Flat lesson, Day 8 (?) of bute

Mr. Duke spent a few days at Caber this week; John rode him once, I rode him a couple times before and after.  After John rode him, I could feel a difference, but he didn't feel as smooth as he usually does.  John had me work hard on bending him - he's just leaning on my hand and ignoring me, basically, so we bent him to the inside until I could see his eye, then to the outside.  John said at home I need to ride him with draw reins once or twice a week until he gets out of his new habit.
He also had me ride him a bit more forward than I normally do, both at the trot and canter.  He clucked/kissed at him, and Duke lept into action.  It was kind of irritating, since he pretty much blows me off.
We also tried a real dressage whip instead of my baby crop and took off his bell boots; John had me order a pair of professional choice no spin (the little bump to hold them in place) size large.
I still felt awful and discombobulated, like my hands are jerking all around, and my upper body and my lower leg.  I don't know if I can feel it better, or if it's so much worse that I can't help but feel it.
Duke's down transitions were much better, but he isn't anywhere near where he was at the end of last show season, so we have a long road ahead of us.  I just kept thinking "oh my god, another year of being in last place".
His hooves have been warm, but rotating - not consistently warm and not very warm.  I don't know what's going on.  John thinks Duke is a little stoic and works through it, and finally just kind of crapped out.
Onward ...

Dressage lesson, then lunge line!

John rode Duke for two days, then I had a dressage lesson tonight.  Even though Duke felt great when I got on him (his back always feels lifted, and he floats when he moves, and he's steadier in the rein and doesn't need as much leg after John rides him), I was all discombobulated and couldn't coordinate my aids for shit.  So we worked on me looking at John to keep my circle the same size, and pushing him in (front legs cross over) or out (don't let shoulder bulge out).  We worked on half halt (both legs steady on, outside rein), bending to the inside, bending to the outside, and then, both legs to move him forward.  If he ignored me, which he spent some time doing, John told me to really make him pay attention.
John also tightened my nose band by a hole and put a loop in my flash and then tightened it.
Duke was going great, it was just me who was floppy, with my legs all over the place and my hands all over the place, and even my shoulders all over the place.
So then, when I thought we were done, John put me on the lunge line, with Duke in side reins.  This felt absolutely crazy.  I rode with my arms over my head, out to the side, on my hips, or left hand on my back (we were going left).  I had to look at John, look to the front, look to the outside with my arms out to the side, then do it with my hands in "reins".  I had to give a little with my inside hand.  We went up to the trot, kept him going, cantered, and then had to do down transitions with my legs only.  Yikes.
Then he had me stretch up, pull my ribs away from my hips, then look up (not down).  This made me much taller and lifted my chest.  He had me use my hip to push Duke out - not lean the direction I wanted to go, but slide my hip diagonal across the saddle, which Duke liked a lot and responded to instantly.
For the down transition, I had a eureka that I'm not using enough leg, and on the lunge line, I could feel how much I collapsed to the inside over my hip.  It was amazing to feel the difference.  Also, bizarrely, my legs went from behind me and tucked up to in front of me, like a ski boat.
John said that at shows, we might try lunging him for 20 minutes, riding for 10, then going into dressage.  Just so he feels that he's supposed to be round and remembers it.

Dressage Sat; Jump w/Christa Sunday

Saturday we had a dressage lesson.  Duke had his shoes reset on Tuesday, we rode in an insane wind/downpour on Thursday, and Friday he felt a little choppy in the canter.  (The "insanity" was only 15 mph, with needly little occasional rain, and like 45 degrees - hardly a blizzard.)

We worked on getting Duke to release his throat latch, and when he wouldn't bend his neck but would only tilt his muzzle, John had me lift my left hand (it was going to the left), and sometimes bring it to the inside and then lift it.  

He wanted me to get Duke moving more over his topline, so we also worked on giving him inside leg to outside hand, and in particular, making sure if I used outside hand, I put some leg on so he didn't stall.

John also had me work on sitting a few degrees further back (closer to upright, even though it feels like tilting backwards) to try to get my butt in the saddle.  But the tricky part here was to keep my hips moving.  When I lean back, I guess I set my hips, and if I thought about keeping them going, Duke wouldn't stall, but if I just leaned back without that "swing", he'd trot.  

We continued some of the same work on trying to bend him, by counterbending, then bending back in, and also a bit about me not "perching" up over the front of the saddle.

Doug was at the lesson and he said that he couldn't see what I did, but he could see the difference in Duke after John told me to do things.

Then today we jumped with Christa, but Duke was much more off in the right front, so when John made the final fence big, we had to sit it out.

He started with having us post in a two point around for a while, canter, then switch directions.  Then we did a grid, starting with ground poles, to one vertical, to a one stride vertical, to three verticals, to four verticals, with the fourth getting higher.  I'm pretty sure Christa ended at 4'2".  We quit way before that.

Duke was really excellent.  The main things to work on were opening my chest, sitting up tall, and keeping my lower leg forward instead of letting it swing back.  Duke handled the rest.

He's at Caber this week, so hopefully he'll be feeling better in that hoof by tomorrow so that he can get some work done with John.  I gave him a bath after his ride today so Ashley can clip him, and his tail was itchy Saturday, and his sheath really needed cleaning.  So my home method didn't work.