanting a horse to get too used to it - John used as an example if we did the pimple 5 times, Charlie would jump it exactly the same each time, but by the 5th time rub it. I wish I had two - one to drill me on, and then one for the shows.

Tough lesson.

It was about 85 today, but it felt very hot.  Charlie was sluggish and didn't want to bend.
He got pretty round, but he had to lose speed to do it.  John said that round and a bit slow is better than fast and strung out for his dressage test.
He was doing the thing where he refuses to bend to the left, so John had us do turn on the forehands, and when he still wouldn't bend, John took my whip to whip Charlie from the ground.  Charlie was so surprised he kicked his own inside leg with his left hind leg and left a nice big gash.
The lesson should have been satisfying because even though Charlie started out stiff as a board and like we were moving through molasses, he ended up pretty nice and round.  But it was frustrating because I was exhausted trying to ride him, and I'm not sure I can accomplish it on my own without John talking me through each step.
I said if I got him round and rode him round consistently, eventually he would add the speed, and John said not necessarily.  He said he had some advanced horses that never really connected (I forget which verb he used) and he just worked around it because they had other strengths.
So what did John do to get him round?
We did some canter serpentines, leg yield, 10 meter circles, and shoulder in.  10 meter circles were both trot and canter.
Every once in a while, I could feel Charlie lift his shoulder and all of a sudden it was all there, but it only lasted a few steps and went away again.  It was like he was saying "I CAN do this.  I am just choosing not to."  I couldn't tell anything I was doing different that made it happen sometimes and not other times.
We also did some work at the sitting trot, including some bigger sitting trot.  As much as I hate this, it doesn't feel quite as horrible as it used to, so I guess that's progress.
John had me shorten my reins, use a steady outside rein, and then ask for bend with inside rein and inside leg.  Sometimes with a leg yield step to the outside.  Once he had me jiggle the rein so that it was out of sync with his strides, and that got Charlie to snap to attention for a second.
I think what is hard is I feel the couple of great steps, but I don't know what makes them happen - they seem to be blind dumb luck.  But I don't really feel the round over the top line (although it is easier to feel at the sitting trot - I can actually sit, vs. when he's strung out and it's like having your back shaken like a rag doll), he just feels slow.  So I need to get that feel in order to know when it's a good slow vs. just a lazy slow.

I fell off. In front of John, Ashley, and Meg.

Other than the falling off, it was a great lesson.  But it was the first time I've ever fallen off in front of John, and I didn't do it gracefully.  I shot off Charlie's left side like a star fish and said "eeeeeee!" the whole way down, like I saw a mouse and was falling towards it.
Matty was being kind of a jerk and kicking out before the fences and then bucking when Meg got after him.  Charlie felt slow, but John said he was fine and I was launching him at the fences for no reason.
We started with a vertical, then did a loop-de-loop figure 8 that was a left lead, right lead, left lead, right lead.  Charlie actually had no problem with his leads.  Then we added an oxer to the left a couple times, then a big loop around to an oxer to the right, back to the oxer to the left, to the right.  Meg rode this first and had some trouble making the right hand turn.  Then I rode it and immediately fell off on the first right hand turn.  After that, it was fine to ride, it was just that first time I thought we needed speed to get over the oxer and that left us too long and flat to be able to make the hard right turn.  John said to stop trying to go faster; I'm going plenty fast.
From there, we did a left hand turn into a one stride, right hand bend to an oxer, left turn to an oxer, back through the one stride.
After that, we added a four stride right hand turn to a vertical at the end.
Charlie rode all of those like a dream boat.  The only thing was he would only get the left lead in the front, and I didn't have time to change the back and wrestle with him, so John told me to just leave it and ride it anyway.  Charlie rode it fine.
John said before I got mad, to realize that last year, he wouldn't even change in the front, so at least there was that.  And he said that Charlie knows now that we want him to change, so just leave it alone for a while.  He said Charlie is smart enough to figure out that it is easier to change when I'm asking him to in the air instead of cross firing around the corners, and that he should just start doing it on his own in a while.  I hope so.
I like riding with Meg because I like to watch her ride the line.  It is easier for me to ride it after I see her do it.  (except when I fall off)  I also like the little tips, like she mentioned how she had to switch to her short crop because she has gotten so used to riding with her dressage whip.  Since I spent all of the Aspen derby whipping my own leg instead of Charlie, it was good to hear it's more of a universal problem and that she switches.  It is also nice to hear what she thinks about her ride on Matty, since I have watched it.  She's a much better rider than me, in knowledge and in form, and I hope that I continue to develop so I'm a better rider in the future too.
And this weather - man.  It is nice stuff to have sun and warmth.

Gallop with some fences

Yesterday's lesson included lots and lots of laps of galloping in the big sand arena, then a couple fences, then some more gallop.  Then a two minute break, then do again.
My conditioning (and running) has not made me a superwoman for galloping at the two point.  Charlie and I were both breathing heavy, streaming sweat, and getting slower and slower (my form got lousier and lousier) as the lesson went on.
All the fences but one were pretty decent.  We did the same lines as last week in our group lesson, but coming off of a gallop until several strides away.  This made me more confident about how to ride them, but I still missed one left hand turn.  Good news is I felt it coming strides away and just didn't react in time - I missed the center of the first fence and it totally threw off the line to the second fence.  A great mistake to feel in a lesson because I can totally see how I will need to be very precise and careful at the show.
One interesting thing was how much farther out John told me to sit up than I would have, and to balance him.
Another was that when I gallop, I kind of throw the reins away.  John had me keep contact and keep him round.  So maybe my gallops haven't been as much of a waste, because I haven't been doing them right anyway.
John also told me to make a single bridge, which is a bridge but just in one hand, and one hand just has a single rein.  That way you don't have to let go of both to use the free hand.  He said he usually holds the double in his outside hand.
He had two comments about my form - flat back not rounded back and heels forward and down.
We had to start turning in the air over the first fence to make the second fence in four strides, but this wasn't as hard as I thought, if I thought about it in time.
Charlie absolutely refused to get the correct lead or change leads.  If I landed going right, he'd land on the left lead, out of spite as best as I could tell.  If I tried to do a flying change, he'd just toss his head up.  If I put him on a circle, he'd just counter canter.  If I broke to a trot, he'd pick up the incorrect lead again.  John was laughing but I was steaming.  Ashley told me before the lessons she untaught Nick his flying changes because they have to counter canter in the dressage test, and he would offer the change. She says she either lands on the correct lead (most of the time) or does a simple change.  That was good to know, except my simple changes at Aspen took too long and we always (except for this lesson) land on the right lead.

Dressage lesson and jump explanation

Photos went up from the Aspen derby, and I have a death grip on poor Charlie's face with my hands basically in my lap and no crest release.  John said most likely, Charlie was slugging around, I was leaning back to try to get him to go forward, and over the course of the course, the reins just got longer and longer to where I couldn't give a crest release.
Then he made a point.  He rode the snot out of me.  And then said at the show, if Charlie is stuck and not moving forward, TRY SOMETHING.  Do a 10 meter circle and then canter, or a leg yield, or a lengthening, or anything, just to break up the monotony of doing the same thing and wishing he would do something else.
He did this by starting us on a 20 meter circle, then we'd go down the long side to another 20 meter circle.  Then we'd do the long side on a shoulder in.  Then we'd ask for the canter (with inside hip).  Then we'd do a long side shoulder in at the canter (!!).  Then we'd do a change of direction and counter canter, and then a flying change.  Then some 10 meter circles at the canter where I turned Charlie using his shoulders, and I could feel the start of a pirouette.  Then sitting trot.  Then lengthened trot at the sitting trot.  Then a bigger trot at the sitting trot using my hips, not my legs.
All of this while he had me control my hands - not flapping hands at the sitting trot, but holding steady hands.  And with outside rein/inside rein/outside rein/inside rein lifted (going to the left, to tilt his head in), and leg aids.  It was one of the lessons where the step-by-step was too much for me to feel it all, BUT, I could feel the change it had, especially when we did a half halt with the outside rein and it made Charlie kind of "square up" and balance through his shoulders instead of falling out.
Charlie had one direction where he got mad and was shaking his head then trying to stop, and I'd kick and whip and he'd just toss his head, so that was kind of frustrating, but other than that, Charlie tried to figure out what I wanted and do it.
It was really, really hard, but John said I need to expect more and ask for more, even if I get the wrong thing, at least I am getting a different thing and not just being content with mediocre.

Aspen derby and jump lesson

Yesterday was the second Aspen derby of the year and today we had a jump lesson.  Charlie was a bit of a slug at the derby; he got a 30.5 in dressage (broke to canter in first trot lengthening), had a run out at the narrow corner the first round jumping, and did fine the second round, but had no go.
So I was worried about his health, and did just at tiny amount of warm up for both dressage and jumping, trying to save him for the jumping and to see how it would affect him today.  We got to John's, I said I waited to warm him up so John could help me as if it was the third day of a three day and Charlie was pooped, and he just trotted out like he was feeling his oats.  It made John laugh and laugh.
At the derby, I don't know what happened with the lengthening, but the jumping was instructive in a humble pie way.  The run out was the same mistake I made like three years ago, it was a long six stride (six strides, then 6') and I jumped the first jump in the wrong place at the wrong angle, then didn't even think to run him long and just got him to the second fence in the wrong spot.
I also had a problem with a rollback turn (on the right lead), the turn itself was fine, but then there were only a few strides to a decent sized oxer, and I didn't have enough power either time, so Charlie had to kind of twist over it.  That one I'm not sure how to fix, but it is progress, I guess, that I know what the problem is.  I didn't fix it between the first round and the second round, but at least I fixed the long six stride, which is something.
The long six stride was a weird angle, and the other riders jumped it making a rollback all the way around and then riding the combination as a bendy line instead of an angled straight line.  What I should have done was walk it both ways; the reason I didn't switch was because I didn't know how it would have walked, and I walked the damn course three times so it would have been easy enough to do once.
Charlie had no problems with any of the other fences, just a general lack of go.
Then in today's lesson, we rode with someone whose name I should know but don't.  She had a black and white paint mare.  We started over some verticals that were down the center line, first going one direction, then the other (just in a 20 meter circle) and then switching directions each time.  The secret here was outside leg.  Whichever leg was the outside of the circle (so if going right, left leg) needed to be active to get the line to the fence right.  I'm pretty sure this is the same thing as the rollback turn …
Then we went outside and rode a 5 stride line that had to be done gently, then the elements of the line with a hard left and hard right turn to a vertical, then a two stride to a bounce.  We had a hard time the first couple times through getting the 5 stride line, but the last time I finally caught on how to come in gentle, and it was no problem.
It was also a relief that Charlie didn't bat an eye at the bounce, although John made me do it again to show me (remind me) to use my outside leg to keep him from drifting to the left (left leg).  And unlike the paint, once he figured out we were turning, he could make the corner.
It was a huge relief that he jumped and was fine.  I was really worried that I shouldn't ride him a third day in a row when he was so tired yesterday, then I realized I'd rather know at home that he can't handle three days of work yet than learn it at a show and disrupt the season.  He did fine, but tomorrow is a rest day and then Tuesday is another lesson, so we'll see how the lesson goes.
May is going to be a busy month and will fly by, and I am looking forward to getting this show season going.
Oh and food.
Charlie is now getting:  flake of timothy and alfalfa am and pm, but if he doesn't eat his am hay, he doesn't get pm.  Full scoop of rolled oats, 1/4 scoop of Purina performance, 1/2 scoop of Senior Active, and 1/2 scoop of rice bran pellets am and pm with about 1-2 quarts of water.  Supplements vary am and pm.  AM is 3/4 cup corn oil, salt, squirt of body builder, and 10 papaya pills (which we are about to quit).  We just used up Red Cell and I didn't get more.  PM is his smartpak, salt, probiotics, papaya, corn oil, and ration plus.
Goal is to get him to:  1 scoop Purina performance, 1 scoop oats; then corn oil and smartpak.  Once he has enough weight on that it is turning to muscle.

Total, unabashed relief at having a lesson

It has been a few weeks since I've had a lesson, and I was going into serious lesson withdrawal.  My list of questions went down one side and onto the other, and I was sure in the three weeks off I had ruined Charlie because of his crazy eye and cross tie antics.  I had not.
John patiently went through my list of questions.
First, he said that Charlie is gaining weight, and yes, it is in his neck.  (And yes, his coat is shiny and glossy and he has a sparkle in his eye, but the glossy coat is from the corn oil.)  They gain easiest in their neck, and then their butt, and then they will start to convert it to muscle on the top line and in his leg.  John said he could see a bit of weight in his butt rounding out too, but he wasn't worried that it hadn't instantly made him a beautiful top line.  He said this is just three weeks on this diet, and so if he still doesn't have a top line in four more weeks, then he can come to Caber for a few weeks of work, but John thinks that I am riding him properly and he just needed enough fat to convert to muscle before we can start to see him building the muscle up.
His theory is Charlie probably was a bit sick from the surgery, and it just took a few months to catch up with him, and now it is going to take a few months to turn it around.  He was not worried that Charlie wouldn't be able to handle Rebecca (in more than 8 weeks).
BUT, John did say to go ahead and cut out the rice bran pellets when I'm done with the bag, since they are about 50% fat, and that is basically what the senior active is.  He said Charlie doesn't need both.  And he said to be very careful with the water in his grain.  He said if Charlie doesn't eat all of it, especially when it is warm, it ferments very quickly (within a couple hours), so do not forget it in his stall and go to work or leave it overnight.
He doesn't think is it the senior, but the amino acids in the body builder that gave Charlie his crazy eye.
Second, for the little nicks on his right hind foot, John said there is a pastern ring he can wear.  He said bell boots have the potential to cause more problems, because they get wet, rub sores, etc.
Third, for his show tack, they have little loops I can buy for his flash, and John will try some of his bits over the next few lessons so I don't have to buy 30 bits.  He said that we might not need a different bit, because it was to get Charlie off from lugging on my hand, which the new diet might do anyway.
Fourth, he said if Charlie can only go 30 minutes, it is probably because that is how much sugar he has, then he hits the wall, and where a horse with fat could pull on the fat to keep going, Charlie doesn't have enough fat right now.  He said he'll probably be ok for a show, because I only ride him 6 minutes, and so long as I time my warm up to not be over 20 minutes, Charlie should be ok.  I said I was worried he would be wild at the show, and John said that was fine, I could ride it now, and anyway, it would be preferable to Charlie lugging around and us trying to get him jazzed up for 30 minutes in the warm up.
Then we rode, and Charlie just floated around like he loved working.  At the end, John gave him a big pat and a kiss.
We did some 20 meter circles and then 10 meter circles and then into the canter back to a 20 meter circle.  Then we did a bunch of leg yields, and some canter, across the diagonal, then on the rail back to trot.  Then some 10 meter half circles at H or M back to the rail and then pick up the canter.  Then some 3 loop serpentines but only for half the arena (which took me like five tries to figure out how to get the shapes right).
The big takeaway is inside leg is at the girth UNTIL I want to use it to push his haunches out, then it slides back.  John showed me at the girth (which I have a bit of an open knee) and then behind the girth to push his haunches out.  He said if I use behind the girth as my go aid, Charlie can't know the difference between go and move your haunches over.  He said "don't make it too complicated" which is exactly what I was doing with a prior lesson where he had me keep my outside leg on the girth but use my inside leg back.  I was trying to do that all the time instead of just doing it when I needed to push his haunches out.
For the leg yield, it is to bend him (but I always forget which way - the way we are going?) and THEN ask for the leg yield and THEN use the outside hand to keep his shoulder from popping out.  And it is outside hand, not inside, no matter how much I want to use inside.
On the circles, it was some more work on bending him but then using inside leg to outside hand - thinking outside hand like a side rein pushed against his withers - to keep him round.
Charlie got quite sweaty, but was nice and forward the whole time, and it was really nice that John could see him moving so well, that I didn't ruin him, and that we are still progressing.  John feels like once we get the weight back on, Charlie is really going to be going well.
But sadly, I just went to check which California event has the P 3 day, and it isn't there anymore.  :(  I was going to try to double up the T 3 day this year so the second one in CA would be the practice run for the P 3 day two years from now.
I feel like about a million pounds is off my shoulders now that I can check in with John and didn't have to keep worrying I was making a mistake with Charlie.  Which is an interesting life observation, since that's how I feel about work too...

Hocks, stifles, bloodwork, and an adjustment

Charlie got his hocks and stifles injected today by Dr. Revenaugh, who also did blood work to rule out any low grade pneumonia.  He said that Charlie's symptoms (weight loss, low energy, picking at his food) were consistent with a low-grade infection, which can happen when they're on the surgery table for a while.  But Charlie, ever the cryptic, did not have anything in the first blood draw, and did not have any congestion in his lungs or trachea before or after exercise.
He was "wobbly" in the right stifle, and has some muscle loss on the stifle (as well as his back) so we injected the stifles as well as the hocks just to be safe.
Dr. R said it can be a bit of a chicken and egg problem (my words) when they've had a long rest; they don't have the muscles to do the work, but need to do the work to get the muscles back.  He said after the 5 days of stall rest and 7 days of light work, to really put Charlie back to work and make him come underneath himself.  He also agreed that if there had been any soft tissue damage in the crash, the original stall rest should have healed it, but he said they can have front end lameness and some arthritis after they spend a lot of time in the stall.

Then Dr. Salewski stopped by and gave Charlie an adjustment.  He said that he was a bit out in the poll, and he had a rib on the right out which would explain his nipping at his right side (which I thought was worms or ulcers).  He said he couldn't feel anything that would indicate that Charlie had any ulcers.  However, his right hip (my term) was really, really out.  He expected that Charlie giving in that hip will make a huge difference, and he also thought it could have come from Charlie's crash.
He said he has only been coming to Washington a barn in Redmond and a group of dogs in Auburn, and then going back to Oregon.  He doesn't like leaving his kids for those long days, but sometimes he combines a trip with socializing, and will try to let me know when he does that.  I told him I'd be happy to coordinate other Olympia people (thinking of Anne and Hillary in particular) or that if the Redmond barn would let me haul in, I'd be happy to meet him up there on his trips.

Dressage - right hand at the withers

Tonight, after a bit of head shaking resistance, Charlie caved and decided it was just easier to bend around my leg at the canter.  We ended up with some very nice transitions, in addition to nice canter and trot work.
This made it a bit easier for me to use my seat to push him bigger (down and forward at the canter; a bigger "bounce" at the trot).
However, while we got nice work out of him, it was one of those lessons where I needed a lot of step-by-step instruction from John, and I'm not sure I can repeat it at home.  He said that I should definitely try - especially the putting my outside hand against his withers so he can't pull me forward out of the saddle, and then ask him with the inside hand to bend.
We did similar work to the prior lessons, with trot and canter bent and counter bent, then on 10 meter circles, and Charlie worked much better - the increased food is making him easier to ride because he's much peppier - but it is still just a bit out of my grasp.  I can feel it working, and today I had a miraculous feeling of his outside - I could feel his haunches coming out (for the first time I think!) and I could feel his shoulders just a bit sooner than normal too, but I couldn't feel them until it had already happened, not before to prevent it.
I also had a whine about how I wasn't really that good compared to other training level riders.  John said everyone has strengths and weaknesses, but to note that when he gives me a new exercise, I learn it, so I am still able to absorb and grow, that I've never seen a lot of the exercises he's giving me, and that I didn't start with a good foundation.  He said my big weakness over fences is that I have the forward and go, and then I hesitate and wonder if I should mess with it, instead of just going forward with it.  He pointed out I rode Calo and that Charlie hasn't been able to unseat me with his antics, and then noted the irony of me complaining because my horse is too reliable.
Charlie sees Dr. R and Dr. S on Monday, and I hope that clears up whatever is left of his kinks so that we can really buckle down, get him fat and sassy, and get ready for the show season.

Craz-ee 8s

Tonight was a lesson with Meg.  John started out while Meg started her warm up by reviewing Charlie's diet.  Since Charlie is loving the oil but still not drinking, John suggested more oats (another 1/2 scoop am and pm and a scoop at lunch if I can), more oil (3/4 cup twice a day), and adding molasses to one of his buckets to see if it will make him drink.  If not, start adding salt to his grain.  John said we can't go to a show and have him not eat.
But, he did agree that Charlie had some extra spring in his step, which I first noticed two days ago but was really obvious yesterday and again today.
He started us both on the flat, and said Charlie needed to be more round and then a bit more bend to the inside.  When I got him both round and bent, then John wanted me to go forward.  I thought Charlie had his own oomph (although it helped John was standing there with a lunge whip), and that also made him feel softer in his jaw to me.
We started with a little vertical, then a 5 stride line, then the same line from the other direction.  We switched direction over the plank wall, and then John went to the craze-ee 8.  It was an oxer in the center of the ring, jumped at an angle, on an angled line (2 strides) to a vertical; then a right hand turn back to the oxer with an angled line to another vertical; then a left hand turn, etc.
I thought angle to angle wouldn't be so bad, but you had to really ride from the outside rein, but forward, but not flat, and get the angle just right to get the whole thing right.  I'm pretty sure I said "EEP" over every fence the first time through.
Then Meg did it, flawlessly, and it really helped my eye see the lines better for the next time.
I would come into the second half (going from right back to left) and half halt, then hesitate, then it was too late, and Charlie would have to spring over it.  John said I have to commit all the way, and to sit up to it.
It was one of those elegant exercises that looks simple but is quite technical (for me) and at the same time, kind of sketchy and then rewarding that we did it.  I did not like angling over the oxer at such an extreme angle, but Charlie didn't mind at all.
I had a nice conversation with Meg afterwards about her former horses and how she has been working with Matty.  He's got some opinions, unlike solid reliable Charlie, who just jumps whatever he's pointed at.  Meg also recommended following Denny Emerson on Facebook and William Steinkraus's book.

Different dressage bit and almost squished John

On Saturday, we had a dressage lesson.  My dad was in town and that evening was Anna's fundraiser, so it was a bit early.
John had a different bit for me to try, and it did help soften Charlie a bit.  He suggested it might be a good bit for shows only.
I'm a day late, but we worked on some 10 meter circles with Charlie bending at the poll (?).  He really didn't want to (especially to the left) so eventually John got out the lunge whip and would cluck (or ask me to) and then give the whip a crack.  Charlie got VERY responsive to John's clucking, but mine was less effective.  It was nice though, because once he was bent and moving forward he felt lovely.  John said we're just a little bit away from really having him going nice.  I am hoping that his hock injections and the chiropractic appointment are really going to help with that.
One of our 10 meter circles though, I couldn't decide whether to go inside John or outside him, and Charlie had to screech to a halt because I just split the baby and headed straight at him.  I've come close before, but this was the worst almost-run-over-the-trainer.
We worked on the circle for a while, then we went large and worked on a counter bend around the short side, then a lengthen on the long side, then counter bend again.  Then we did a bit of leg yield back and forth.
We also did some figure 8's (sort of) at the canter, so that Charlie would counter canter.  Going to the left, he liked to use it as an excuse to break to the trot and then pick up the right lead.  These were a little more challenging than I would have expected.
At the end, John had us doing some circles that were way out of my league without him - where he would direct me almost every step - like right leg forward, left hand up, release right hand, release left hand, right leg again - but it got Charlie pretty nice and round.  I am always amazed when he does those - not just how fast he can see and process, but that he knows just what Charlie needs and which leg needs to do it and how.
It was a good lesson, although I can't repeat it at home, because it helped me feel the next level of movement and coordination we're moving towards, and that Charlie can do it if I am consistent enough with my aids.

My form and tight tick Charlie

Today's jump lesson was focused on my form, but John was very pleasantly surprised when he made an oxer just a bit bigger and all of a sudden, Charlie started jumping over it snapping his knees up to get his feet out of the way.  I've never felt him do that before - and then I had the great experience of getting to feel it a few more times - and it was similar to rounding and making a bascule, with lifted shoulders that kind of popped up.  John thinks it is because we used the elevator bit last week, and Charlie kind of caught on that he could approach a fence a bit forward but not on his front end.  After the first time, John had me halt and make a big fuss over him, and I didn't even know what it was!
The main take away I took from my form was that after the fence, I need to think heels down.  I also had my hands too high at the start, but that seemed to resolve itself.  I have to think about pushing them down and forward while I'm in the air, otherwise, they swing back a bit.  The other thing was to keep him going after a fence, and to look soon at where I'm going.
I had a couple good fences, and a couple corrections that I caught and made, but I'm still not reacting far enough ahead.  John said that a couple strides out I'll see the distance is wrong and do something about it, but if I could see it 4 or 5 strides out, I could do a half halt and fix it back there.  But the few that we rode well felt wonderful.
I also had a laundry list of questions for John, from his new shoeing (he has lines next to the nail holes and I was horrified his foot was going to fall off, but John said it is just a farrier style to set the nail head in), noted his dehydration (John agreed, but said that if his poop isn't crumbling and he's still drinking, not to worry about it, but to move his oat-water-bucket further away from his food), Charlie's diet (John thinks Charlie looks wormy and has no fat, so he suggested 1 cup of corn (or canola) oil a day, switch his whole oats to crimped or rolled, and add rice bran pellets), and whether I should ride prelim at the next Aspen derby (no, because it isn't the height but the technical precision, and we haven't been working on that so it won't do me any good to go there and be surprised by some two stride bendy line to a skinny, plus we need to work on narrows at home).
He said that we should do the elevator bit about once every three rides, agreed with me that Charlie had springier feet but was still stiff in his jaw, and said that if we focus on my form when Meg isn't there, it should help me get better with my distances.
It was a great lesson, but I'm too tired to repeat everything else in detail - these were just the very high points.

An elevator bit and the "stupid" phase

Charlie was very, very stiff in his neck today, so John went and got one of his bridles with an elevator bit on it.  Charlie did not care for it, thank you very much.  He did a lot of head shaking, including shaking his head so vigorously, that he'd have to stop moving his legs so he could better shake his head.  I did a lot of kicking and smacking with John's whip (which he was probably sorry he had me try today) and John did a lot of growling.  We jumped one little vertical from a stand still and had a couple of circles to avoid stops, but after a while, Charlie gave up and just went with the new bit.
And then his head was SO light.  I could turn and I didn't have to crank him around my leg and he landed on the correct lead almost every time, and he wasn't pulling me down and forward.  It was kind of a miracle.
So we only jumped a couple little jumps, but I started getting mad because I could see the distance but not make it.  We did a deer jump over the oxer once, and John said I had to commit, that I couldn't just stare at it and wait for something to happen - I had to decide whether to go long or go in another stride and then follow through.
So I expressed my frustration with being able to see the distances but still not get them, and he said that's because I was in Phase 3 (of 4, thank goodness) the "stupid" phase.  He said phase 1 is ignorance - just happy having a good time.  Phase 2 is knowing a little bit, but still being pretty good.  Then Phase 3 is knowing and not being able to implement, and it is totally frustrating.  He said both for jumping and for particularly sitting the trot, you work at it and work at it and work at it and nothing happens.  Then one day you realize you are sitting the trot, or hitting all your distances the way you want, and that is it, you just got it.  And then Phase 4 you are good.  He said that he has 4-5 Phase 3s on each horse per year, where he just can't get the distance, but the way he usually corrects it is to jump a fence at an angle, which helps him reset his eye.
We also talked about exercises on the ground, like doing a 4, 5, or 6 line in between two fences, or counting down.  He feels that "1-2-3-4" is the best way to count (and that yes, in xc you should go the same speed the whole time.  He knows someone who counts all the strides and then counts between each fence - even if it's 80 strides), because you can't say "1-2-3-4" fast like you can "1-2-1-2" and change the rhythm.  He was taught 1-2-3-jump, but doesn't like it as much because a lot of people launch at 3 to make the jump instead of getting to the right place.
Then we talked about chiropractors and farriers and Pony Club, and John described the difference between an average horse and Charlie, where the average horse will step on a pole and pretend like nothing happened, but Charlie says "oh no, look at what my crazy leg is doing over there - it's out of control" and just goes all wonky with his legs, and always has.

Square - turn on the forehand, leg yield, repeat

During today's dressage lesson with John, he gave me an alternative way to soften Charlie when I don't have draw reins.  But it was a lot of work.
We started at the walk with a turn on the forehand, then a leg yield, and repeat to make a square.  From there, we did it at the trot, and then just a hint of it at the canter.
Charlie started stiff in his jaw before we even got going, which he also was for jumping on Thursday night, but John said he didn't care since Charlie was jumping 3'11" like it was no big deal.
We would do a couple squares struggling through each corner, then go to a big circle.  Doing the forehand/leg yield/forehand/leg yield made Charlie even and balanced in his shoulders, and he must have been using his back legs more underneath him, because it felt like his shoulders lifted.  When he was particularly slow and struggling and I would start to get frustrated, John pointed out that he was really stepping underneath himself with his hind legs.
John was telling me how to ride everything - both hands, seat, and legs doing all kinds of things - so at the end I told him there was no way I could do it by myself at home, and he said yes I could - to just break it down into the steps, and then do a bit more, then do a big circle to take a break, then do it again.
We had a bit of inside leg back and outside leg up at the girth (sometimes with toe pointed out so I could use the spur) - inside leg was back a couple ribs back.  This kept Charlie bent somewhat around the leg and not bulging out so much through his outside shoulder.  John had me doing the same thing at the jump lesson - bending him to the outside as I came around the corner to the fence, so that he wouldn't swing out through the outside shoulder and then get the distance wrong.
When Charlie got stiff in his jaw, which was always the worst going to the left, John had me lift the inside hand.
At one point, he told me to use my inside leg and outside leg at the same time, but to use my inside leg more.  I told him afterwards that's way out of my league, and he said yes, but if he didn't tell me I wouldn't even think to try.  I was just pleased that I could use only one leg at a time when he asked me to.
While it got good results, (John said it looked like Major Beale and then laughed and laughed), he was telling me every single step (right leg now - now - now, now move your inside hand, now do a half halt with your outside rein, etc.) and so I know what he was asking and I could feel the results, but I couldn't feel why it was needed, and it was way more than my brain could have possibly processed that fast on its own.
Because now I can at least ride with my legs and hands doing different things - even if not at different intensities - and I can sit the trot, and I can do a lot more than I could do last year when I really think about it (even if my stupid heels still aren't beautiful), I think there's hope that one day I will also feel all those different things (outside leg forward, aid now, inside hand squeeze, inside hand relax) as fast as John can say them.  That would be pretty cool.
And good old champ Charlie.  He had caked up sweat afterwards, but gave it his all.  We had a few circles where John just had us keep going; he said that Charlie was trying to figure out how to move to flex himself under and really use himself - that he just doesn't know how and has to figure it out.  That's pretty cool that I'm getting to ride him while he learns that.

HUMONGOUS oxer

I had a lesson with Meg tonight and John had us jump the same fence while he gradually raised it until it was 3'11", and then a 3'11" oxer.  It was freaking gigantic.
It was also frustrating, because both directions I couldn't get the distances right consistently.  John showed me where to turn, and then they were smooth as silk, but how could I not think to adjust something like that when I keep getting odd placements over and over?  John showed me how I would ride deep into the corner to try to rev Charlie up because the fence was big, and it would end up a half stride off from the fence.
Charlie jumped them beautifully, even adding a stride a few times and really bending up and over, but my position was horrible.
Although they were huge (intermediate height) I'm cranky because I wanted to be magically good at the big ones so that I could level up, and all the goodness came from Charlie.  I just made his job harder.

Double whips and burr bit

Today was a fierce dressage lesson.  John said poor Charlie will probably be a bit sore tomorrow.
The lesson started with John bringing out a second whip, but then he quickly got annoyed with Charlie's utter disregard for anything I was doing with my left hand.  So he went inside (I was hoping to get his helmet, but no….) and got one of those "burrs" that sits in the bit with the pokey ends touching the muzzle, and put it on Charlie's right side.
Then he made me ride the snot out of poor Charlie.
It is not something I could repeat on my own.  We would bend him to the left (way left) so I could see his eye, and then I would use my outside (right) leg up next to the girth (eventually, just putting my leg up, then turning my heel so I could touch him with just my spur) to push him forward.  We would get a few marvelous steps where he was bent around my left leg and pushing from behind - I could feel his back lift up - and then he would invert, shake his head, and kick out behind.
Then we went to the right, but counter bent to the left.  He'd get a few steps bent right, then back to counter bend.  Same thing - he'd do a few steps, then invert, shake his head, and kick out.
Then John had me try to cross his front legs over to make a small circle, then leg yield out, without letting him bend to the outside, back to the regular circle.
Then we turned a 10 meter circle into a shoulder-in down the long side, which Charlie HATED.
Finally, we did some canter both ways, and he would canter a couple nice steps, then try to shake it off.  Canter was a little easier than trot in one sense, because John said to really use my seat to make his steps longer, and Charlie responded really well to that.
John said that Charlie should have learned this when he was 4, and he's never really had to bend around my left leg before.  He said I didn't have the skills to try to get it until this year, and that if we had a show next week, we wouldn't be doing it, but it's worth trying a few times over the next lessons.
At home, he said to just try not letting Charlie evade - if he tries to pop out through the right shoulder, correct it.  Then when he tries to pop out through the left shoulder, correct it.  He said Charlie will just keep moving around where he's trying to evade until he learns he has to submit.
Charlie was sweaty all over - even his butt, and my hair was soaking wet.
Oh, and at the beginning of the lesson, John had me ride a 10 meter circle to the left with my left hand behind my thigh so Charlie couldn't wear out my arm.  He was still refusing to bend, so that's when John decided he'd had enough.
It was a really interesting lesson.  Those few steps where Charlie was bent and using his hind end and lifting his back?  Divine.  I hope one day we can get that all the time.

Skinnies with Meg

Tonight I shared Meg's jump lesson, which was great because we did some crazy things.
First, John set up ground poles to make a chute, but on both sides of the fence, and in a "three stride" line.  So you turned right, went through the chute, over the fence, through the chute, rode three strides, through the chute, over the fence, through the chute.
Then we did it to the left.
At first I thought, "this is going to be a freaking disaster" but it actually went ok.  The hardest part was getting the three strides in between the two fences.  I had a much harder time getting the distance off the left lead, and John said I was staring down the second fence instead of looking up after I got over the first fence.
Then he went totally crazy and changed the second fence (still left lead) to a barrel standing upright.  Just a barrel.  You rode chute, vertical, chute, 3 strides, chute, barrel.
The first time, Charlie jumped it a bit to the left, but after that he pretty much figured out he was supposed to jump over the top of this barrel, and did it like a champ.
Then John added a skinny rail over the barrel and put the standards in, and then it was a cake walk to jump.
John said it was an exercise to show us how we tend to get sloppy and not ride very precisely.  The narrowest training level fence will still be another foot wider than the jump with the skinny rail, which was luxuriously huge compared to the barrel.  He said it is a good reminder to choose the spot and ride it precisely, and how important it is not to deviate in the chute.
Other than how hard it was for me to get three strides (something John said he wouldn't have even asked me to do last year), what was really illuminating was that Charlie landed on his left lead most of the time; at least the front.  So John said that was really good to know, and that he thinks that Charlie is probably drifting, I'm trying to correct it, and that's what's making him land on the right lead.  So he said we'll be working on these types of exercises more.
Great lesson.
Also, John said ok to use the ammonia about once a week, but that it really dries out the leather.
He also said he feeds timothy because it is more consistent than orchard; that thoroughbreds go off orchard a lot because it seems to vary considerably depending on the fertilizer - like some bales are good and some aren't.  He said if Charlie doesn't eat a flake in a day, take it out and replace it; don't leave it sitting in there all week.

Two rollbacks in our jump lesson with John

On this beautiful sunny February day, we had a great jump lesson with John.  Kevin came with me and so I was ready a bit faster than normal.  John was going to jump one of the horses there really quick but I got to watch him ride while warming up.
We did the same "figure 8" as last weekend, which was a vertical, right turn around an oxer, vertical, left turn, back to the same first vertical.  Charlie didn't spend nearly as much time hopping around flinging his front legs every which way as last week, although he only landed on the left lead maybe twice.
Then we added in the oxer, which made Charlie jump nice and round.
Then John had us do a line, which was an angle over a vertical with a lattice, 4 strides to the "original" vertical, then a right turn around back to the oxer.
Following that, he took it up a huge notch, and had us do the line, then a very hard right rollback turn to a gate, with a very hard left rollback turn to the vertical with the lattice.  When he showed me that one, and told me where I needed to change by, I was like "sure, John, we'll ride that" totally sarcastic.  And then we rode it - amazingly, including the change.  It was AWESOME.
And it cemented for me what John was saying last week, that I've gotten so much faster on the trot changes that if I see that we're landing left, I can do a change through the trot a stride or so after the fence, and not really lose any of the rhythm or the line to the next fence.
He said the biggest problem I had in show jumping last year was the inconsistent speed - I'd go fast but then slow way down and then speed up again then slow way down.  He said the reason why the jumps felt good today was because it was a nice even speed and rhythm; which incidentally, let me have more time to look for the next fence, check the lead, and feel generally like it was a nice ride.
He also said that it's just about time to think about changing the bit; he said my hands have gotten quiet enough that it would be nice to have a bit that let me get a bit more "lift" out of Charlie.
It was a great lesson, and John chatted a bit afterwards, but none of the pictures Kevin took came out.  We are just a fuzzy blur going over a fence.

Second lesson with Beth

We had our second clinic lesson with Beth this morning, a good Valentine's gift to myself.
Beth had me twist to the left, which made my body "square".  I could feel that I was landing center in the saddle, and Charlie helped by not needing to be nagged and not bulging out through the corner.  My left upper thigh felt like it was landing more on the center of the saddle.

The other big thing we worked on was visualizing a bowl of water in my lower belly that I don't want to slosh around, at the walk in particular, where I push my stomach forward and back.  Beth had several ways to address this:  first, using my whip instead of my legs to get Charlie to walk on; second, by putting my hand on my belly and making sure it didn't move forward; and third, for the trot, by putting my fingers on my ribs and hip bone and making sure that at the posting trot it stayed the same distance and didn't close.

By stopping the sloshing, I stopped nagging Charlie and stopped tensing my butt and my legs.  For both the walk and the trot, this made me "plug in" and I could rest into the saddle, which actually made Charlie move a lot better.  Not tightening my butt to drive him forward, and not clenching with my leg, made me feel the connection in a really good way that I rarely achieve on my own.

For the canter, it was thinking under/up, under/up, under/up, and that was his hind legs coming underneath him and then up in the front legs.

Beth is also of the opinion that some horses can walk around on a loose rein when they first warm up; that it isn't wasted steps doing something you wouldn't ask them to do under saddle.  She says she has one horse in particular she spends 10 minutes on.  The horse doesn't get to be lazy, but she gets a long neck to stretch down until Beth puts her to work.  She also recommended a chiropractor (Kelli Taylor) and Anne also said that Dr. Salewski is hardly coming to Washington anymore.  She and Anne both said that Charlie's hind end looks a little like it is doing string halt, and Beth thought she wouldn't jump until I get it checked out.

Overall, it was a great lesson.  I think the challenge is going to be keeping the "wrong" feeling until it feels right when I am alone at home.  It is slippery to grasp and as soon as we do something different (a three loop serpentine) I very quickly revert to my habitual riding, even with Beth watching.

First lesson with Beth in 8 months; Jump lesson with John

Yesterday was our first lesson with Beth since the end of June last year.  Today, we took Calo back home and then had a jump lesson with John.

Today's jump lesson John put a flash on Charlie and tightened his nose band (from 2 holes to 5 holes, and he said it could even go one hole tighter).  Charlie DID. NOT. LIKE. THIS.  He decided that if he couldn't open his jaw, he couldn't go forward.  It took a LOT of leg and a LOT of arm to wrastle him into place so he could feel that he could still move.  Then he stubbornly refused to land (or stay) on the left lead after the fence to the left, so for about 100 times, we circled and did these huge leaping ridiculous overblown lead changes.  John said that Charlie just doesn't understand how to push up from underneath, and is trying to figure out what to do with his legs to allow them to do the change.  He gave me a couple pretty good bucks when he was frustrated.  John said it's ok if he's done a circle a few times leaping and hopping around and is starting to get frustrated to just trot, but then to work him really hard on the trot circle - not let him have a break.  Then go back to work.  He also said that it's ok to trot at the show.  He said that so long as I trot within a couple strides after the fence, go back to canter, so I still have like 7 strides of canter before the next fence, it will be ok.  He also said to start working Charlie in the flash, and that before my hands were a little too rough for the flash, but they're better (not great) so it's ok to do.
We spent a lot of time on the flat, trying to get Charlie round and forward, and then we did a vertical, right turn, vertical, left turn, back to the original vertical.  It was sort of a figure 8.  Then John added in a lattice wall, and then the lattice wall at a slight angle to make a straight line to the vertical.
Charlie spent a lot of time in the trailer today, so I wondered if that made him tired and harder to do the changes.  John said it doesn't matter - that Charlie is good, but on his terms - and that he needs to start trying to figure out what we're asking him to do and do it.
I also asked him about my inability to get a two stride line correct at home, and he said that his steps can get off from the beginning to the end of a day, as his hamstrings tighten up, so when I can't get the line right, just measure it with the tape.
He said not to work on the changes at home, just to work in Charlie coming underneath himself with lots of transitions and stuff.
I was pouring sweat.  My hair was wetter than at Inavale last summer, when it was 104 and I rode my dressage test in my jacket anyway.

Yesterday with Beth was a good lesson too, but in a very different way.  Beth gave me three exercises to work on.
First was slowing down the trot so Charlie is basically taking half steps, then going forward again.  She said they have to balance themselves and it builds strength.
Next was walking on a circle, leg yield out to the wall, and trot when we get to the wall.
Third was to work on a 20 meter circle, make a 10 meter trot circle, and then start cantering when touching the wall, canter a quarter or so of the circle, then do another 10 meter trot circle.
She noticed that I twist because I am trying to get Charlie to go forward, and I am using more of my left leg.  She suggested using the whip more than my leg, especially in the corners.
She also noticed the difference between his right lead and left lead canter.  She said his leg is kind of jerky - she described it as "stabbing down", and she suspects he is tight over his back.
My position improvements were:
- At the sitting trot, allow my legs to be softer and my core to be tighter.  I have found a way to sit the trot, but I am gripping way more than necessary with my lower leg.  I can bounce even more softly if I breathe into my leg and relax.
- At the posting trot, think about my left butt coming more toward the center of the saddle, and pushing my right hip forward.  This works better for me if I think about pushing my weight into my right leg when I am posting up.  When I have this correct, it feels like I am corkscrewed around to the left, and my right hip starts to ache.  This one was kind of amazing, as soon as I got "uncrooked", he quit bulging out in his shoulder and just made nice round circles, and I didn't need to nag with my leg nearly as much.
- Finally, she said I need to do more ground work because I am rounding much worse with my shoulders (slumping forward).  John pointed this out today too, so I can't deny it.

Jump lesson with Meg; Dressage lesson

On Thursday evening, Meg and I shared a jump lesson.  It was a great lesson but very frustrating.  I could see the distances, but I couldn't always get the right take off spot, and I reverted back to launching him if I thought it was going to be close.  John had us do a vertical, then a two stride oxer-oxer line, then we started doing figure 8s at an angle over the oxers.  It was challenging to keep the outside shoulder from bulging out, so that the angled line would be consistent.  But worse was I would be so busy focused on the lead change that I would miss the turn, and then launch, which then messed up the next turn.  Meg and I seemed pretty evenly matched, even though Matty is only 8 (!) and he prefers the opposite lead of Charlie - he likes to be on his left, so she has the flip of me over every fence for trying to change leads.

Then today I had a dressage lesson.  When I warmed him up, Charlie had a nice soft trot but a herky jerky canter.  Somehow. what John had him do made him get soft and fluid and forward, but I don't know quite why.  We did some circles, then some small circles counter bent, then back to regular bend, then leg yield out to the big circle.  Then we lengthened and Charlie felt great.  It really wasn't that simple, but I don't know what happened that made him go from slugging around to being really forward.  John says he needs to be about this much [       ] more round, and then he'll be happy.  He also said not to worry about the season, that he'll tell me when to worry.  He thinks Charlie needs to gain some weight to help with his top line, so we'll see how the grain works.  (He increased from 1/4 scoop oats to 1 full scoop.)

We also talked about the conditioning schedule and he said that it is aerobic conditioning that really matters, and I can do that with long trot sets (20 minutes), especially with draw reins on.  He said I could also jump 3 fences, then trot 5 minutes, then jump 3 fences, etc. to meet the 20 minutes.  He said the gallop work isn't as essential and I can do that every other week starting in April when the footing gets better.