A Winter's Day on the Beach with the Beautiful Longdogs

Really?  You expect me to get down?

I hope you enjoy this video of us playing on the beach.  You can see that winter is coming, as its about nine o'clock in the morning and the sun is still struggling up into the sky.  Gordon Macdonald is back to his wonderful self and full of a bit of extra perk at being allowed to run free again.  The Kizzy dog is like a little bit of black velvet with her new winter coat and Mac is growing in his shaggy winter cape to keep his shoulders warm.  I tried riding to this beach the other day but got caught out by the tide and a padlocked farmers gate and me and my trusty steed MacDuff had to paddle home!

The Glen, looking very pretty, just before winter arrived.

The Boys, chilling out after a hard day.

Kizzy and the inevitable Sticky Stick.

Never to old to get back in the saddle....

For about seven years of my life I went horse riding every weekend.  I learnt to ride at a stables where I started going from about the age of six and by the time of the above photo (I was about 10) I had progressed to hiring out horses and going for hacks on my own.  I loved the horse I am riding, her name was Carrie and she was a lovely gentle shire horse cross with lots of pep on a long canter.  But things change and I went off to university etc etc - you can guess the rest.  But here I am in the next  photo  - in my forties and back in the saddle!  I am riding a horse called Flame, who was as steady as a rock and good for a returner like me.   I am wearing my dog walking gear because my friend had surprised me with a ride on my birthday - I thought we were just going on a long dog walk so am dressed accordingly.  I have been riding as often as I can since.  The only problem is....I wish I could take my dogs with me - I would love to gallop along our favourite beach with Mac and Kizzy running at  my feet.  And as usual I have the same fantasies when I am riding as I did when I was ten - that I was crashing through the forest with my bow at my back and a quiver full of arrows and my big running dogs beside me. I should really have been born a medieval prince...still, it just goes to show that if you loved something once, its possible you will love it again, just like I do horse riding...

Mac is out of his final dressing and has been building up his time off the lead gently in order to give his poor leg a decent chance of healing.   If you think the bond between a person and their dog is special, have a look at this photo of my son and Mac...two lovely peas in a pod.