She's ready.

I had an awesome ride on the flat today. Amber was really going along nicely. Her consistency in her gaits has improved so much and she's starting to stretch down on a loose rein very well.

I just feel she's ready for showing. I feel like she's really ready this year. She may not win anything, she may not be perfect, but still I feel she's ready.

I did Dylan's mane for Victoria and in exchange she clipped Amber for me. Now our ponies are sexy beasts!

I'm going to keep the work light this week because I want her to be ready for the show, but not too tired. So we're riding Thursday and that's it. It's just a schooling show, after all. Tomorrow I'll be feeding up for the night and then Friday it will just be bathing and packing.

I think Amber might end up with shoes just on the back. It's a hard decision but she is still wearing off the toe, and she does it a little under saddle I noticed. More so in warm up. But the majority is coming off in the pasture and there's nothing I can do about that and duct taping her toes really isn't a fix.

So maybe it will give her a little extra support back there and perhaps the extra weight will remind her she has feet. The fact that she doesn't always do it and doesn't act like she's in pain just gives me the sense that this is conformational/lazy hind end. Still I'm going to have the vet give me another opinion when she comes for Amber's shots this month.

The fact that she wears both, albeit one more than the other, leads me to believe it's not lameness. The fact that the kinesiologist found nothing other than some tightness in her hind end and stifles also leads me to believe the same.

So right now the priority will just be to stop the wearing and go from there. According to Casey she moves great, but she's just not picking up those feet as she should.