3'8" vertical & oxer; left vs. right

We started warming up by trotting, then cantering, over a short pole on the ground.  The art to this was getting the angle of the turn correct, so that Duke could canter stride over the pole.  This was a simple exercise that was very hard to do and was an excellent demonstration of the need for precision in steering and the shape of the circle.  I told John it felt like Duke's head was all stuck out and he said yes, but why didn't I do something about it, instead of framing it like it was Duke's choice.  As soon as I asked, sweet Duke got round and on the bit, and it was an excellent reminder for me to be responsible for what he's doing, and to fix things (when I know how) instead of wait for him to do it himself.  It was also an excellent example of how sweet Duke is - even though he was trying his damndest to get over that pole - even though every freaking circle I put him in a different spot - he got round and obedient and just quietly went over the pole (when he could be quiet).
Then we cantered over a little vertical with a ground pole on the right lead.  Duke did a decent job landing on the right lead, but I did a TERRIBLE job making the turn off the rail and then the turn to the fence in the correct places.  This was two things - using the outside leg and the outside hand pressed against his neck.  I was afraid to half halt because I didn't want to slow him down, but he needed it to balance, and he also needs that firm outside aids because he likes to bulge out through his left shoulder (hence the drifting when we started jumping together last summer).  You would think that maybe by like, attempt #5 I would get it.  No.  I just got more flailing as we went and I tried harder and harder to get it correct.  John showed me where I'd make the flat part of the circle, and how it would influence the final approach.  That's the bad news.  The good news is that a) I felt how my left leg and hand needed to work, and b) sweet little Duke, bless his little heart, would just deal with it, regardless of how I got him there.  John said he's pretty even keel - whether he's jumping 3' or 3'8" (the height we maxed out at - which looked GIANT), which is a great trait to have.
From there, we did an exercise on the ground, with two ground poles, one at 12 and one at 6, and then I tried to ride an even circle and even strides, so that it was land - 1 - 2 ... - 8 on each side.  This was an even more devious - simple to say, but holy moly hard to do exercise.  John said that once I can do center to center, I can do inside to inside or outside to outside (so land - 1 ... -7; land - 1 ... -9), but to be very careful about the distance and not to get too worked up about it.  I think I will just start with one ground pole in the middle of the arena, although now that I type it, I think I need the second one to check my shape and the even strides.
From there we did a left lead canter over an oxer that had TWO ground poles in front of it (!).  The two ground poles ended up being not a big deal at all, but I had to work very hard to keep my eye up and on the wall - it really wanted to look down at the oxer.  John reminded me to keep my leg down and forward - I was letting it swing back, so I thought about that the last few fences, except for then I just felt all weird, like I had a belt around my waist pulling me backwards while the rest of me flung forwards.  So, like usual, I overdid it.
But, Duke was just as sweet and even as could be, although he does not like landing on the left lead.  Wait, I'm doing it.  Although I do not make him land on the correct lead.
John said to remember how things were just a few months ago, when I couldn't keep things together going over one little 2' fence out in the arena (we would land, tear off, and I would tilt all sideways and stand on one side of the saddle!), and now I am frustrated because I'm an inch or so off because I made a flat corner.  He said it's all relative, and it was a good reminder.
The interesting part about the oxer on the left lead was how much easier it is to make the shape of my circle and approach correct using my right leg and right hand.  So it isn't my eye - John said I'm seeing it, just not sticking Duke to it on the right lead (because of that left shoulder tendency to bulge/drift), and so that's good news too.  If I can do it with my right leg, eventually I'll be able to do it with my left leg too.
It was a great lesson, and I'm super excited to work on that ground pole exercise at home, so I sharpen up our precision without burning up Duke's legs.
I also got him - for my birthday - some new bell boots, some ice boots, and cooling liniment.  I upped his SmartPak too, to Ultra, and added some coat supplement to see if it helps his tail, so it will be good to see if these help, or at least don't hurt.