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.

Jump lesson outside - with Alina and Freddy

On Friday, we had our first outside jump lesson at Caber for the year, in the gorgeous, warm sunshine. John had us ride with Alina and Freddy. We started by cantering over a cross rail, then we jumped a vertical with what would have been a difficult right turn through two fences but compared to the left turn was a cakewalk. John turned it into an oxer, then made us a few courses. Duke was NOT all grab the bit and go like he was when we first went outside last year, but we also already schooled at Tulip (*real* outside) so maybe it was just the first time out that he gets excited?
First course was uphill over an oxer, left turn to a slightly narrow vertical, left turn to the corner, right turn to angle over a vertical and squirt between it and the uphill oxer. The first time, we kind of flailed over the angled vertical, but the next time Duke cruised it. I asked John to lower the vertical the first time, but he just pretended to.
Then we did oxer, hard left turn (I'd call it a rollback) to angle over a panel, squirt through the hole in the fences to jump a vertical, right hand turn back over the oxer? Again, Duke jumped it great. John said he expected Duke to think that instead of going through the hole, he was supposed to jump the oxer at an insane angle, and so I did a good job rebalancing and focusing him in between the fences.
Last course ended with an angle angle in a two stride from the vertical to the oxer, which I thought was an insane angle and looked impossible, but Duke, again, just cruised it.
Duke was spectacular. Other than the one flail, he got to do each course just once. He's a good little jumper, loves to do it.
This week he's gotten some turn out and we're at six days of easily caught; yesterday he even waited at the fence for me to come get him, and a couple times walked up to me. Yesterday, we went on a walk around the block instead of going on a trail ride, just to get him a change of scenery. He got a little nervous and jigged a couple times, and was a little anxious about the mailboxes, but was a good boy who tried to hold his shit together.

Duke moved like John had just ridden him

Duke started out today kind of flat and sluggish.  John asked me what was wrong, and I started to list things, and he stopped me and told me to start fixing them, one at a time.  So we started with getting Duke forward.  John had me get him WAY more stepping than I would ever dream of doing by myself, and from there, we started to make him bend and then get round.  He said the same thing happens to me at shows, I get overwhelmed and I don't break it down into steps.  Just pick the first thing, work on it, and then work on the next thing.  And hot damn, it worked like a charm.  After we got forward, we worked on bend (Duke was stiff in his jaw) so I moved bent his neck to the inside, then to the outside.  If he tried to fall in, I pushed him out with my inside leg, and then when he tried to bulge out, I used my outside aids to keep him on the circle.  From there, we went to 10 meter circles and then pushing him in and pushing him out, just to get him to bend his body.  On the 10 meter circle, when I got to the "middle", if I rode it like I was going to change direction (and then didn't) it helped me use my outside aid better on the first part of the next circle.
Then the magic happened, and of course it was magic so I can't really describe it.  The end result was that we had medium trot, and I could totally feel it, and then we had real honest to god lengthening and I could totally feel it.  But how we got there?  It had something to do with Duke stepping forward, and then bending, and then going round, and then I asked him to go forward with my legs but I used my hands with the round aids and so his step got bigger and bouncier instead of faster.
We worked on the canter too, with the same feels, and then John had me work on the sitting trot which was massively unpleasant.  Even though Duke was moving big and soft, I just couldn't unlock my back and I just pounded around up there on the poor guy.  For the sitting trot and for the canter, John had to tell me to sit up and to put my butt down in the saddle, I just kept tilting more and more forward.
At the end, he told me to halt and we halted - boom - perfectly square.
It was pretty amazing because I've never gotten Duke to move that well for that long by myself before, especially starting so dull (but John said with attentive ears) and so it was cool that I could do it, even if I needed John talking me through every step.  And I could totally feel the difference in the movement, and I could answer a bunch of John's questions about what was wrong and what the aid was to fix it; I just wasn't applying them but passively waiting for him to say it (I'm afraid I'm wrong).  It felt amazing, and I wish I could ride like that every day, although it was also kind of exhausting.

Jump with Christa

We had a lesson with Christa tonight, which I was late for because I-5 was closed and it took 40 minutes to go the six miles on the arterial roads down to the next exit.
THEN I needed John to help me put on Duke's new breastplate, which wasn't quite set up right, so thank god for John to help me put it together and adjust it on Duke to make sure it fit.
THEN we got to ride.  He started us on trot and canter circles, then we jumped a cross rail (right lead), switched to left over it, jumped a vertical, switched to right, etc.  John gradually raised these, and we actually did really well spacing ourselves it, which was the most amazing part to me.  As John started to raise them, Duke started to drift left, until eventually we knocked one down and messed up the flow.  We had a few where we came in on just exactly the right spacing, and those felt great, but I had a hard time when it was off, to get him back to the right place with a half halt.  Instead, we'd leap long over it, or he'd drift left (to give himself more space?).
From there, John had us take turns.  I started, and he yelled the fences as I got close, instead of telling them all ahead of time.  We did the same two verticals, added an oxer, and then added a narrow oxer to narrow vertical 3-stride (but long three) line.  We took turns on these a few times, and our third round, Duke got what I thought was a little grabby and downhill, but John thought was just him taking hold of the bit, not necessarily going downhill.  Duke did a really nice job trying to keep his feet clear, and John pointed out to Christa that they didn't get a single rail, so he thinks at the shows, she's holding her hands (and body) tense and it's transmitting to Freebie.
Duke was really glad to jump, and then really sweet afterwards, so I think John is right, he got sour from all that dressage when he kept pulling his shoes and I was messing around with the arena footing.
This weekend is Tulip, so we'll see how excited he is - hopefully not too excited - being out in the cross country course.

Dressage is hard

John rode Duke yesterday, and it took me quite a while to get all the moving parts (of me) to coordinate enough to ride him myself.  For a while, I thought it wasn't going to happen, but John persevered, and we made it.
First, I got to watch Andrea, Allison, and Sarah's jump lesson, after I took Duke up and down the hill in the sun.  It was really interesting to watch both their flat and their jump exercises, the differences and similarities between the three of them, and then which questions they asked John.
We started on a circle, John had me get Duke more round.  He said Duke was pretty stiff yesterday too, which even I could feel when we jumped Saturday.
Then we went to a 10 meter circle around him, counterbent until his inside shoulder moved in, then he could bend back to the inside.  John had us canter, and then - horrors - sit the trot.
At both the sitting trot and the canter, I had trouble keeping my damn butt in the saddle without curling up my heels and hunching over my shoulders.  Especially when I was riding with my reins short and out in front of me.
I had to really think about pushing my butt down, pulling my shoulders back, and then pushing my heels down.  And then checking that my left hand hadn't dropped.  And by the time I used all that brain power on myself, I had to start checking again.  I couldn't just feel and react to what Duke was doing.  And when John would have me do an aid, it was like the whole house of cards collapsed.
So Duke eventually got softer (I don't understand why), but like John said, at first it was like riding a jackhammer.  We did 10 meter circles at the trot, changes of direction, and 10 meter circles at the canter.  A lot of it was asking him to bend, but we also made the circles smaller and larger by pushing his front legs over the top of each other and leg yielding back out without giving away the reins.  At the sitting trot, John said to think about legs on/off/on/off to help some with the sitting, but it really felt like it was just my lower back that was stiff and wouldn't yield to let me "bounce" the trot.
There were so many aids, I couldn't think fast enough, especially when I needed to react or when one hand (or leg) needed to be doing something than the other hand.  It was really good practice, but my god, how many hours is it going to take before I can do this stuff "naturally"?

Jump lesson - big oxer to a tight right hand turn

We warmed up with Christa and Alina, then jumped with Christa.
Duke was a little stiff in warm up, he kept wanting to pop his head up instead of going round (mostly whenever we went past John), and he was hard to bend around my leg.  John had us go from trot to halt, and Duke halted square, but not round.  John said for now, to be happy with square, that it will just make Duke more anxious to then mess with the round.
We started with a cross rail, turned it into a vertical, then changed directions.
Then we went over an oxer, right hand turn to a vertical, left hand turn to another vertical.  I completely screwed up the first line, and went from the oxer on a hard right straight to the vertical, instead of looping around.
From there, then we did the second vertical on a very hard right turn to the first vertical.  The first time, I just had to halt in the wall, back up four steps, turn right, and then trot over it.  The second time, Duke did it perfectly.  The third time we made the turn, but only barely.
John said that it is being able to expect a 10 meter circle at any moment you want on show jumping.  If you can do a 10 meter circle in a dressage test, which is 320 mpm ish, you should also be able to ride a 10 meter circle at 350 mpm.  He said same thing in cross country, if you lift your chest, the horse should immediately go fro 550 mpm to 450 mpm, so you could make a 20 meter circle.
The tricky part was riding from the forward oxer (it was big, with a lot of space down the long side) to the very hard right turn; you couldn't ride that turn as forward as you rode the oxer, so you had to adjust to a more controlled (but impulse) stride, and you had to ride the line very precisely (John walked it out and showed us).
It was a great lesson in the importance of precision, being aware of the questions being tested, and riding every step.  Duke did ok.  I was really happy with the second ride through the line, but disappointed that we didn't keep it, and the third time through we were just on the edge of the fence again.

Jump lesson - two oxers, one triple combination

Couple big takeaways from this lesson:  I'm twisting towards the outside in my canter, which is (possibly) making Duke land on the wrong lead (when we switch directions each time).  Putting my weight down in my outside leg, using the outside leg aid, and looking the direction I want to go makes him switch from 100% wrong lead to 100% correct lead.
It is easier to ask Duke to turn and control him over the fences with my legs than my hands.

We did some trot and canter work, then a small vertical (going left), a bigger vertical, an oxer (3'4").  Duke was fabulous.  We switched directions and went over a small oxer that had fewer strides in front of it after the turn, but more distance on the far side.  Duke got a little flat and grabby, so I had to really ride him out of the corner.  This was a good exercise, to feel the difference between the two types of turns, and how much you have to plan ahead.
Then we switched to riding down the center, over three one-stride verticals.  Duke was pretty good on these, except for me and the wrong lead thing.
Good lesson.  Duke likes to jump.  Me too.
We got to walk up the hill and back in a break in the rain afterwards.

How to Catch a Horse

Casually stroll into the pasture.  Watch horse.
In this case, horse waited until John got right up next to him, then took off running up and down the fence line, skidding around and scaring himself and making himself more wound up.
Ignore horse.  Walk another direction.  Horse will follow.
Gradually corner horse using fence line, body, and tree.  Slyly pen horse in open goat stall and leap forward and slam gate shut.
Back up plan is barn door open, in case horse runs in.

John said turn him out with his leather halter on (no lead rope), so you can just grab halter and clip lead rope.  He said Duke is genuinely terrified of being caught, and is going to eventually hurt himself, either hurt a leg or go through the fence.  He said a mare is no good, Duke will be an instigator and will get the shit kicked out of a front leg and end his career.  He said build a chase pen (?) or extend the fence line 20' so I can corner him in and he doesn't have the whole pasture to run around in.  And don't yell, hit, or be anxious; he planned to spend 2 hours catching Duke, with nothing else to do.
He said let him have water, he'll colic.  And that it's super hard to catch a horse who doesn't mind starving to death instead of being caught.

I asked him to ride Duke the first few shows of the season, and then we'll see, Twin, Spokane, EI, maybe Inavale, don't know Rebecca.  I'll ride him Aspen.

Then we did a crazy hard dressage lesson.  John had us ride a 20 meter circle, then a 10 meter.  When Duke is popping his shoulder to the outside, counterbend him.  When I feel his shoulder go to the inside, he can go back to regular bend.
I had more success with the down transitions using the outside hand squeezing steady, and the inside hand squeeze and release.  and LEG ON.
John wants me to move my hips more in canter - sit/glide/sit/glide, and then get my back up (good posture) not hunched over.  It is really hard to both sit up and push my butt down and let it glide.  My theory is I'm not coordinated enough.  John says it's just really hard to use your hip flexors.
He had me ride Duke really forward, and then get him round.  He said that in our accidental time off, Duke fell back into bad habits; he's a horse who needs to be ridden every step (he didn't quite say it like that), but if you don't ask him what to do and hold him accountable, he goes back to his easy way (pop the shoulder out, grab the bit and dive down).
Duke was during the lesson, like yesterday, really trying hard.  Which makes me wish I could turn him out; I think it's good for him mentally.
The lesson was really hard, Duke got sweaty even with his clipping.  But it's hard to put into words.
I was thinking, when I was stewing about him running away, that he's actually a pretty challenging horse, (I was actually thinking how I've ruined him) so I was trying to think of all the ways he's improved in the 2 1/2 years I've had him.  Most of the time I can bridle him.  He quit biting me.  He hasn't bolted or frozen in a year.  He doesn't canter around tilted like a crazy motorcycle.  He doesn't grab the bit and bolt towards the fence.  But he does run away like an asshole, and he rarely gives me anything; he makes me work for it.

Sick week; Prick Duke

I've been sick since Sunday, although with hindsight, Sunday was a walk in the park.  Fortunately, Duke was spending half of the week with John, and he gave me a quick lesson Wednesday, rode him Thursday, and then hacked him Friday when I was too sick to make it out.  Riding today was unpleasant; I was weak, and couldn't get enough air in my damn lungs, so gasped around like a fish out of water.
On top of that, Duke was just in a mood.  He was stubborn, leaned on me, resistant, and basically acted like John has never ridden him before, and he wasn't going to respect John in the arena either.  Eventually, John went and got his draw reins, and then Duke was miraculously an entirely different horse.  He remembered how to go round and quit and soft and bent and pliable.  Until we tried to halt, then he danced all around, unable to stand still (also when John put them on and off).  So needless to say, we didn't get to jump.
However, I did get a little more insight into the aids.  If we're going right, and I want him bent right, I am half halting with my left hand (inside leg on when I squeeze with outside hand), but I am using my right hand differently, to squeeze in release.
Then John had me halt by using my outside leg, and Duke stopped in a gorgeous, still, square halt.
So I think there's a secret to independent hands and legs that I'm on the cusp of getting that will make things better.
John also wanted heels down, BUTT IN THE SADDLE, sitting up tall, and carrying my hands.  He said I was bending my wrist too much at one point, and had me collect the reins up way more than I thought I would.
He had us work on a 20 meter circle (with Tanya), then he'd say "10 meter circle!" and we'd shoot off into the 10 meter circle, where usually Duke wouldn't be bent enough.  We'd leg yield back out to the 20 meter circle for a while and then he'd have us come back in.
Duke was just chewing chewing chewing chewing on the bit and thrashing his tail and just generally letting anyone know who looked at him that he wasn't enjoying himself.  It's weird, 99.99% of the time after John rides him, he's a delight to be on, like a purring Cadillac.

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.

Third jump lesson; Duke getting back into it

For today's jump lesson, John gave us a little height and a little challenge.
We started with ground poles and a vertical; then a second vertical.
Rather than add the third oxer, John had us ride through, halt, do a turn on the forehand (which was absolutely pitiful), then ride back through the other direction.
Then we went back through and did it just one direction, with flow, until Duke did one absolutely perfectly.
As always, he gradually made the fences higher (ending at 3'11" -ish).
The biggest instruction to me was not to let him rush, and to slow him by using my upper body to sit back (and to open my chest), and to remember to use my damn voice.  After a couple times through where I thought slow and said 'whoa-whoa', Duke got the hang of it and rounded himself up and over instead of plowing through.
John had us work a bit to start on the flat, as well, trying to get Mr Strung Out round and do some half decent transitions.  We did some haunches in, outside bend, and - I think - inside leg to outside hand.
I thought the halt, turn around, and ride back through was terrifying, because it didn't look like we had enough "runway" to get through the fences, but Duke had no problem with it.
He was also much better about not rushing on the far side; I could easily halt him, or trot, or do a nice canter around the corner, unlike the first couple lessons where we were basically ramming the wall.
One time I let him drift left and John told me if I did it again, I had to ride without stirrups - I had to look up (it's easy to look down the line at the letter) and keep him in the center.
We talked about Duke's attitude, possible causes, possible solutions, and his diet.  John said he's put on enough weight now, it was just how much he was losing each trailer ride last summer, and he was too skinny by the end, so it is better to start him a little fat this year.  He said if he starts losing weight, we'll increase grain again (I replaced half a scoop of senior with half a scoop of rolled oats and cut out his evening beet pulp).
It was a really satisfying lesson, although the flat was not beautiful, the jumping felt a lot better than the last couple.  It was definitely too much time off.

Jump lesson with Christa

John started our jump lesson by making me ride without stirrups at the posting trot because I hadn't told him Christa was coming too.  When it got too pitiful, he had me switch to standing up in the stirrups; he wanted my ankles to drop, but my damn ankles weren't interested.  I had to hang on to Duke's breastplate to even stay up.
We did some trot and canter work, then worked our way through the grid - cross rail with ground poles, then to vertical, then to oxer.  Like last week, my job was to not let Duke put his head down and run on the far side.  We did better than last week, but I still had to ram him into the wall a couple times.
One time it worked great, and it was partly how I lined him up coming in, partly that I stayed balanced all the way through, and partly magic.  The rest of the times, I fucked something up.
Near the end, John suggested that I say "whoa" over the last fence (and also had me look the direction I wanted to go).  Like every other time John has reminded me of this, "whoa" out loud works amazing with Duke, yet it never occurs to me to do.
I have a trailer tire going flat, and like last year with my car tire, couldn't find an easy place to fill it on the way home.  So that's the next irritant to deal with.

Dressage

Duke and I had a great dressage lesson today.  John worked us pretty hard on getting the correct bend, and asking Duke to put his weight on his hind end ("sitting back") while still going forward.  We had a few good moments, but good god - my fucking hands were like somebody with Parkinson's.  It was agonizing.  I could not get them to be still.
Duke was good about stepping forward and under, bending to the outside and inside, leg yielding in and out, and his transitions.  He was just jerky with his head (making the reins bounce).
We talked a bit about how I don't have enough imagination to ride the flat by myself without lessons; I need what we worked on in the last couple lessons to work into my routine.  John suggested trying music that gets me motivated.
I also asked for help with the training schedule for this year (which technically hasn't started yet).  John said he was working on it tonight, and would think about it, but let me know he was disappointed in me last year, for being a sore loser.  I asked him if I showed the signs of being about to quit, and he said he hoped not, but that if I kept up like last year, yes.
He said he can still see progress, but he thinks I can't see it, and he thinks that is what will make me quit, feeling like I'm no longer making progress.
Lesson was trying to re-ingrain what we were doing a couple months ago, getting him round, bent properly, moving off of my legs, but stepping forward and under.
I told him when I sit up, Duke does a down transition; he told me to make sure my hips keep moving, so then we did really big hips at the canter, got him moving really forward, and then used outside rein to rock him back onto his haunches.  Duke was pretty good about this, but I had to really concentrate.

Back-to-back dressage and jump (!!!!)

After an incredible drought in the lesson world, I finally had lessons a few days ago, dressage on Friday and jumping (yay!) on Saturday.  We haven't jumped since EI, although John has jumped Duke since then, so I was a little nervous.
Duke was pretty good for both.  For dressage, we went back to working on the same issues as a couple months ago (so we haven't regressed too badly), on a circle, working on outside bend, inside bend, and shifting legs to keep him forward and "straight".
For jumping, we started with some flat work, and then jumped a cross rail (with a bunch of ground poles) to a vertical, to a closer vertical, to an oxer.  The big goal here was not to let him drop his head and root on the far side so if I couldn't make him soft before the turn, I had to stop him before the wall.  The wall acted like a natural barrier.  He dove down a couple of times, but was actually really great for how long it's been since we've jumped.
And John played the Queen song that is the theme of my life:  "Under Pressure."  Thank god it wasn't "Fat Bottomed Girls."