Long Weekend Love

Long weekends are my favorite (along with everyone else, I'm sure). This past one did not disappoint!

George surprised me at work for lunch on Friday (Valentine's Day) with chocolate covered strawberries, flowers, and a lunch date at our favorite restaurant. I had a pretty hectic week so we spent the evening in with take-out Thai food and the Olympics, pretty much heaven to me!

Saturday I slept in a bit, did some laundry and headed out to the barn (finally!). Gatsby was, as expected, a total nutcase and had already worked himself into a sweat before I even tacked up. I threw on some draw reins for good measure and hopped on. I am not someone who loves using "devices" on a regular basis but they do serve their purpose and at times can be very helpful. Lately I have been using the draw reins fairly often to try and get Gats to work over his back more (very difficult when he is so amped) and to start to rebuild his topline. They are immensely helpful in getting him to actually do some productive work on days like Saturday when he would have liked to be absolutely crazy. He still has his moments but overall, much more contained. My favorite thing about using them is that it is the only time I can actually get him to have a really nice free walk, something that is very difficult for him to comprehend.

We want this!

Saturday night was spent catching up on some TV shows, folding laundry and finishing up the second book in the Ender's Games series, Speaker for the Dead (highly recommend). Another perfect evening in.

Sunday we took Sirius to the dog beach where he had the absolute best time. There were tons of people and dogs out and I always enjoy seeing all the different breeds. He is still not so sure about the ocean but absolutely loves running around and making friends. Headed to the barn afterwards, Gatsby was pretty tired from the heat and his big workout on Saturday. I tried out a friends custom dressage saddle, super comfy to sit in but not so much for actual riding. Made it through our trot sets, gave Gatsby a mini-bath, iced and headed home.

About as far in the water as Sirius will willingly get.

Was planning on riding again yesterday but his leg has been looking so good with the extra time off that I didn't want to push it with three rides in a row. I went to Bikram Yoga and lunch with some friends instead, walked Sirius and played with Kanye a bit. Gotta admit, I have some awesome animals.

This morning I was going to wake up early and ride but between the new saddle, Bikram and sleeping funny I seem to have seriously tweaked my left hip/sacrum and have been limping around all day. Heading home for some ice and netflix and crossing my fingers it will be better tomorrow. Gatsby gets another day off but I think I might wake up early and do something with baby Kanye.