Dressage on Mr Big Leg

Today was typical spring weather, with sunshine, then a downpour. I didn't notice anything until I was grooming Duke at John's, but he nicked the inside of his right hind leg, so the outside of his hock was swollen and warm.
John watched us at first, and said Duke was bearing weight equally on all legs, so we had a flat lesson.
John had us work on bend, but not letting the circle collapse in; me sitting up and dropping my leg (something that was especially hard for me today), then we did some 10 meter circles, long side, lengthen, 10 meter circle, then a leg yield, turn into the line, and lengthen.
Duke was great, and was super sweet on the ground before we got going (while I was waiting for John to look at his leg).
John said bute tonight, watch for increased swelling, increased heat, or a temperature (then he needs antibiotics and it might turn into cellulitis) but let him walk around on it tomorrow because it will be good for the swelling to have the movement.

Jump lesson indoors with Christa

It was an ugly rainy day, so Christa and I jumped inside.
John set up one fence, and we started it going to the right; he started it as a tiny cross rail and moved it up to a hefty (3'8"?) vertical, then we turned around and jumped it going to the left.
Then he lowered it a couple holes and turned it into an oxer.
Duke and I had a few off - either long or too tight, and then we got the rhythm of it. What I had to do was counterbend a little around the turn, then put my leg on, but then half halt, and then count from the turn to the fence. If I counted 1-2-3-4 from the far end of the arena, I could usually get the distance correct.
John said part of it is not letting him drift at the very last couple strides; he said the distance will be good, we'll be coming in steady and then we're 1' off because of the left drift at the end.
The jumps felt freaking huge, but I measured the oxer after and it was only 3'6" and so at best, a couple holes up, it was like 3'8"? Barely even competition height. Ugh - need to retrain my eye.

Dressage that made Duke quite quite sweaty

Duke and I worked with John on 10 meter circles, bending, leg yields, and half halts. At the end, Duke was insanely sweaty. Even his face. I wasn't.
He chewed on the bit and tried not to bend. John said "I know it's frustrating; it's frustrating to watch." He also said that the stubborn quality that made Duke refuse to listen to me Saturday was what makes him good at cross country, he'll stubbornly try to get over the fence.
It was - just changing the aids and trying to get him to respond. It was - John having to tell me every aid every step.
I could feel when he lifted his shoulders and was balanced; I can feel when he rounds and steps from under and up and over. But I can't feel why sometimes he does it and sometimes he doesn't.
John said no more group lessons; I get too worked up.
It was a really intense lesson, but I just don't know how to break it into little parts and describe it.

"Educational" growth opportunity jump lesson

This week's jump lesson with Andrea and Allison was very different than last week's. It was a pretty rough week emotionally. Duke was kind of a shit yesterday; spooky and resistant and anxious and jumpy. I forgot my jump saddle and had to borrow Allison's. So ... hot start.
Then John had us work on flying lead changes, which Duke can't do for shit. So after limping through a couple tries, we worked on 10 meter circles for what felt like an hour, with Allison and Andrea watching.
John told me not to drill it at home, but it was basically a 10 meter circle, walk, pick up other canter stride, repeat. I could add some counter bend and try a push with the (new) inside leg to jump him, but it never made a difference and I'm sure as shit not going to work on that without John watching.
So Duke was in a huff because we asked him to do something new.
We did some cross rails, we did a vertical. He was all "fuck you, I'm going to dive down and race over the fence" so I'd be trying to half halt him, and instead he'd slllooowwwwww way the fuck down and then have to heave over the fence. Or he'd bolt over it and skid around the next corner. It was getting exhausting. So then he just went straight through the fucking fence, knocking down both poles (it was an oxer) the standards, the ground rails. I was on his neck, and he wanted to take off, and I couldn't get my stirrup back, and etc. etc. When I tried to make him behave after, he had a complete and utter melt down, with the refusing to go forward and only turning his head and his heart having a panic attack. He was frozen until John walked up, then bolted off.
So then John made us work for what felt like another hour while Allison and Andrea sat there, doing shoulder-in, halt, shoulder-in again, halt, etc. and then every once in a while a lengthen across the diagonal instead of a halt.
It was much much much harder to do going to the right than going to the left. Going to the right he was basically a wreck. John said not to even try straightening him after the halt, just let him go the direction he is pointing, then bring him back to the rail and start over.
So John felt it that one time in Spokane, but now he's gotten to give me a lesson while it was going on. He thought it was really big steps forward - he said now that he's seen Duke do it, he can start developing tools how to work with it. Earlier on the flying lead, he said all I could feel was the frustration that we couldn't get a change, but he could see how good Duke's canter was getting, how light and responsive he was getting, and so he can see the potential for what Duke will be able to do in the future.
I guess. It just felt like I'm a crap rider.

Dressage in the sun

We rode in the nice April sunshine outdoors today. John had us work on "half steps" at the walk, then used it at the trot and canter. It's a different term than "collect" but I think has the same meaning; get Duke coiled up and then have him go forward, but with the energy coming from behind and up and over instead of out the front.
We started on a small circle, John took the reins to get his frame, and then I tried to replicate it. We did half steps, and tried to have him bend his body, not just his neck. The aids were easiest at the walk; I could hold my lower leg on and kind of lift him into my pelvis. I am not quite sure how to describe it. The hard part was to keep my seat moving; if I held my leg and didn't move my pelvis, he'd come to a halt.
At the trot we worked on the same, on the frame, but then added leg yield out to make the circle bigger. John said he wanted Duke's hind legs to cross; he wanted him to really step across himself. Here, he had to tell me to put my shoulders back, or to sit 4 degrees further back. I would roll forward.
I had to give different aids with everything - each hand was different, each leg was different, the seat was doing its own thing, and my shoulders something else. It was hard to keep them all in my head at once.
But it was worth it, because after the canter, we did the long side and we lengthened, and I could feel Duke lift his shoulders to kick his front legs out. This is three times now, maybe four, when I've felt it. It feels amazing. I can't believe Duke can do it. The first time, John had been riding him. But the second time, John walked me through it until I got it myself. The third time was at home, a surprise I got it at all. So today was the fourth.
Before that we cantered, John wanted transitions with no head lifting up above the bit. But I don't know how we got them; I don't remember the sequence of movements just before the aids. For down transitions though, it was the half step/collection and then holding my leg and pushing him down into the lower gait.
At the canter, it was hardest to keep my seat down, to keep my body leaning back. It's really not my seat, it's that his head pulls my arms down and I can either slip the reins or I can tilt forward. So that's good, if I know what is causing it, I can recognize it and stop it earlier. It's just thinking about sitting up/leaning back/someone pushing my collar bones back.
I could feel when Duke went over the top and got soft.  That's when I'm supposed to give with my hands. And when I did, he would lower his head, chew down.
I asked John after about Freddy - is it his body, his mind, his training, Alina's riding? John said it's like Michael Jordan; some horses are just very talented. He said if you ask him with your reins to do something, he holds it until the next thing you ask him to do.
I was impressed with Duke. I don't feel like I've been working him hard enough or consistent enough to be getting this good of movement out of him without John on him.

Dressage after a couple weeks at home

First I couldn't catch Duke, then work went haywire, then we had to shelter-in-place, so Duke and I were forced to try to remember everything John has taught us and apply it at home. I thought Duke was doing ok, but sometimes when I think that, I'm deluding myself. In this case, he really did seem to - if not improve, at least not go backwards, despite all the changes in our schedule and general life weirdness because of Covid.
We got to ride outside, in some nice, warm spring sunshine, and although John brought draw reins, we didn't need them.
We started with some trot work, where I completely could not get Duke round, then John had us do 10 meter circles, change direction, and spiral in and then push him out like a leg yield.
From there, he had me start sitting the trot (ugh), while telling me about 2000x to take up my reins. I'd need to counterbend Duke to get him to stop falling in, then go back to regular bend.
We did some canter, similar exercises, and John had us start the canter on some 10 meter circles even.
Then we went down the "long" side, did some circles off of it, then did leg yield both directions (keep him from drifting with the outside rein!), then shoulder in (I don't need my leg to ask for it, I just move his shoulders to the inside), for both - keep him bent to the "inside", then some leg yield, where Duke did the magic thing from a few lessons ago (and a few days ago at home) where I felt him lift up his shoulders and really kick his front legs out.
Then John had us work on the halt, with a square transition, stand, walk forward. When Duke got jiggy, he'd have me point him toward the center, then push him out to the "rail" again right away with my inside leg a few times, and then halt. After halting, we'd have to walk on still together, he had to do it properly a few times before he got a loose rein and to walk freely.
And man, he was sweaty and tired and yawning even!
Manny moved in yesterday and Duke is more than ecstatic to have a friend; he went through his stall door yesterday to hang out with Manny in the little run, and although he loaded pretty well, he was anxious about leaving Manny behind. I think he's codependent.
It was a good lesson; Duke felt really good and I was proud he was doing as well as he was even without lessons or John riding him for the past month. It made me feel like maybe all those years of lessons are finally showing that I have been learning something and progressing.