Getting Started

So there you are, all dressed up and now looking for somewhere to go frolic, so where should you go? And what should you do when you get there?

There are as many styles of pony play as there are couples and ideally you should take the time to find what is right for you. There are, however, a few rules that all ponies follow.

The Core Rules

1) The Tack. As discussed last time, all ponies wear variations on pony tack.
2) No speaking. Ponies wear a bit most of the time. With a bit in, they can't really form many syllables and have to use more base sounds, like whinnys.
3) The pony is not the dominant partner. This doesn't mean they must be submissive to all non-ponies - think of an unbroken horse and I don't think you could call them submissive - but they are always respectful.
4) Pony Play is consensual. Pony play is not a reason to abuse people. There are "safewords" (for example three stomps).

Beyond these rules, there are variations dependent on the stable and the Dominant involved.

Some stables expect all ponies to be submissive to any visiting Master or Mistress. Some Owners require specific tack. If you join a stable or take an owner, find out what their rules are and expect to play by them.

Finding a place to frolic

My recommendation is to visit many different places and watch some of the interactions that go on, then practice and see how you get on. As a new pony, most will give you some leeway to make mistakes.

Once you get your confidence up, there is a list of pony sims available here :

https://sites.google.com/site/slponyplay/locations

Some of the stables will no longer be there as they do tend to come and go, move sim or simply change hands.

(Deirdre here : report changes to me in-world for speedy updates to the list!)

Good places to start are FFF (Frilly Filly Farm), AliKat/AK Stables and PPP (Pretty Prancing Ponies) as they are larger and have been in the same places for the longest times (and landmarks are in the pony package).

Just remember : no two sims are the same, no two trainers are the same, and no two ponies are the same.

Behaviour

Right, so now you look the part, have found somewhere to play and now you need to find your personality.

As long as you stick to the basic rules, this is where it is all about you. How do you want to act ? If the trainer doesn't like it, they will train you otherwise.

My preferred view on pony play is that of Pony Jane. Jane is very dedicated and produced her "Pony Philosophy". I very much recommend having a read, but the bit that appealed most to me is the section that reads -

"Being a pony is an intellectual void. If something feels good, it is good. If something feels bad, it is bad. If we like something, there doesn't need to be anything more to it. If we don't like something, the same is true. Everything is about the now. "

So there you are, trying to teach the pony to jump a fence, they get bored and run off to chase butterflies. So I look at pony play as something to enjoy. If someone asks you to do something, try to do it and hope they like how you do it. Be playful, try things, but be respectful (ie do not interrupt someone else's play time - I recommend watching quietly and you may be invited).

"Advanced" Play

Once you have mastered the basics and learned to be a free pony, you might want to undertake training in a number of activities that you can do either with pony-friends or as part of training. We will cover these activities in a future column.

Further Reading.

As I already suggested, there's PonyJane's pony philosophy, There is also "Pony play FAQ - compiled by Evangeline (Updated.)" by Miss Evangeline Eldritch. This is compiled from a number of sources and covers pony play much as this has. There is also the "Pony Communication Guide" written by Miss Alicia Delphin which explains the noises a pony makes and the interpretations for them.

I have updated the Pony Starter Kit with these items on the 6th October.