BareRose - Skeleton Harness

Deirdre here : Hi everyone! I'd like to introduce our new Pony Correspondent, Devastacia. She's a friend of Kendra's, and another experienced pony person.

(Remember that if you're interested, we're still taking applications!)

The Pony Correspondent post is early this week so we can squeeze our Christmas greeting in on Friday.. lelo's genius idea :)

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By Devastacia Soulstar, Pony Correspondent

BareRose Tokyo isn’t typically known for their selection of pony play gear. The sprawling store has hundreds of outfit choices on walls that raise the height of ten avatars.

Buried amongst the myriad of outfits I was surprised to find a lovely little harness.

Located in the “Sexy” section of the store (fourth row from the bottom, middle of the wall), the “Skeleton Harness” is a great outfit for a pony looking for something a little bit different than the standard BDSM harness.

The harness itself is on clothing layers, but has prim attachments to accentuate the outfit that give it a bit of flair. I found the prim portions to be easy to adjust and fit, although the outfit even looks great without them.

The harness can be worn alone, or with included latex under layers which come in six colors (black, blue, orange, pink, purple, and red).

One of the best aspects of this outfit is the cost. Like most others at BareRose Tokyo, the Skeleton Harness is very affordable at only L$150.

The store also offers other fetish outfits and many more non-fetish, and the store is well worth a browse, despite the often confusing layout.

Name: BareRose
Owner: June Dion
SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bare%20Rose/128/128/31

Pony Column Will No Longer Be Weekly

It’s not easy to write something every week.

I have nothing but thanks to give to Jo and Kendra for their efforts, but the fact is that they are busy doing pony things. That’s why their input is valuable.

The sad fact is that we have a slot to fill every Friday.

So lelo and I have decided to publish the Pony Correspondent column on a when-available basis.

When we have a column in hand, it will go up on Friday. If we don’t.. well.

We’ll try to up the fetish fashion and toy reviews to five a week, but that’s a fair bit of work.

I’ll tell you right now, there will be Fridays with a lolcat pic or funny related video and not much more. We’ll do our best, as we’ve been doing these last few years.

If you want to help with research, it’s very much appreciated. Pony columns as well : read the past ones for format and inspiration.

Deirdre and lelo

Estate Obscure Stables

By Kendra Chemistry, Pony Correspondent - with help from Devastacia Soulstar

The island of Estate Obscure is not like your typical BDSM club in Second Life. Estate Obscure is a community which tries to foster growth and learning among the members.

The Estate is a lesbian community, however well-mannered males are tolerated. It takes in submissives who have suffered, and helps them in the healing process.

Estate Obscure offers many facilities for use, which are open to all, but are primarily for the use of members (see an Estate Dominant for more info).

A focal point of the sim is the clubhouse, a warm, safe haven for all to have discussion, bond, and occasionally play. One of those facilities is the stables, or "ponyland," which can be reached via teleporter from the sim’s landing point.

Ponyland includes all of the basic pony facilities, including a slalom, barrels, dressage field, steeplechase, and a large barn which has a grooming/tacking area and stalls for both members and visitors to use.

There are also very rugged carting trails on the ground level (the main stables are in a sky deck.) Monthly pony events are held at the sim and the next event is a Running Barrels competition on December 21 at 6pm SLT.

The Place : Estate Obscure Stables

The SLURL : http://slurl.com/secondlife/Estate%20Obscure/195/73/701

Owner : Alt168 Obscure



December SL Dressage Society Show Report

The December show was held at Estate Obscure this month, and had a fantastic turnout of competitors and spectators. The results were:

1st Miss Mikky Heron with Beauty (Kara Kaptane) 42.0
2nd Miss Jo Gallindo with Seraphim (safra2011 Resident) 39.33
Miss Tasha Yar Dax with Jelly (Jill Freenote) 39.33
Miss Kara Kaptane with Waffles (Laurana Christenson) 39.33
3rd Miss Mikky Heron with (Equuea Eiren) 35.33
4th Miss Jo Gallindo with Ash (Cathryn McMillan) 34.6
5th Miss Zaphod Plutonian with Aziza (Daniella Zenoria) 34.0
6th Miss Mikky Heron with Lucciola (Aprille Dollinger) 33.33
7th Miss Telra Huntress with Moondance (Kat Stephenson) 31.33
8th Miss Telra Huntress with Amber (Amberlee Moonshadow) 29.0
9th Miss Jo Gallindo and Latexbaby (Latexbaby Fiertze) 17.0

The next show will be in late January at Meiji Stables.

Look for notices in Pony Info Group and SL Dressage Society groups, and all about SL Pony Play Dressage at the Society's web site.

Pony Post Delayed to Saturday

Sorry, RL happened again.

In the meantime, here's a kitty.

Marketplace Freebies

Deirdre and lelo here, with some tips for aspiring ponygirls tonight!

You may already know about the free pony kit Jo Ronin compiled and made available here :

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rise%20of%20the%20Phoenix/212/198/21

Well tonight we’ll give you, through the magic of searching on Marketplace, a few other cool freebies and cheapies.

This full avatar with tack and prim clothing is modeled here by lelo :

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Full-pony-girl-av-with-shape-skin-AO-bit-bridle-hooves-chastity-corset-and-tack/1048461

Full avatars are fun if you want a pair (or more!) of matched ponies pulling your cart :)

Here’s another, with the accompanying note :

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Open-Play-Pony-BETA/708128

“It's free to get, free to distribute (not for profit, however), and free to use.
You're very welcome to tip, if you so wish. You can simply tip Kessalta Blackburn or you can go to Castle Woodget (very Adult sim) and tip towards the running of the sim as a thank you for hosting Open Play products.”

And if you feel a ponygirl is not a ponygirl without a tail, here’s a cheapie :

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/SheMesh-Designs-Pony-Girl-Tails-Natrual-Pack-boxed/2793690

While we support malls and stores (as *they* support the places we love), Marketplace is fairly convenient to search quickly.

Have fun!

Carting

By pony correspondent: Jo Ronin

Last time we went over how to practice responding to whip commands in the safe environment of a corral. Once you are happy that you and your partner have a synergy going, you might want to think about taking to the roads.

Now, for roads, there are four places that I like. AK Stables has a very nice set of straight, flat roads with right angle turns. They also have a number of different carts out for public use, just please return them when you're done. This makes it very good for the beginner pony.

The second place is Frilly Filly Farm. It has a reasonably advanced race track, plus cart rezzers and access to linden roads for multi-sim cart rides. Certain areas can be a little tricky to navigate, but they make good practice at doing different corner types, plus there is a central timing gate.

Similarly, Happy Bottom farm can be an excellent place to start a cart ride along the long linden roads.

Finally, there is Sala, the stables for The Forum. Sala is one of the nicest places to go carting with plenty of different turns, hills, ramps and pretty views. There are also a number of cuddle corners to be your target destination and to keep you riding round the sim. There were a number of cart rezzers, but if you cannot find one, rez-rights are limited to members of The BDSM Forum group. They are a lovely group, so there is nothing to stop you dropping by and joining up.

One piece of advice with regards to carting, if you are crossing sim borders, be very careful. Do not try to turn once you make contact as it can spin you all over the place. It's best to stop short, then step reasonably slowly over the border, then wait for everyone to arrive. If you get bumped from the cart, hit "stand up" and sit on something near the cart. This usually works better than trying to TP and without you having to re-log.

If you're trying to go carting in a place without rezzers and are therefore looking for a good "Beginner" cart to purchase, I would recommend the Dog Cart.

The Dog Cart

For quite a while, one of my favourite carts has been the Dog Cart by Sugarcube productions. It's quite plain and very simple, but also incredibly reliable and robust. It's not too heavy, so it can go reasonably quickly, but not so light that it is uncontrollable. The turning circle isn't fantastic, but that has the benefit that the control is not too twitchy, so can avoid a novice pony "tripping" and falling off the road (and if you hit a parcel that has ban line.... let's say they hurt). This also makes it good for blindfolded carting.

The other big bonus is that it is copy/mod, so if you want to add an auto-rez script, that is a possibility. You can also mod it to suit your personality better or to match your pony's tack. There are also a number of similar yet different designs to choose from, including 4-passenger and 2 passenger, 2-puppy configurations (all be-it as separate purchases).

The crowning jewel of the Dog cart is the Duo Dog Cart. For the trainer lucky enough to have two ponies, this cart allows them to work together, one controlling the forwards and backwards, the other steering. I have enjoyed using the single cart with a number of friends of mine, but the duo cart can just add that extra bit to make a ride much more entertaining.

As with any cart there is a time and a place for it - it makes an excellent relaxing ride cart, but you wouldn't use it for racing. At 499$L per style, it is also not the cheapest cart on the market, but it is certainly an excellent and reliable cart that makes a good starting point when carting.

Landmarks for the locations mentioned in this post can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/slponyplay/locations

November Dressage Society Show

By Kendra Chemistry, Pony Correspondent

Hi there, pony fans! First, I want to say I’m sorry I didn’t post last week as I was wrapped up in last minute preparations for the Dressage Show we had on Saturday, November 12th. Second, let me tell you about dressage and about the show...

Dressage (a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a competitive equestrian sport, and is "the highest expression of horse training.”

In pony play, we have adapted it and train human mares and stallions to perform it for our pleasure and sport. The pony and its trainer are judged together as a team on how they perform a routine of prescribed courses on the field.

There are two types of fields used, one I call a “standard” field, and another we call the flower field. In standard pony dressage, the field has a figure 8, a circle, 2 lines, a row of slalom poles, and letters around the perimeter of the field.

The trainer is given a card of instructions as the team steps up, ready to perform. There will be 5 instructions on the card, one each of the following, starting from a specified mark on the field: Forward line, Backward line, Slalom, Circle and Figure 8. The trainer directs the pony around the field with voice commands, simple snaps of a whip, or silently with no prompting to follow or execute.

In flower dressage, the field looks like a flower from overhead, and is a pattern of circles with letters designating each of them. A card of instructions are given, and the moves to be performed can range from simple ovals or figure 8’s, to the very complex, mind boggling and beautiful.

The judges look at accuracy, command, presentation, behaviour, responsiveness and rhythm. The scores they give are added up and averaged. Each team gets one chance to perform, and awards are given for the best scores.

Now... on with the show. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, the field freshly cut and chalked. Anticipation built as the judges and competitors arrived, spectators filled the stands. The ponies lined up with their trainers, some nervous, others confident, the excitement grew. Everything was in place.

I was the hostess of the show... introduced the judges and then directed the first team to take the field. As each team performed, it was apparent that even the most experienced could crack under the pressure, and some newer ponies rose to the occasion making their trainers very proud.

Not all ponies had their own trainers to lead them on the field, so some trainers presented several ponies so they could all participate.

As a special treat, Miss Neysa and KaTrina Velde performed a beautiful flower dressage demonstration halfway though the show.

I want to give special thanks to Miss Button Wright and the Frilly Filly Farm for hosting the show, and to the show judges: Miss Mikky Heron, Sir Diablo (Harold Tryce) and Beauty (Kara Kaptane).

Congratulations to all the ponies, their owners and trainers on a wonderful show. And thank you to the audience for their support. It was a great time and we look forward to may more shows to come.

Results - SL Dressage Society Dressage Show - Frilly Filly Farm, 12 Nov 2011

Place	Team	Score
1st	Sir Nolddk Boucher with Amelia Expiento	42.3
2nd	Miss Kendra Chemistry with Apples (Devastacica Stormborn)	41.3
3rd tie	Miss Kendra Chemistry with Cherrypie (Cherry Rexie) Miss Kendra Chemistry with Waffles (Laurana Christenson)	40
4th tie	Miss Kendra Chemistry with KaTrina Velde Miss Laurana Christenson with Windrunner (Krystalin Resident) Miss Aprille Dollinger with Aella (Kendra Chemistry)	38.3
5th	Miss Laurana Christenson with Aziza (Daniella Zenoria)	36.3
6th	Miss Kendra Chemistry with Cerbiatto (Josy DeCuir)	34
7th	Miss Laurana Christenson with Amber (Amberlee Moonshadow)	32
8th	Miss Telra Huntress with Moondance (Kat Stephenson)	29.3
9th	Miss Cherry Rexie with Caprice (Becky Koolhoven)	27.3

All are welcome to join the SL Dressage Society and keep informed about upcoming dressage events.

Besides the shows, we have classes and practice sessions for performing and judging. Any member can invite you. After you join, IM Zobo Shepherd or myself, Kendra Chemistry, and we can assign you a pony, trainer or owner role.

Please see the Society’s web site for all kinds of information at: http://sldressage.yolasite.com.

Pony Places : Port Sarah Ponygirl RP Community

Port Sarah is a pretty extraordinary sim. The pony play there is integrated in roleplay - I want to say daily life - in a way that is rarely seen elsewhere.

We were lucky enough to run into Logan Catronis, one of the architects of the current incarnation of Sarah’s.

He’s the oldest soul I’ve met in SL, and despite the *Evil Incarnate* tag he wore, was the soul of courtesy to us as we visited.

Roleplay rules at Sarah’s are strict, with the intent of making sure everyone has a good time. This is a fighting sim, with some pretty rough action going on at any time, so be aware of this if you visit.

We wore the mandatory Observer tag and were quiet as church mice while we visited - you really, really want to read the card you get on arrival, I'm not kidding.

Prospective members must meet with an admin for an entry interview. When I remarked that this was labor-intensive, Logan mentioned that no less than 14 admins help run things, so someone is always on hand.

The sim is gorgeous, and the construction everywhere is beautiful and consistent, giving a real 1800’s period feel.

The cart tour of the sim was slow and leisurely - the girls are trained to it, I learned. I approve!

The amount of sheer intelligence that went into everything really impressed me. I spotted the wide roads immediately on arrival, and sure enough, pony carts are the vehicles : no flight, and even teleporting is frowned upon - and forbidden in a fight, of course.

There’s no way to sum up a two hour visit in a few paragraphs, so I’ll encourage you to visit and speak to an admin if a pony lifestyle in a fully immersive roleplay sim sounds good to you.

The SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sarahs%20Island/127/166/26

Help Us Keep The Pony Directory Updated

Last November, Jaydana, lelo and I started the Pony Directory, a reference site for pony play in Second Life.

We believe this is a useful service, and we’re happy to put the time into maintaining it.

Jaydana was our expert and researcher, as lelo and I don’t live the pony lifestyle 24/7.

But Real Life Intruded, as it will, and Jaydana no longer has the time to keep us posted on changes in the SL community.

So I would like to ask all ponies, trainers, sim owners, and other enthusiasts to give us a little hand in keeping the directory up to date.

A new place opens? An old place closes? A shop carries some cool item we should know?

Send me an instant message - I’m nowhere near capped ;)

Events are best posted on SLPonyPlay.com.. we carry their RSS feed, and we don’t want to compete with them in any way.

With your cooperation, we can improve the Pony Directory and make it a more useful resource for all SL pony people.

Thank you in advance.

Deirdre Young

The Frilly Filly Gran Prix

By Kendra Chemistry (ponygirl “Aella”), Pony Correspondent

When you visit most any pony play stable in SL, you'll see various courses used by the trainers to teach and test the ponies various skills. Trainers may stage contests on the courses between ponies to show off, earn praise and rewards, or just for fun.

Stables also sponsor organized events to bring together ponies from all over the grid for some friendly competition, win awards and socialize.

One of the common events in pony play is the cart race, which might be run on a track, a marked course on farm trails, or even one that runs through many regions in SL. Cart racers use a racing sulky, a light, 2-wheeled cart built for speed. What follows is a "sports report" of a typical event.

Under a beautiful, cloudless sky one night this past week, ponies (some with their trainers or owners), and a number of spectators gathered with anticipation for a cart race event, the Frilly Filly Farm (FFF) Gran Prix.

Event notices on the Pony Info Group, SL Ponygirl Club, and the farms's own group had gone out for days, as well as being posted on the event calendar at http://slponyplay.com/ . There were ponies of a wide range of experience and skill levels lined up to race.

The course was laid out on about 1.5KM of trails that run the perimeter of the farm. In the minutes leading up to the beginning of the race, at least one ponygirl (Aella) frantically practiced, trying to learn the course, adjust to the region weather (lag), and make up for being more trainer than pony lately.

One of the trainers running the race did her part to try to reduce lag (see photo), and also succeeded in happily distracting this pony reporter.

The trainers started carts about every minute or so. Most ponies took their laps without riders, while others carried a rider sometimes (this pony reporter ran her best time with her trainer along for the ride.)

Sometimes an accident would happen, such as tumbling off the course. Fortunately no ponies, riders or spectators were injured (there is a clinic at this farm, just in case.)

Some of the more experienced ponies jumped out to early leads on the scoreboard, but as the race wore on, some very talented newer ponies gave them a run for their money.

The top times differed in fractions of a second at times, and the drama was building at the end, as the times got very close to each other and were very fast. As usual, a fun time was had by all, and treats and ribbons were awarded.

Results of the Frilly Filly Gran Prix: 1 Solange Redangle (Arun) 117.447 2 Shortcake (lilitha Triellis) 117.621 3 Jelly (Jill Freenote) 118.327 4 Sovka Canning 122.991 5 Pricilla Slade 123.458 6 Caprice (Becky de Pure) 125.882 7 Krystalin Windrunner 126.296 8 Aella (Kendra Chemistry) 126.841 9 Daniella Zenoria 127.538 10 Amberlee Moonshadow 145.998 11 Equuea Eiren 154.209 12 Moonshine (Roxieboo Resident) 158.638 13 Smurfette (jessika1990) 356.445

An upcoming special event: An advanced skill ponies may learn is called Dressage. In a future column we’ll go into it further, but for now I’m happy to announce a dressage show will take place on Saturday November 12th, starting at 7am SL time.

This November show is being hosted by the Frilly Filly Farm, but future shows will be hosted at stables all over SL. Please see the SL Dressage Society web site for details.

The Place: Frilly Filly Farm (FFF)
The SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Bulgogi/155/230/78
Owner: Button Wright

Pony Column Delayed

Hey, RL happens ;)

So the Pony Correspondent column will be published tomorrow exceptionally.

In the meantime, here's a fun music video with a semi Hallowe'en theme :

Whip Training

Looking around whichever stable you are in, you'll no doubt see a fair few items that may or may not make sense to you. The pony walker makes sense in that it can be used to teach the basics of pony role playing, thinking of the breathing etc..., but it is something that will no doubt be unique to each trainer.

One of the simple yet more fun activities is Whip Training in a corral, but it does require a partner. It may sound a silly an ultimately boring thing to do, but do try it and try to give it some time. Settle down where you won't be disturbed in RL and just go with it for 20-30 minutes.

This activity is also useful for training items like the MD Pony boots (or the ballet boots if you need to exercise a ballet-shod doll, but you might use a different command system for that one) where walking is limited. It is certainly more beneficial than doing laps of a sim.

Basic Commands

This is very simple. Commands are given by a series of whip cracks. A free whip is in the pony freebie kit and I actually recommend it. The animations are perhaps a little violent, but it uses a HUD, so it continues to work across sim boundaries (blue menus don't and you have to re-click the whip). The commands are -

1 crack - Go
2 cracks - Stop
3 cracks - Left
4 cracks - Right

There's also an option for 5 cracks of the whip. This is different depending on context and on the person holding the reins. Some trainers prefer to pull the reins to get a pony to back up, but 5 cracks is often reverse. In a corral it usually means "come to me" (and is hopefully followed by an apple slice or two, so try not to disappoint the pony - check the freebie pack for a supply).

Don't be worried if you make mistakes - they happen and you are there in the safety of the corral to learn and adapt. There's also no shame in not being able to remember these combinations between sessions. Do note them down on a piece of paper if you need to refresh your memory when you next go out in a cart or to the corral, but be honest with yourself and try to learn them - it can decrease your enjoyment if you are distracted.

In the corral.

Essentially, the trainer should take the pony's reins, lengthen them to about 10m and stand them on an edge spot. The trainer then moves to the centre spot. At this point, it is best to test the left and right commands with the pony stood still - make sure they get them the right way round and can hear the sound of the whip.

This is very important as the sound can often be the best identifier (and also tends to need to be downloaded to the client, so there can be a significant delay the first time). It's therefore best to test stop before start and make sure they can hear it.

When the trainer cracks three times, the pony turns left and faces clockwise (looking from above). This is also as the pony sees it, not the trainer. When the trainer cracks four times, the pony turns round and faces anti-clockwise.

Importantly, if the trainer indicates right again, the pony continues going right/anti-clockwise. The trainer can stop, start, mix it up a little. Call right twice, leave the pony for four laps, then indicate right again and see if they are paying attention. It can get quite relaxing and, if the pony can, they should try to stop reading the "Trainer cracks the whip four times" commands that come through and focus on the sound.

Now by their movements, the pony indicates to the trainer that they know what is going on, and it should eventually become second nature. Once they don't make mistakes, the trainer might want to consider taking the pony out on the road in a slow cart and build up to more advanced activities. We will cover those more later.

More advanced corral activities

Obviously, you will get more practiced at this and walking in a circle relentlessly can get a little tedious, so try some variations. Add a line that is to symbolise a sim boundary and get your pony to slow-step over it, keeping them aware of their surroundings while attentive to the whip commands. Get two ponies to stand either side, possibly with blinkers, train them together and see if one catches the other. As long as you are enjoying it, there's no "wrong" variation.

Freebie package updates

I am really happy with the reception this package has received. The current version is dated 6th October 2011 and I threw a few textures on it to make it a little more pretty/obvious. I am now keeping a copy outside my house here -

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dolly%20Dreams/228/203/36

and Jorden Grau has put out a copy at Chateau de Xaara Country & Pony Club

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rise%20of%20the%20Phoenix/212/198/21

I am really grateful for the support and feedback it has had.

Jo Ronin, Pony Correspondent

Pony Places: Highland Stable

by Kendra Chemistry, Pony Correspondent

Up high above the clouds (at 561m above sea level, to be precise), rests a happy little farm known as Highland Stable.

A new place on the pony play map, this stable caught my eye as it recently had a flurry of events. Your pony reporter was able to attend one of them and managed to do okay (considering she’d not pulled a cart in quite a while,) and had a great time.

Highland Stable features a courtyard-type stable building with stalls around the inside. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and kept, and there is a nice pasture for frolicking around and whip training. A path runs along the fringes of the pasture, which leads to the various event courses.

The stable owner, Sir Gaudin Himmel (who I'd only managed to catch a glimpse of during the cart event), is lucky to have in his employ the famed builder, Pony Cheryl (Umarov).

I would have liked to talked to him, but I had a bit locked in my mouth and was nervously waiting my turn at the event. Any pony that gets around knows that Cheryl builds some of the most beautiful, interesting and challenging (read evil) steeplechase courses in SL.

Aside from the steeple course, there are also more classic barrel and slalom courses, and a polo field.

I didn't get a chance to use it yet, but I spotted an interesting caged slalom course with counters and timers. Amazing, the way SL technology is applied to pony play sometimes. I'll have to come back soon with a pony that needs some remedial slalom training.

I was delighted to find Pony Cheryl in the midst of building a second steeple course, which I'm told will feature that trademark challenge (evil and scary) I love to see (hate, because I will spend hours or days trying to conquer it.)

The cart track is elevated above the stable land and affords nice scenic views. I give it a thumbs up. Come for the steeples, stay for the slalom cage.

The place: Highland Stable
Owner: Gaudin Himmel
The SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Steelridge/156/33/561

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.

Hu-Mares Stable at Stones N Rubber

Off in the region of Kinky Magic sits the transformation wonderland of Stones N Rubber (sNr), a place of latex coated dreams and frozen statue nightmares.

On the eastern side of this land, you’ll find the Hu-Mares Stable, on the main path around sNr, and at exit 1 on the Pony Highway. The Pony Highway is an elevated system of pathways around the island, affording carriage riders fantastic views of sNr.

Make sure to have your pony’s blinders on, otherwise they might crash your carriage over the guard rail as they enjoy the view too.

Hu-Mares Stable is one that caters to strict animal livestock treatment of its residents.

As one is transformed from a human into an animal, many restrictions are placed on them. The use of an RLV-enabled viewer, open collar or stable-provided implant, and pet hearing device is required to enforce restrictions and immerse the animal in the roleplay.

This is exciting to some (I’m getting tingley just writing about it), it represents one side of the spectrum of pony play that might be more than some can handle. From what I’ve observed, the life of a Hu-Mare is hard and requires much patience and dedication.

Those transformed into Hu-Mare Ponies may become Mares, which are permanent residents of the stable. The stable requires that one entering transformation choose between “classic” (typical ponygirl tack) and “rubber” (a specific latex outfit/look is welded permanently to the pony.)

Hu-Mares Stable’s facilities are well integrated into sNr. The barn has a number of stalls for the resident animals, as well as some guest stalls.

Adjacent to the barn is a training area, whip ring and walking track, where ponies will learn to adjust to their new situation under the strict supervision of Hu-Mares’ trainers.

A nice steeplechase jump course is near the barn, as well as a slalom course. Then there are all the roads and paths in sNr which are nice for carting, as well as the Pony Highway.

Occasionally events are held, such as a recent cart race on the Pony Highway. It was a very fun race, the excitement of a new course, seeing many pony friends, and the challenges of the course and environment (it was a very busy time for the island.)

If you are a pony looking for a month of hard work or a permanent home, perhaps sealed in latex, then Hu-Mares Stable at Stones N Rubber may be just the place for you. For me, its a nice place to visit (and shop), so you should definitely check it out.

Kendra Chemistry, Pony Correspondent

Name : Hu-Mares Stable at Stones N Rubber
Owner : Sinha Hynes
The SLURL :
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Kinky%20Magic/113/123/22

Pony Starter Kit

Deirdre again : introducing our newest Pony Correspondent, Jo Ronin! Jo not only wrote us a great post for new ponies, she put together a free starter kit for ponies. See bottom of the post for a SLURL to pick it up.

If you want to play at being a pony, you will need to look the part. Ponies wear tack that is a humanised adaptation of the tack worn by a bio-pony.

To this end, all ponies wear a bit, bridle, body-harness, tail and hooves with a pony AO. It is also optional to wear an arm binder in place of hand hooves, as long as the pony's arms are suitably restrained. Also optional is a chastity belt, to thwart a stallion's advances.

Clearly, pony play is not for everyone, so it makes sense to get some free tack to wear while you explore some of the basics

Bit and Bridle

The bit foils the pony's attempts at speaking, for a pony does not speak. The bridle keeps the bit between the pony's teeth and controls the pony's head, thereby helping steer the pony to what the trainer or owner requires. It may or may not have other options including blinders, a blindfold, bite-mask, plume, ears, muffles, nose hooks and reins.

In my opinion, the best free Bit and Bridle is the Dari bridle, just be sure to reset the scripts when you get it. Generally it looks the part and it is functional. The open collar Shiny Bridle is also very good, but I find that the head straps always seem a little odd if you see it from a distance or with lower graphics settings.

Body Harness

The body-harness is designed so that a pony may be hitched to a cart securly and safely. It should be sturdy enough not to break, but flexible enough to allow movement of the pony without chafing or other harm.

The body harness is probably the hardest to find for free. FFF and PPP have both put out nice harnesses and there are a few others that are passable.

Alternatives including "bodies" with woven straps also work. The important thing is that it must be sturdy. A latex or lycra body will be destroyed in minutes if used as a harness, but if it has re-enforced straps woven into it, it should be workable.

Hooves

A pony's limbs end in hooves, both legs and arms. Foot-hooves have no heel and keep the pony nimble on the balls of their human feet while enhancing the look of their calves and buttocks.

My preferred free set are the Kiri Hooves and the various modifications that have been made from them. PPP/LMR made a purple set, a red set was available from Hayao and FFF produced a pink set.

There are also different sets available from Maison de Broceliande and AK Stables.

Tails

When a pony is prancing and wiggles their hips, the tail accentuates their movements. Attached by either a harness or a butt-plug, this adds extra flare to the pony's gait.

Which tail you pick is up to you. There are many nice flowing tails available for free from most Stables. Some have plugs, some fit more closely to the base of the spine, others are part of a harness.

Arm Binder

A pony does not have hands, so in stead of using a set of hoof-mittens to prevent a pony from using her fingers, an arm binder can stop her using her arms. Either way, same result.... pony wont be undoing any latches or buckles.

The best free binders are those by Dari. For a pony, given they have a tail, I favour those based on the Dari U-Binder.

Sourcing Tack

Tack is not always the easiest to find, even if you want to pay for it. Some gets put out, then moved, taken down, upgraded, changed or simply goes out of fashion.

To make things a little easier, I have compiled a crate of all the free tack I have been able to find. It is not an exhaustive collection as some items I have are not transferable, but it also contains a few useful landmarks you may find useful when looking for tack or inspiration.

Alternatives

We already said that you can use an arm binder instead of hoof-mitten.... so what about other items you already have?

Chances are you have a nice head-harness or a body that you can be strapped into, and there's nothing to say you cannot replace any of these items with one to express your individuality as long as it remains functional, is in the spirit of pony play and is within the rules of the stable.

So feel free to experiment, show some individuality and start the next fashion trend.

Free Pony Starter Kit compiled by Jo Ronin : http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dolly%20Dreams/235/216/37

Marine's Goodies - Riding Reins HUD

Deirdre here :Our search bore fruit! Please welcome our first new Pony Correspondent, Kendra Chemistry. That's right, I said "first"... stay tuned for more :)

While out on a nice cart or saddle ride with your ponygirl (or boy), have you ever longed for an easier way to role play holding and using your pony's reins? To save my typing fingers, I'd resorted to using gestures for things like "/me snaps the reins" or "/me pulls the reins to the right" when trying to role play reins.

Marine Kelley, of Real Restraints and RLV fame (and a very pretty ponygirl herself), has released a creation from her personal box of goodies, the Riding Reins HUD.

Riding Reins is a HUD that is worn by the rider/driver, which presents a set of signal buttons that will chat the emotes you would normally type, along with realistic sound effects. This is especially useful when your pony is blindfolded, and the emotes need to come quickly to keep them on the path (and out of the bushes or stream.)

While its possible for the pony to follow directions from just the chat, they can also wear a copy of the HUD (purchased separately) in a slave mode, to see the directions just as the rider sees on their HUD. The pony can then respond quicker and more precisely than they would if they were staring down at chat.

To use riding reins effectively, it takes a bit of practice for both the pony and rider. The pony must be trained to respond to the HUD, and the rider needs practice to predict when to give a turn, as different cart and saddle vehicles turn at different rates. This training experience can be both fun and frustrating, and requires a bit of patience.

Once both rider and pony have learned Riding Reins, I have found cart driving and saddle riding experiences richer. I'm very proud sitting in the saddle of my well-trained blindfolded pony while those around stand and watch in awe. Thank you Marine!

Marine's Riding Reins HUD costs 100L (2 are needed for the rider and pony HUDs to work in master/slave mode) and is available at Marine's Goodies vendors at her little shop in Pak and The Little Shop of Kink in Linesdale.

Name : Marine's Goodies (Real Restraints)
Owner : Marine Kelley
The SLURL :
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Pak/75/61/105

About Kendra: Kendra Chemistry is an experienced ponygirl trainer and owner, and may be spotted occasionally as the thoroughbred ponygirl, Aella. If you see her in tack, remember she likes bonbons and M&M candies as treats, apples and carrots not so much :)

Help Wanted : Pony Columnist(s)

Hello everyone :)

Much as lelo and I love ponies and pony play, we are somewhat disconnected from the scene - the daily blog does eat a fair bit of our time.

So we’d love to find someone who is knowledgeable, has been around the ponyplay scene for some time, and who could give useful information to our readers.

It might be difficult to find a new thing to say every week.

If you want to join with the understanding that you’ll be on the team but not sole responsible, that works for us.

Topics to be covered include pony places, events, advice, gear... anything useful and entertaining. See the previous Pony Correspondent posts for inspiration.

I’ll add that we have on occasion covered puppy play as related to pony, so an occasional post would be welcome.

What else? Ideally you’re comfortable writing in English, even if it’s your second language.

I offer editorial support, ie I will mercilessly butcher your text and you will cry ;)

You should have time to explore SL; if you have an Owner, he or she must agree to your participation.

So if you want to join us in this cool adventure, send me a message inworld and let’s ride!

Deirdre Young

Z. Design - Puppy supplies

Zenga Ling has been making puppygirl (and boy) toys for a long time.

Zenga was not available so we decided to simply tell you about the store without doing our usual evaluation process.

The toys look good, and full puppy kits are not that common - otherwise we would simply move on.

Several interesting new developments were visible at the store : a muzzle with an animated tongue caught lelo’s eye, and a long awaited puppy AO hud grabbed my attention.





The toys are not inexpensive : 700L$ for the full kit, same for the AO.

So drop by, evaluate the toys for yourself (there are lots of demos to see), and maybe drop a line to Zenga telling her that the press is her friend... and she shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds her ;)

The SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Beauvais/178/167/40

VvB Stiletto Heels Equestrian - Xaara at Zexpo

Introducing the pony friendly riding boots by VvB, just look at the spurs, no nasty spikes there.

The 9 inch platform heels don’t make them very practical on the farm but the do look very good.

With the included HUD you get control of the metal colors and you can show/hide the belt and spurs.

As you might expect from a V4 boot, the reflections and prim work are impressive and the red sole is to die for.

The SLURL : http://slurl.com/secondlife/Armaud/58/225/26

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When we tell you Xaara is busy, we’re not kidding.

This time, they’re at Zexpo, the Zindra festival. (It’s a cool adult event, four-sim wide. Definitely worth visiting.)

They’re not just setting up a shop with a few pictures and pony-booth-babes, though : an area is reserved for pony activities, with slalom racing posts and lots of green grass.

There’s also a cart rezzer, so you can take a ride in the streets of the expo in style.

Drop by and meet the nice Xaara staff, or go show off your pretty pony to the vanilla folks ;)

For more info :

http://zindrabusiness.blogspot.com/2011/08/zexpo-2011-zindra-expo-opens-today.html

https://sites.google.com/site/zexpo2011/home

The SLURL : http://slurl.com/secondlife/Jaraded/15/141/52