First ride!

We both survived.  After round-penning her in my saddle, I asked a friend to come over and hold Vegas for me.  I did the usual: jumping up and down, petting and patting and scratching her and the saddle, leaning far over, etc.  Then threw my leg over.  She was not sure of my (full) weight but wasn't extremely nervous.  Then I got down and repeated the process on the other side.  After sitting and praising her for a few minutes, my helper asked if I wanted her to lead Vegas a few steps.  Vegas did not want to move, and when she did move, she wanted to stretch forward without moving her hind feet.  With some encouragement, we got her to take a few steps then I got down and called it a day. 

Then I went to rinse her off because she was sweating (it was HOT and she is very fluffy).  It was an ordeal but eventually I was able to rinse her chest, shoulders, and most of her neck.  This is definitely something we need to work on.

Eye candy follows.

You may (or may not) notice that she's wearing my new saddle pad, an Ecogold made specially for the Sensation saddles.  I was able to pick it up brand new for a little over half of what it costs to purchase from Nickers.

 

Initial impression: it is well-made and is made of a breathable material which I hope will help keep Ruby comfortable. I like that the straps across the spine ensure there is no spinal pressure. I don't like that it's black, instead of blue, but that's the way it goes sometimes.  It is very thin compared to my Equipedic but I have been wanting a thinner pad, hence why I would like to try one of the Toklat Matrix pads.  Still, the thinness makes me a little nervous because I also want to protect the horses' backs.  For now, I will trust that Nickers wouldn't have these specially made if they weren't up to snuff but I will be watching closely for any signs of soreness.