Psychosomatic hoof

For the last two weeks, I've been babying Duke's hoof.  I'd ride him - and by ride, I mean I'd walk and walk and then trot, decide he didn't feel any better, give him the next day off, and then repeat.  So I did that from Saturday through last Thursday (12 days), then Thursday evening he felt noticeably worse instead of the same.  So I put magic cushion on his hoof, left it for 24 hours, and then gave him a gram of bute twice a day for 2 1/2 days.
He felt a bit off at the start of the lesson, but as we went on, he felt better and better.  John said that he's not a particularly stoic horse, and so he probably was protecting his hoof, until he realized that it didn't really hurt.  He also said that Duke doesn't push particularly hard off his right hind (that's his weaker leg) and wasn't putting all of his weight on the left front, so posting that way felt like a push up - post - stall - push up - post - stall, which was EXACTLY how it felt.
But then we went on for Duke to work really hard and do really well, and that was cool because he's basically had two weeks off, but he wasn't super stiff or hot or unpleasant.
He had us work on using inside or outside hand, with inside or outside leg, and then give a little, for both trot and canter.  And unfortunately, that's the best that I can do to describe it, because this is the part that's escaping me a bit.
So if he is on a circle going left, I push him out just a little with my inside (left) leg, but when he starts to go too far, stop him with my right leg.  Then I use my inside leg to push him into my outside hand, when I clamp my elbow into my hip to make it stay still and steady.  I have a hard time using one hand or one leg independently (still), although I think it is better than it used to be.
Then I use both legs to ask him to go bigger, but I keep the connection with my hands to prevent him from just going faster.
John he should be able to jump again later this week, and Tuesday is Ashley at Northwind, and hopefully I can get her enough students there that she can come regularly.