Independent aids

We had an amazing lesson today (on Christmas, which was nice for me because it was so quiet at Caber).  John had me start by getting Duke round in the walk, then we went up to trot, then we worked on crossing his front legs over and making the circle smaller.  This was outside leg up next to his shoulder (to push it in), inside leg a little bit back (to keep him from collapsing in), outside hand in kind of a half halt, and inside hand a bit of an open rein.  The bend was to the outside, until we got his legs consistently crossing over, then we slowly bent him back to the inside, and then did a leg yield back out to the full size circle.  This was really delicate maneuvering - I had to keep a feel for where the shoulders were in space, and then use my outside leg as soon as he tried to stop crossing over.  We did this both ways, and then we did it in the canter too, but in the canter, he needed more half halts for balance and control (he kind of wanted to zing around the circle really fast instead of bunching up), and then the feeling was of his front leg crossing under the center of himself, not over.
We had a couple of good trot to canter transitions, although not great, and moderate canter to trot transitions.  John said that we make it right to the end and then Duke pauses in the contact a bit, I let go, and he collapses.  He said it is just one more tiny aid, and then we'll have it.
For the canter, there is a lot of keeping my seat down and my hips moving.  I do ok until I am thinking about each hand and each leg, and then I forget to ride with my seat, and things kind of stall. But especially with the trot to canter transition, if I have him properly bent, round, and with enough impulsion, and I do both legs, my seat bone, and then hips hips hips, we tend to get a pretty nice transition.
After that, we worked just a bit on the stretchy trot, and here, John wanted me to stretch him off of my legs (holding my hands up and pushing him down, not pulling his head down with my hands), which I thought went really well.  For this one, John said his nose needs to tilt just a bit to the inside, but he said not to work on this one too much at home by myself because I'll get frustrated.
My theory is that John taught me the aids, but I couldn't really apply them properly until I got my hands (and legs) more independent.  They're not there yet, but they have improved this month, and I feel like that was a big hurdle in a lot of this.  When I use my left hand, my right hand mimics it (and vice versa) and a lot of these movements are so delicate that it gets lost if I am sloppy and using both hands.  He needs a half halt on the outside and a squeeze (or a give) on the inside, and that is a very different aid than both hands half halting.
I thought Duke did really well.  Although when I got home, I turned him out, and for the third time, the little shit ran away from me when it was time to come in.  Even though it was dinner time.  He didn't carry on like a maniac, but I left him out there while I fed the back horses, and then he let me catch him right away.

Next year's goal is working on "feel"

John told me my goal for next year, regardless of competition schedule, is to work on "feel".  And by feel, he means recognizing, responding, and reacting to Duke's change in movements.  So he might be going around a circle, and then bulge his shoulder out, and so my job is to work on feeling that his shoulder is bulging and then using the appropriate aid to react.
For today, we worked on getting Duke more round and connected in all three gaits and the transitions between canter and trot.  This was, like our prior lessons, an opportunity for John to tell me the aids at the appropriate moment, so I could feel the response, which is - still frustratingly - pretty impossible for me to articulate.  I don't know if I'm not going to "get" it until I can explain it, or if it is because it is about feel, and so can't really be written down.
We worked on the 20 meter circle, then on 10 meter circles with changes in direction.  For transitions, my goal was not to move my hands or let Duke go above or below the bit.  Then John had me lengthen his canter with my hips, and then bring him back without pulling back on the reins.  Duke did all of this really well.
Even with not being ridden much this week, he was really a trooper and tried hard to figure out what I was asking and then do it.  He is a fun horse to ride.

Forward progress on our connection work

John broke his arm last week, so we skipped our jumping lesson (and will skip it again next week while he's getting his cast on).  Because I couldn't ride the Friday before my lesson, I rode flat instead of jumping.  This works out well, I think, so that Duke will get at least two weeks off without jumping, but maybe not get the month off in January.
We worked on 20 meter circles, with John standing in one place on the outside, instead of in the center of the circle. Possibly, John didn't have to give me quite as many moment-by-moment instructions (although that might have been because he wasn't feeling great and not my amazing riding skills improving).
I managed to do better at connecting inside leg to outside hand, timing the counter bend when he was stiff, and making our transitions a bit more connected and less above the bit.
It was, like all of these posts, much, much harder than that, but I'm really struggling with how to put it into words instead of feelings.  I felt like this week riding him, we did a little better than we had been, but less good than the first few days after John rode him.

World's best left trot (starry eyes)

John said that MAYBE next year we can do 1/2:1/2 at the shows, where he rides Duke then I ride him.  He said we'll see, but that the downside is he'd turn Duke into the type of horse he'd like to ride, and then have to ride him all season.  That actually probably wouldn't be too bad with the new job.
He said that to ride prelim, I have to join USEF. Which means I have to watch their videos.
He said that if I'm buying Duke a new girth, get him one with a belly guard, just to avoid injuries.
And then for the lesson.  Duke moved great, and he felt amazing.  I could feel when he softened and bent and started using his topline.  He seems to want me to use the upper part of my calf to squeeze and then keep him from moving away from my leg by using the outside hand in a little bit of a reciprocal squeeze.
We worked on 10 meter circles, where John had me counterbend, then cross his front legs (so he was moving towards John) and then allow the correct bend, and then, without changing anything, to leg yield back out to a 15 meter circle.  He picked up the canter on the 10 meter circles, and we had some decent (not amazing) canter/trot transitions.
But it was the lifting up and using his back that was just so amazing, like the left trot was just so amazing to feel that I had trouble listening to John for a little while and just wanted to ride around and around doing it.
For the canter, I didn't think cross his legs, but have his outside leg come under the center of his body (front leg).
Duke was sweet and obedient during the lesson, but when I went to get him in his pasture this morning, he ran away from me and acted like it was because he's so attached to Ellie.  That annoyed me.
I felt like I rode this better and more consistently than some of our prior lessons, but I still need John's help with each specific aid (outside leg back and on now-now-now) to get Duke to respond correctly, and I can feel it when he does, but I'm still struggling to put it into words in this summary.
Christa told me that John is harder on his upper level students and expects more, and I think that's what's going on.  He's taken it up a notch and it's all new to me so I'm struggling to keep up.  But if this goes like his other lessons, eventually I'll make it rote and then we'll work on the next thing.

Duke spent a week with John

And now he's a fine-tuned machine instead of a dull blade.  It was really impressive.
Duke is a good communicator, so I could feel how he wanted me to ride him, with my upper calf instead of squeezing my whole leg, slightly tilted forward on my seat bones, and hands out of his mouth.  Duke carried his own head (and didn't wiggle it around), balanced himself, stepped more underneath himself at the walk, and was well balanced and forward at both the trot and canter.  When I got everything just right, he would also lift up his back, so I could wrap around him.
He was, however, also sensitive, so if I jerked around, or lurched, or pulled on his face with my hand, he'd brace himself and stiffen his neck to protect himself.
We did some work on the flat, and then went over the middle fence (without the three cavalleti).  It was nice to watch a couple of his other students first, to see that I'm not the only one who is having a hard time making the bending line.
John said that Duke tries hard, and that he gave one lesson sitting on him, to teach him about standing still.  He said he thinks Jane might have done that too, cocked a hip and put the reins in one hand, but that Duke was really good about it.
He said that Duke has a good personality, and sometimes powers up, and that twice John missed the jump, and so Duke was like "look, dude, I got this".
He also said that he thinks Duke knows when he's got it right, and expects to end.  He said they were working on shoulder-in, and when Duke finally got it, he was all like "ok, let's get out of here."
He said that Duke can't be manhandled or overpowered into doing something - that he has to be convinced he wants to do it, although he does want to please.
And he also said I've gotten good at - well, better at - riding him balanced.
I was thinking about it, and compared to last year, I think we've both improved, which is good.  I don't think John has ridden him in about a year, so it was good for John to feel what I've done with him on my own (although he can also see it from the ground).  Since I always think I'm going to ruin a horse, this was good news as well.
But what was most amazing was how good and sensitive and forward Duke felt.  It was just amazing that John could make him so fine-tuned, and that I can squish it out of him.  It's a good standard to have felt, so that I can expect more and ask more of him, and be aware of how well he can move, but I need to be more precise with my aids and balanced.
We both agreed that a light bulb went off for Duke maybe three weeks ago about balancing on those 10 meter circles, and that it helped quite a bit.

Flat work and attempt 3 at the cavaletti

John started us today with some great flat work.  He had us work on 10 meter and 15 meter circles, and the instruction was to connect Duke.  As with the prior lessons, sometimes I had to use the outside leg, and sometimes bend him a bit to the outside.  John said that when I feel his shoulder start to pop out, that is when I use my outside rein and outside leg.
What was different about today's ride was that, for a brief moment, I used my inside leg to my outside hand - on purpose - and Duke responded - on purpose.  I felt it!  I did it!  I can do it!  I'm not going to be stuck at this level forever.
John said that some of our crappy circles would score a 3, and then we rode them better (after he gave me all the aids and Duke worked his sweet little heart out to get there), and then I could feel his back lifting and his hind legs engaged.  It felt great.
But - sadly - despite the glimmer of hope, it is still hard for me to do and hard for me to grasp.  It takes all my concentration to do like two things, let alone the six that John has mentioned (and I'm guessing there's an infinity more underneath those six).
From there we jumped, but John noticed that my spurs hang low, and so he got an extra spur strap, and used it to lift my spur up and then fastened it around my ankle.  With the spur up, I HAD to keep my heel down, but then I could use either my calf OR the spur, and so I got a much stronger response from Duke.  John said that especially in the new boots, with the two little spur holders, instead of the back one, the spurs get droopy, and then you have to lift your heel to use the spur.
So we did the cavaletti to a little vertical both ways, and another miracle occurred.  This time (our third time), I could finally see the line going to the right (the longer direction).  John described it as I could see where I wanted to ride, instead of seeing where we were going.
What HE was doing, however, was making it harder (which I didn't notice, because I was so excited about seeing where I wanted to go and making it more precise), which was to counter bend, bend, use outside leg to keep him on the circle, get him over the center, and not at an angle.
He said right now I'm mad because I go over the fence about where I want, but I land like a foot left of where I want.  He said in the future I'll be mad because I'll get within an inch of where I want for take off, and an inch where I want to land.  That will be a cool thing to be mad about.
Duke, bless his sweet heart, worked himself into a lather trying to figure out what I wanted and do it.
Oh yeah, on the 10 meter and 15 meter circles, John said that for the trot, I had to cross his front legs over each other (when he was stiff) and for the canter, to think about pushing his outside front leg into the center of his body (since it can't cross under).  These helped him - I would describe it as - square up his shoulders and then balance and then lift his back.
It was a good lesson.  Duke is staying for a week while I go to Cincy.  John said to go to the Kentucky Horse Park and then drive up and down the road in front of it and look at the horse barns, which are amazing.

* Levels

10 meter circles and leg yields

Today's lesson was a mental challenge to keep all the aids going independently.  John had me ride 10 meter circles, get Duke properly bent, then keep the bend off of the circle, leg yield over to the wall, and then do it again.
The easiest part:  to leg yield to the wall, if his hindquarters are drifting, use the outside rein to square him back up.
The rest of it:  inside hand even with outside hand, not pulling down and back; use my outside elbow behind my hip if I need to; while outside hand is half halting, use inside hand to bend, but not too much; use hips evenly to keep him moving forward (especially at canter or sitting trot); use inside leg to push him into outside hand so he doesn't fall in but stays bent; and etc. etc. etc. beyond my ability to keep up.
If I counted out loud, I could keep my hips going, but then I couldn't also keep in my mind not letting the inside hand slip down.
Every once in a while I would get everything lined up and then I could feel Duke's back up, and it was amazing.  But it was hard to keep all those aids in mind.  John said getting the hips and legs to be  rote is the key, and then I'll still have to think about my hands.

Cavaletti to vertical - take 2

Today we worked on the same three cavaletti to a vertical (3'3" at its highest).  Once again, going right it was easier to go over the cavaletti, but harder to line up over the center of the fence, and jump it on the 20 meter circle (instead of kind of angled); and going left it was harder to go over the cavaletti, then easier to go over the center of the fence.
To go right, I had to counterbend Duke for a few strides, then bend him back as we did the final quarter of the circle (if fence is at 12, after 9), but I went and walked it after the lesson was over, and tried to move my shoulders to see what it was.  John said that Duke bulges his shoulder out to the left (why we're counterbending) when we go to the right, but he doesn't bulge his shoulder out to the right when we go left, so that's part of it.
But going to the left, John had to stand so I would ride around him, and then he put out ground poles to make the shape of the circle, and then it was easier.  So going left, I was cutting WAY in to make the circle.
I think - maybe - these two differences have to do with the way the exercise is set up.  Going left, you go over the third cavaletti then there are 7 strides to the fence, and then 20 to the cavaletti.  So there's an obvious "line" from the last cavaletti to the fence, but then I lose the shape in the empty space that is 20 strides.  So it's hard to get back lined up for that first cavaletti.
And going to the right, the fence to the first cavaletti is only 7 strides, so again, an obvious line, but the third cavaletti back to the fence is 20 strides, so I lose the shape of the circle.
Huh.
So I think at home, the way to work on the shape of the circle would be to put out ground poles and then try to ride over them on a circle in the correct arc.
Eventually, going left, John took the cavaletti and moved them all about 6" "closer" to the first one, which changed the angle ever so slightly (instead of the middle cavaletti lined up with the corner of the arena, it was slightly off set), and then it got way, way easier to ride.  John said that the line just looks different - it looks more like a straight line instead of the arc of the circle, so I don't mess around with Duke trying to get the correct bend, I just ride through it.  Even though the distance is exactly the same.
John said that when Duke does the funny hopping skippity jump instead of just cantering over the cavaletti, I have to just deal with it (I was starting to get really frustrated, and I'd pull him off the circle and then walk and then fuck around with the trot for a while then fuck around with the canter for a while before I'd try again), I have to just confidently go to the jump anyway.  He said at prelim, especially corners to skinnies, the distance is usually just a little off, and that Duke is very good about going anyway, but I am going to have to put my leg on and ride it, even at the odd distance.
Duke got super sweaty, and was tired about half way through, but I think he liked the challenge.
John also said that it's different to ride that vertical at 3'3" and 3'7" - that the height starts making the turn and angle more significant.  I think maximum height today was 3'3", but since I struggled with the cavaletti and the right turn to the fence, we definitely weren't ready for the next hard step.

Sitting trot and transitions

We did a lot of sitting trot work today which, to my utter amazement, I did sort of kind of ok.  As in, I wasn't as absurdly stiff as I expected, and I could increase Duke's trot and still sit it.  It wasn't a work of art, but neither am I.
John had us work on forward and back in the canter and trot, and then transitions in the proper frame.  Inside leg to outside hand, and then bend from the inside hand is the short version.  But for god's sake, I don't know why I'm struggling so much with this.  John just gives me the necessary words, and then the very next lap I need all of them again.
He said that his goal in the lesson is to have me feel it, so I can remember the feel.  The feel is very distinct, but I can't put into words what makes it happen.  When I can connect those two, I think things will progress.
We also talked about bending aids, and why sometimes the aid is an inside leg (he's usually falling in over his shoulder; i.e. making the circle smaller) and sometimes an outside leg (I am usually bending his haunches into the circle with this aid) and sometimes the rein (John tries to tell me when he wants me to only bend his neck; he said we used to only bend with the neck, but now I bend his body and then use the neck).
We also talked about the inside seat bone for the canter aid, after I experimented with it in between my last lesson and this one.  It is not a forward and down, but a forward and up - John had to show me twice - it is like the motion of a sitting trot, but then a swoop up.  John said you can use it either to start the canter (when his hind leg is coming under?) or to finish the canter, if he is almost picking it up but then stalling.
I am also having a lot of trouble with my hands.  My outside hand wants to go forward (instead of elbow to hip) and my inside hand wants to drop down and back, which is weird that they're going two different ways, since I can't use them independently.
Riding Duke felt great, but I'm frustrated because I feel like I can only connect the dots when John is there, and I just freakishly get one step or so when I'm on my own.

Cavaletti to a fence

Tonight we did a new exercise.  John had three cavaletti set on a circle (so the insides were closer together than the outsides), and we rode them first at the trot, then at the canter.  My job was to bend Duke around my inside leg, get him lined up properly, keep my leg on, but then let him figure it out.
After we did that both directions, then we rode the cavaletti to a ground pole, over a vertical, over another ground pole.  First we went to the right, and I had a hard time with making the correct line to make the center of the fence be a circle with the cavaletti (even though I could totally see it).  When we changed directions, it was very easy.  Afterwards, John said that's because from the left, it was a seven stride line to the fence, but from the right, it was a 20 stride line.  That was pretty fascinating.  So my eye can see 7 strides, but not 20.
This was a straightforward looking, but not simple, exercise.  It highlighted how important it is to be precise.
From the right, John had me counterbend Duke, but if the jump was at 12, I did this at 9, so by the time I got to 10, I was bending him back and using that to bend us through the turn.  When I lined up the bend ahead of time, the cavaletti and the jump were smooth sailing.  If I messed up the angle of the circle or the bend, I could tell instantly.  It was a good exercise.

Draw reins & trailer

Well, I got my trailer bent funny in the driveway, and John had to drive it in and then help me back out.  That was ... well, inevitable.  I guess I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner.  He said because Ford have a huge turning radius, and it takes a while for the trailer to move, that I'm overcorrecting, and instead, I should do little movements and trust that it's going to turn.  I tried parking it like that when I got home and it worked like a charm.

For our lesson, we worked with draw reins, because John said to ride with them every once in a while, but I'm too chicken shit to do it on my own.  Duke was great, and worked hard, as always.  We worked on bending him through his body (not just in his neck) to break up the stiffness.  This is sometimes with my inside hand (and leg), and sometimes with a half halt on the outside hand (and both legs), and sometimes, when he doesn't give, bend to the outside.
We did 10 meter trot circles, started 10 meter canter circles, then let him do 15 meter canter circles.  He got tired after the first set of canter both directions, but John had him keep going, and he didn't act up.
The transitions were hard - John made us redo them if he stiffened and put his head up in the air, so we had to do each one several times before we got it right.  He seems to pick up the canter better if I push the inside hip down and forward when I'm asking for the canter (with inside leg forward, outside leg back).  Transitions down, however, just feel like a crap shoot.  I am asking him to bend with my inside hand, but sometimes he throws his head up (mostly) and sometimes (rarely) he doesn't.
When he lifts his back up and is going round, I can squeeze him with my whole leg, it feels like I can wrap around him.  But when he's hollow in his back, if I squeeze with my upper leg, it just makes my lower leg swing.  John said yes.  I also have a hard time making my hands be independent; if my left hand gives, my right hand wants to also.

During my lesson, it's amazing, but like I've said the last few blog posts, afterwards, I just cannot repeat it (and can barely describe it) by myself.  John said to give when he bends (but I can't always feel it), and he kept having to tell me to take up the reins (especially with my left hand).
I think the last couple times though, I have done a little better the next couple rides by myself, so maybe it is slowly sinking in.  I hope this is another one of the learning stages where we're stuck on a big step up, but once we make it, we'll have a new view.  (And not the limits of how well I can ride.)

Two different types of bending aids

In our last lesson, we worked on bending Duke with the reins.  Tonight we worked on bending him with my leg.  John said that with a horse like him who thinks, it is best to mix it up.
I was trotting around on a floppy rein to warm up, like John and Ashley said (or so I thought), but John got on and rode him and showed me (which was awesome).  Instead of letting him do whatever he wants, it was pushing him forward, even letting him run just a little bit, then using outside aids to firm him up, then using inside rein and leg to bend him, and then pushing forward again, and then the second pushing forward pushes him up and round into the reins, and he naturally goes up and over his back.  It was kind of amazing.  So John rode him and described it to me a few laps, then I got on, and it was cool.
And then we did canter, and I don't know why, but I am just struggling with any roundness in the canter.  As in, I can't even describe what John told me, even though he said it just as simply (and even more recently) than the trot aids.
It is sitting down, keeping seat moving, legs on and off, breaking up his neck, but the aids from my legs to my hands just defeat me.
From there, we did some jumping through a grid, which was a ground pole, cross rail, ground pole, vertical, ground pole, and eventually the cross rail and vertical became oxers that were cross rail/verticals, and then John put placer poles in the middle to make us go straight down the chute and not drift.  Duke was great - he just powered through although he likes to land on the left lead.  My big instruction was to look ahead through the turn, then put enough leg on to get us through, which was usually leg over the first fence and in between the first and second fence.
John said he likes Duke, that he's got a good head and tries hard.

Sweaty butt (for Duke)

Our dressage lesson today was similar to the start of our jump lesson from Thursday, but was much harder.  And equally difficult to translate.
When I rode Friday, after the lesson, I remembered that one of the things John told me to do was to send Duke forward and back within the gait.  So if he was trotting, to slow him down to almost a walk, then go back to regular trot.  We did this at both trot and canter.  We did it again today.
We started with five minutes of trotting (I had been sitting around laughing) that John said was just throw away work - not to worry about getting him round, but just let him trot and loosen up.
Then we started working on a 20 meter circle, with a few changes of direction.  John did minor corrections here, a little more bend, a little outside leg.
From there we moved onto a smaller circle and John focused more on the precise aids - outside leg now - now - now, outside leg back, leg yield him out of the small circle onto the larger circle without changing my hands, taking up my reins (they slide out long and loose) - not looping the rein when I give, but just giving a little - but giving a little whenever he softened.
A few times we had to counterbend and then come back onto the correct bend, and then he had us switch sides of the arena and work on the right side.  Here, he had us working on a 10 meter circle, and then he had me canter on the 10 meter circle (as Duke's first right lead canter for the day!).  To my amazement, Duke did it.
John tightened Duke's noseband, which I have been leaving one hole looser, and he said that leave at least a hole for the show.
Duke had sweat under his chin and foamy sweat in his butt, but he seemed relaxed and happy.  He's a good worker and tries hard.
I could - sometimes - tell what John was about to say, and I tried to use my "cross" aids (inside leg to outside hand) without John having to say it, but it took a lot of concentration just to keep up, and I'm not sure that I feel yet when I need to give the aid.  I can feel the difference, after John tells me to, like I can feel when I put my outside leg back and use it with the beat of his steps, how he gets round and soft in the bend, but if I was just trotting around by myself, I would never think "oh, now is when I should move my outside leg back".  I am hoping that with time, this will start to sink in, but I imagine that whenever we start something new, it must be kind of frustrating to teach me, and just watch me struggle and struggle and struggle until I finally get it.  Please, please, let me get it.

Gymnastic

John started with some work on helping Duke to soften instead of jutting his head out (or up in the transitions) all stiff.  This is that same tricky - too many things happen at once - riding that I can't really describe, but I can feel when we get it right.
My best effort:
 - Reins should be short enough that when I ask for bend to the inside, I don't touch my own leg with my hand.  I did a lot of squeezing with the inside hand to try to get him to bend to the inside.
 - When he flat out refused, we'd bend him to the outside and then back to the inside.
 - Half halt still needed to happen on the outside, but I need to do a better job keeping my elbow connected to my hip.  I tend to push forward with the outside hand, I think especially when I am trying to use my inside leg.
 - I'd use outside leg pushed back to get him to put his haunches in, and then use it at the girth to keep him from drifting outside the circle.
 - I'd use inside leg to bend him.
 - I'd use both legs to push him forward, once he got soft and round.
 - For the canter, on the left lead, I was also putting more weight on my left seat bone and pushing down.
 - For transitions, I'd try to keep that inside bend going through the transition, so he didn't stiffen and toss his head up.
Duke got soaking wet just doing this part of the lesson, and I had to ride around most of the time with my tongue stuck out.  In fact, I have it stuck out typing trying to remember the feel of the movements and how to describe them.  Duke was moving great, and he felt fabulous, but my reaction time is still a little too slow for me to put all this together on my own.  What I think the take away was, though, was that I need to expect more from him and ask more from him, and not just be happy with what he offers.
Then we jumped.
We started with a little itty bitty vertical with a ground line in front of it, and one of the floppy jumps, John said that's the issue with show jumping at the shows.  I ask for the half halt, he blows it off, so I don't commit, and we come in at the wrong angle/speed.  John said to look through the turn, decide what I want, and ride it.  And so I did.  And it worked.
So then we did a cross rail, vertical, then an over that grew, and changed directions on the far side.  We haven't done this particular exercise since last winter, so it was interesting to see how we've changed over the summer.  I had to think heels down, back flat, and BOTH legs on, and I cut the right hand turn too short a couple times, but I think it was better than last winter.  One time Duke was a little slow, but other than that, he pretty much went through like a champ.  He likes to jump.  For this, it was me half halting before the turn to the fence, looking to the fence before we started to turn, and then closing my leg to ride through, and then over the oxer, looking the direction I wanted to go.
It's kind of frustrating that I still need to be told the basics (heels down, back flat) but if anyone can ever get it through my thick head, it'll be John.
It wasn't raining, so we got to do a quick walk around the back to cool off; Duke even had sweat under his chin.

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.

Jack Le Goff's horse conditioning

Condition hot horses with long distances at slower speeds; easy going horses get shorter distances at faster speeds.
If not quite sound, replace speed work on flat with slow uphill work.

Condition is four weeks of legging up, then galloping.
  Walk/longe variation for 20 minutes for two weeks.
  Trot for 2-3 minutes, then 3-4 minutes six days a week.
  By end of fourth week, trot is 4-5 4 minute sessions.
  Don't jump or formal train dressage in four week period.

Galloping work for young horse:
  Monday:  Hack/dressage
  Tuesday:  Jump
  Wednesday:  Dressage
  Thursday:  Jump
  Friday:  Dressage
  Saturday: Gallop
  Sunday:  Off

Galloping work for experienced horse:
  Monday:  Hack/dressage
  Tuesday:  Gallop
  Wednesday:  Dressage
  Thursday:  Jump
  Friday:  Dressage
  Saturday: Gallop
  Sunday:  Off

Gallops:
  1 - 1 1/2 miles at 400 mpm
  2-4 minute rest
  If first set easy, do again

Gallops are double distance of competition.
Prelim usually 2 miles at 520 mpm, so:
  375-400 mpm for 4 miles
  Once recovers well, decrease distance, increase speed
  Gallop before competition:  2-3 trot sets for 5-10 minutes, 1 mile gallop at 450 and increase to 500, two minute break, one mile gallop 500 increase to 600 mpm

Intervals can go up to 4
Distance up to 2
Decrease rest length
Increase speed over 7-8 weeks
Don't condition more than test demands

Do hack work day after gallop; can replace gallop with cross country or steeplechase
 
Three-four weeks before major competition, compete.

Rest period of three weeks, can do light hacking but no mental work.

Aids for turn on the forehand

To the left
Turn head slightly to left
Shift weight left seat bone
Left leg, just behind girth, pushes around left front leg
Right rein and leg control movement and bring to halt

Duke off for today's lesson, but some good discussion

After we watched the lesson before us, Duke and I took about three steps at the trot before it was obvious he was lame on the left front.  So, that was that.  It was still interesting to watch the lesson for some of the jumps we jumped earlier this week, and Duke was so quiet and still the whole time, like a good boy.
I followed John around for a while afterwards with my pressing questions, but first:
- He said measure the toe length and compare it to the number we came up with a few months ago, then let my farrier know and then the next shoeing, make the farrier stick to it.
- Put turpentine on his hooves, works better than durasole or the keratase (I forgot its name).  Not watered down.
- 2 grams of bute today.
- Walk him only Sunday and Monday.

For Jumpernite and schooling shows, John said that depending on the course, the jumpernite could be useful, but not enough if isn't the things Duke needs to work on.
For dressage schooling, yes, that could also be useful, but we haven't started working on the rein back yet because it messes with their halt, so he doesn't want to work on it until we have to.
For attitude at the show, someone who is working with him a lot and then slacks off, there is a difference in their riding.  This was interesting, and I hadn't thought about it.  That John could get us up a level, but then we could back slide on our own.  It makes sense, I just hadn't thought about it.  But that yes, I'm a sore loser, and it's ok to go inside my trailer and kick the tires, but then I need to be nicer to the other competitors.
Ashley is working on making money, not going out on her own.  (note to self:  big difference) but yes, ok to be helping her get some students.
For cross country vs. show jumping, we talked about the speed, the distance a canter stride is, and how short show jumping is compared to cross country.  So if there's a screwed up step or two in show jumping, it is - proportionally - way more significant to the total round than cross country.  He said it's anxiety that shuts my brain down in show jumping (and makes me not breathe, and makes me tight, which Duke feels, Duke gets tight, and that makes it easier for him to knock a rail).
He said that it isn't just cross country where things are slowing down, that he can see in my dressage tests now (vs a few years ago) that I am thinking my way through the test - noticing a problem, thinking about how to fix it, and then starting to fix it.  A few years ago I couldn't do that.
John said when he started teaching me, he would use about 40 words a minute, so I had time to process what he was saying.  I was asking about this because of our last lesson where he told me he couldn't tell me every aid fast enough, so I needed to remember to do some of them myself, which is what prompted me to pull out my theory books (also because Practical Horseman had Jimmy Wofford saying that the elite students could ride, but couldn't describe the aids that you use for specific movements).  That's what prompted me to play up my strengths - I may not have good feel, but I can memorize the sequences of aids, and it is high time I refresh myself on theory, now that I've got a few more years of experience riding with him under my belt.
So we're going to try again for a lesson on Tuesday, and this was my wake-up call not to slack on Duke's feet.

Jump lesson with Christa and Anna

Duke and I got to share a lesson with both Christa and Anna tonight, which was pretty cool.  John talked about some of the SSHF show issues, and then we started with a cross rail, which became a vertical, and then we changed direction and went over a little oxer.  We each got rails on the oxer, but when John asked Anna why, she told him exactly; Christa and I both said "dunno" although the answer was the same for both - the difference was between being on the forehand and being engaged behind (uphill).  The distance rode exactly the same, but we got a rail for a forehand jump and no rail for an engaged jump.
Then John had us jump a bigger oxer, then the gate - 5 strides - bigger oxer.  This went ok, which was frustrating because it was basically the same line as from the show, and at the show, we got a rail on the oxer.
Then he made it hard.  It was gate to big oxer, right hand turn, vertical, hard left hand turn in three strides to oxer, right hand 90 degree turn to vertical two stride oxer (and then, finally, right hand turn around to biggest oxer).
The right hand turns slay me.  It doesn't matter how many times we do them, the second I stop riding one, I forget everything and fuck it up the very next time.  To ride a right hand turn on Duke I have to keep my left leg on his left shoulder and Not. Let. Him. Drift.  It's that fucking simple, and yet every single god damned right hand turn I'd forget again.
It was a very educational lesson though, because John pointed out that we'd be tootling along, happy as could be, and in one stride, Duke would go from completely balanced and exactly what I wanted, to bulging out through the left shoulder and drifting.  (he showed me where on the ground that it happens, and it is like the stride before we start making the turn.). So if I have a long approach, I can fix it, because it happens, I feel it, I have a few strides to push him back into place.  But if I am doing a very tight turn, I don't feel it in time to fix it.  So he said anticipate it.
The other big takeaway from this lesson was that Duke has to listen to me.  So two of the jumps were awkward because everything was going ok and then Duke was like "hold on" and accelerated long and flat (his preferred style of jumping) (and actually, mine too).  One of the times he tried this, I told him "no, I've got this" and then we held the speed and balance and it went fine.  So John said at the show, I've got to tell him "no, listen to me about this" and Duke has to respond.
As mad as I am about the two rails, what I really want is to understand why, and John said part of it is that Duke is good at cross country, but that means he's not as good at show jumping, and there might not be much we can do about it.  We can try to show jump the last few fences on xc, and then warm him up loose for show jumping, so he respects the rails, but he is good at cross country because he thinks for himself and goes long and fast, and if he does the same thing in show jumping, we'll get rails.  John said that Anna had horses that no matter what you did in show jump warm up, they just used it to get themselves loose and relaxed before they went into show jumping and clobbered the fences.  So that made me feel a little better.
He said you can jump from a tight turn, or a loose rein, or close up, but some horses will just take care of it in warm up, and then switch the second they get in the ring.
I guess it's worth it, for the confidence and fun on cross country.  He said sometimes they grow out of it and figure it out, but sometimes they figure it out the wrong way.
He said a horse like Duke comes off of cross country super proud of himself - chest puffed out - showing off to the wimpy novice horses, and that when he's a beast on xc, it's harder to get him the very next day to be respectful of the fences.  I think that's maybe why we didn't have problems last year or the beginning of this year - I was going slow and careful on cross country.  But after steeplechase at Rebecca, when I really felt him go fast, I've been letting him go faster and faster to get ready for the feel of prelim speed.
So the silver lining is I figured it out a little bit on my own.  The other thing I figured out - although too late, which is the frustrating part - is that when he grabbed the bit and tried to take charge, I shouldn't have pulled back and wrestled with him, but should have relaxed my hand.  It makes me mad, that John has told me that (over and over), and yet in the moment when I needed it (and knew it), I didn't think to do it.