Male Riding Gear

Just to show I'm fair and not totally female oriented in my shopping, you guys can also pick up a few rather nice equestrian outfits for yourselves.

Mako Magellan offers a wonderfully detailed complete set, including I believe a hunting horn. Sadly, not having a need nor the male shapes, I haven't purchased this item.

Included are a traditional English red riding jacket, jodhpurs, boots and the detail is suitable to convince any pony you are the boss.

Weighing in at just under L$1200 for the whole set, though I understand the items are also available as separates for those on a budget.

Alternatively, E Watkins offers riding outfits for men also, and at a bargain price. Textures on the clothing are well put together and certainly create the look.

Riding jackets are L$300, jodhpurs are L$75. The riding boots are L$500 and look great on.

If the perfect English gentleman look is not your style, perhaps looking at some of the western based sims and stores can offer up a wonderful cowboy or ranch style.

There are so many to choose from that it's hard to single just one out, and, requires some more shop hopping to research :)

There is also the cavalry outfit featured a few weeks ago in men's sizes for a little more variety.

If i can find a rich, male volunteer, I will cover these in more detail. Sadly, this is something that isn't in my inventory, nor do I feel it would be prudent to get some.

Whichever look or style you guys go for, there is no reason us girls should get to have all the dress up fun, and jeans and a t-shirt just doesn't do it if you are serious.

So go on, get yourself some special riding gear to train your ponies in. Tell them Jaydana sent you. It wont get a discount, but it might get me a freebie.

Chaps

Hope you all had a great holiday period, and it's not been too bad returning to normal once it's all over.

This week's post is about trainer outfits - and more particularly, chaps.

The old Wild West is a popular environment, and features the equine theme rather prominently.

So why not a few cowboy or cowgirl trainers or owners of ponygirls?

One of my favorite sets of chaps are the leather chaps set from E Watkins. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Haddath/167/32/37

Wonderfully textured, available with two sets of "underpants" in jeans or jodphurs effect.

Some chaps are barely more than a all in one set of garters and stockings, great for sex, but, not so good for working a ranch.

The E Watkins chaps look great, and when worn with the jeans under pants layer, a pair of cowboy boots and a nice checked shirt - all that's missing is a lasso and 10 gallon hat.

And your pony. And maybe some rustlers to round up :)

The best thing about these chaps is, they look great for wearing off the ranch too and are reasonably priced at L$300 a set.

Available in black, blue, red or brown leather these are an essential addition to any ranch owner's wardrobe.

Or, if you are like me and love leather - well they work on that level too.

And if you are looking for a good ranch style sim for your ponygirls or boys - go visit Island of Questionable Virtues - a wonderful sim that's been around forever.

Equestrian Items

I know I have mentioned this before, but I think it warrants another mention now. Many useful items for use with or around ponygirls already exist in the equine world.

Items such as riding crops exist in the D/s realms. These things do not have to be exclusive to the ponyplay scenes.

Which brings me to my point for this week. The pony has spent a lot of money on tack. So the trainer should make an effort too.

A few themes and styles for a trainer now present themselves for classical equine trainer roles.

A western style of dress perhaps? Traditional English riding outfit? Prim and proper Victorian attire perhaps? Throughout history, horses were a popular transport method.

So why can't you include this with pony play? I do.

Let me talk this week about a popular wild western take on this - as i love this addition to my inventory - Cavalry officer.

E Watkins store offers a complete cavalry officer uniform, and if i am honest, I think it looks great, with a number of ways to wear it.

The outfit comes with several shirts, including short (with rolled up sleeves) or long sleeve and see-through variety, plus a buttoned up jacket. Perfect for the Dominant look.

The E Watkins store also offers different cap versions with attached hair, should you prefer that style, as an optional extra.

The basic cavalry uniform is a complete outfit (just supply your own boots and hair) for L$800.

It should be an item every uniform-oriented pony trainer can't be without.

It just remains now for me to wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!

Reindeer

About this time of year, it is not uncommon to see some ponies adopt an appearance of reindeer. Complete with antlers, and in some cases, a red shiny nose.

I have over the years found a few reindeer items that help to form the basis, onto which regular pony hooves and bridle and be applied to give the overall desired look.

Kayliwulf have a lovely reindeer set, complete with little tail and large antlers, and this is the one i use most.

This is because it has the latex clothing as underwear, allowing a clothing layer harness to be worn.

Mesmerize Dungeon also fashion a wonderful latex reindeer set, again with antlers, and is certainly also worth considering.

This is named Santa's Vixen and includes tail, antlers and jinglers.

It Burns offers a cheap and cheerful reindeer collar, which offers a lovely sleighbell sound effect, though this can become rather annoying for the reindeer after a while.

So now you want a sleigh? Well, Trilobyte offer the stunt sleigh, which will follow your flying reindeer perfectly.

Xcite offered last year (not sure if it is on sale again this year) a lovely large sleigh that follows the reindeer everywhere.

Most pony AOs do not support flying, for obvious reasons, so I edited mine to include the standard pony walk when flying, to fit with the popular images of reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh.

Oh, and the nose was something I had made real quickly last year when I was standing around in reindeer tack, was pretty easy to make a red textures sphere prim and make it glow.

Good luck, and happy holidays!

Pony Places: Frilly Filly Farm

Frilly Filly Farm was the first stable I visited upon arriving in SL, and is the one where I have spent the most time.

Since my initial arrival, the farm has changed much, and yet it still holds a special place in my heart.

Obviously, this does mean my comments may be a little biased in favor of FFF, but that is no reason why you shouldn't go and check it out for yourself.

It has a lovely layout with a cart trail leading you all the way around the sim's edge, giving a fantastic tour if you are lucky enough to have a ponygirl and a cart nearby.

FFF has a relaxed atmosphere, making it a great place for new and nervous ponies to get the feel for it and find their hooves.

Having said that, there is a new "strict pony" training course, and ponies enrolled on this are not able to even leave their stall without a trainer.

All the usual facilities are at FFF, including slalom, 3 steeple courses of varying difficulty, the barrel racing and also a racetrack for the carts.

A long, twisting ramp in the sky takes you to a separate set of fields with the aim of reducing lag.

You will also pass a puppy area on the way up.

Add to that a large, well-stocked tack shop in a neighboring sim, and there is also a new, separate sim with the more competitive ponies in mind.

Lots of cart rezzing vendors are available at key locations and a lovely landscaped lake and stream pass through the farm.

Put simply, no matter how much time I have spent at FFF, I still feel drawn there.

If you are conducting a whistle-stop tour of the pony stables, it just is not complete without a visit to FFF.

And if you see a pony or trainer standing idly by, say hello to them. I did and i made some wonderful friends that day.

Steeplechase

Often overlooked as this is considered common sense, much like the slalom, yet there is still a degree of skill required to get a good time.

I am assuming that most by know will at least be able to grasp the format simply by looking at a steeple field.

You have a start/finish line, and a series of fences to jump between the start and the finish.

As with the slalom, to get a good time, remove all unnecessary prims and scripts. Turn off streaming audio/video.

Walking across the start line will make the timer begin, then it is a simple task of jumping your way around the course.

Most courses have a smart script and know if you miss a jump.

Make sure when you do jump that you are inside the two outer edges else it might count as a miss.

Clipping a jump is a foul and adds a penalty to your finish time.

Make sure you don't jump too early or too late and keep your turns as smooth as possible to get the best time.

Walk the track one time slowly, to make sure you load all the surrounding prims before attempting to get your best record - loading new prims to your pc causes slight lag.

Beyond that all i can really recommend is that you practice. Nothing beats a good practice to get the lay of the field, and timing of the jumps.

If you have difficulty judging when to jump, imagine the fence is lying down, with the top closest to you, and the bottom of it remaining static, and jump as you reach where it would lie.

If that makes sense to you, you should do fine.

Good luck.

Slalom

Slalom looks a pretty simple pony discipline, right? Well, it is, in principle : cross the start line, weave between the poles to the other end, loop around and weave your way back.

Manage to do it under 30 seconds? Not bad. Touch any poles? Want to do better?

Thought so. First thing to tell you is not to run, but walk. Running is considered cheating, plus the extra speed makes your weaving more erratic.

Some find it easier to keep closer to the poles using mouse-look. If this works, great. It doesn't work for me, and several ponies I know.

So here is a little trick I was taught which got my slalom times down from around 30 seconds to just a hair under 15.5 with just a little more practice.

Left click and hold the mouse button down on the name tag hovering above your head. Keeping it held, slide the mouse left or right. Notice how your avatar turns too?

Position your avatar just before the start board, either slightly left or right of center. Now, walking forwards, slide your mouse smoothly left and right to weave between the poles.

On your return to the start/finish, keep your avatar walking straight from clearing the last post to the finish line.

A straight line walk is slightly shorter than a diagonal and will have hundredths of a second from your time.

Still not a good enough time? Swap your best high prim tack for clothing layer harness and a low prim bridle. Low prim hooves, hair and tail too.

Turn off or remove any other unnecessary prims, including HUDS. Turn off streaming audio and video and those lovely clip clopping hoof sounds.

Hard to believe but that alone could shave quite a bit from your overall time. Reducing the quality of your graphics in the preferences by selecting a lower resolution helps too.

Most importantly, keep close to the poles on weaving between them, making the overall distance you need to cover significantly shorter. And practice.

Within about 30 minutes of slalom using this advice, i got my time down from 30 seconds to 17, and if lag is not too bad, even below 16 seconds.

I also recommend a slalom practice lasting no more than 10 minutes without a break.

You might get frustrated really quickly if things do not go as well as you would like. I did. And this made my mouse movements less controlled, leading to mistakes.

Hope you find this helpful, and good luck!

Pony Places: Sala and Forum

Forum: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Forum/128/129/23

From their "About" entry :

"Forum is a Non-Commercial BDSM Lifestyle Community and Home, member run with a: library, talks, parties, friends, dungeons, playrooms, tour, roleplay, furry, pony stable, puppy, TS TG TV D/s, Goth, Gor, walks, skyIslands, cuddle, ceremonies"

Upon arriving at the main Forum landing site, you will see a teleporter nearby. It's a neat chair style.

Destinations are ForumHub, Sky Hub, Library, Tree House, Stables, Hippodrome, FreeBi Island, and Palm Beach.

Take the chair to the stables, this will take you to an above ground stable area, complete with steeplechase, dressage area and pony walker.

There is also quite an extensive block of stalls for the ponies.

Numerous paths lead out of the stable block, taking you to yet more dressage and steeple areas, barrel racing and slalom areas and passing a wonderful Gothic building with numerous dance balls dotted around.

At the entrance to this building are pony troughs and leashing posts so you can park your pony and cart and have a little dance with a friend or loved one.

A little further on is an oval arena for cart races with room for many spectators reminiscent of a roman gladiatorial arena.

Opposite the entrance of which is a lovely lunge training (whip training) circle.

Walking along the perimeter of the arena, there are plenty of rest points to give your pony a drink.

And if you have a firm seat in your cart, a chance to sit on something different for a while.

For the more adventurous, and more energetic, there are ramp ways down from the pony fields.

Thankfully with a few places to stop and get your breath back, including at about the halfway point, a castle.

This is a 500m climb from ground to the stable area, so the rest stops are certainly going to be a welcome break in the climb.

And the climb, or ride down, is definitely worth it.

Some breathtaking scenery, secret cuddle or dance spots and benches or pony troughs show how well thought out the whole of Forum's Sala sim is designed with the pony experience in mind.

Dressage, Continued

Ok, so you have worked out how to enter the dressage field, and how to walk the figure of 8 from circles B or J, right? Great.

The C and H markers can be used to represent either a circle, or the straight line, so positioning here is instrumental to ensure the pony knows what is required.

Standing just to the right of the marker for Line C, facing the C mark, is my preferred way of instructing the pony to walk the straight line from the C marker (the yellow dot) to the D marker.

The pony only walks this line once. Similarly, standing just inside the center circle, facing the C marker would suggest the pony is to take the walk around that circle, three times.

Naturally, standing in similar positions, facing the H mark means the same, on the other side of the field.

Using the same principles for positioning, facing the D marker while standing closest to the line, would indicate to the pony a straight single way walk from D back to the C marker is required.

The pony should note that this walk is to be done backwards, ensuring she is facing up-field to the slalom poles while doing this walk.

The same is true on the other side of the field with the G marker. Circle D and G is exactly the same as walking circle C or H, only starting from the top of the circle and not the bottom.

E and F are both a slalom walk, from E, weaving between the poles to the F marker, and back. F is the same run only starting from the opposite side of the field.

Once the required events have been completed, the trainer moves to stand about 2 steps infield from the A marker, and waits for the pony to join them, side by side.

Turning to face the slalom poles, and bowing, the pony and trainer both then leave the field, and await the judges decision.

And so, in theory, that is the basics of dressage. Practise makes perfect on this, and is once a few trial runs are completed, enjoyable for both trainer and pony alike.

I hope this helps to bring a little understanding of basic dressage to those that have never quite managed to understand how it works.

Dressage

So just what is dressage? Many of you would be at least a little familiar with this, one dictionary describes dressage as: n. The guiding of a horse through a series of complex maneuvers by slight movements of the rider's hands, legs, and weight.

Another put it as the art or method of training a horse in obedience and in precision of movement. And in SL ponyplay these are both true, with some small differences.

Essentially, this is a test of just how precisely a pony can follow instructions, how well-trained he or she is, and how well they understand their owner or trainer.

In addition, it also gives the pony a chance to show of how graceful they can be.

The pony and trainer will line up, side by side, at the front of the dressage field, usually marked with a block with the letter "A" printed on it.

At this point, the pony's handler would have been given a card listing the required exercises on. Not all parts of the field are used for a single dressage event run.

For a competition dressage event, the trainer then gives the pony a prearranged signal, practised of course before the event, at which they both take 2 steps onto the field.

During the event, there should only ever be the pony and it's trainer on the field, and no one else should walk onto it.

Once the 2 steps are taken, trainer and pony bow, facing the slalom poles at the opposite end. Ideally the steps and bow would be timed to be synchronized.

For a competitive event, once the bow is done, the trainer will then indicate to the pony which exercise she is to complete with a vocal command, or more commonly, a signal.

The pony "reads" the signal and takes their position on the appropriate marker.

For example, if exercise "B" was the first routine on the trainer's card, the trainer would stand inside the circle marked on the right with the letter "J", level with the marker in the center of the "B" and "J", but facing the letter "B".

The pony reads this as the trainer level with and facing the marker for "B", and should then take its place on the starter marker for this routine.

This exercise requires the pony to walk on the white lines, in a figure of 8 three times, walking from the start marker, around circle "B", crossing into circle "J" and around it, back to the start marker, and repeating another 2 times.

The pony is judged by how closely it follows and keeps to the lines on the ground.

Confused? I was at first, but once it had been explained and shown to me, I was appalled with myself at just how simple the concept really is.

Feel free to ask in a pony group for someone to help you to learn this, or ask me in world. If I can help, I will gladly try.

More next week on dressage, just to make sure I don't scare you all away - honestly, after a few runs, you will be amazed at just how easy it is to figure out.

Perfect lines however, is not so easy.

Saddles

One of the less common aspects of ponyplay is that of a saddled pony.

Despite the fact that it is not such a common sight, there are plenty that do enjoy putting their pony in a saddle and riding them.

SL does have a few saddles available for the ponygirl, and I intend to cover all the ones I know here for your benefit.

The most common, and perhaps the most versatile, is the Maison Broceliande saddle.

This pack actually offers three different saddles. one for the crawling pony (on all fours) as well as a saddle worn on the lower back for the upright 2 legged pony, or a third over the shoulder saddle option.

The pony wears the saddle as an attachment, while a two poseball vehicle is rezzed in world, the pony taking one and the rider the other.

The pony then steers the arrangement like a vehicle or cart, using page up and down to increase or decrease speed.

Alikat stables have their own saddle which works in much the same way but only comes in the lower back, upright two legged pony arrangement, with rezzable vehicle.

This handles much the same and includes a steering HUD which is copyable and transferable to the rider.

A new saddle i have recently found, which is simply a vehicle rezzed in world onto which the pony and the rider sit, is from Cupidity.

A few of my friends who have seen this saddle in action feel the animation is a little rough, and the designer admits that animation is not their strongest area.

Despite this, I think the animations look acceptable for a ponygirl who is saddled and carrying someone much heavier than themselves on their backs.

This also includes a novel steering feature : the rider has limited influence over the steering. The pony can either fight the reins, or follow them.

I am certain that there are other makers of ponygirl saddles in SL, but the above are the ones I have found and used, and so if yours is missing, sorry about that.

Drop me a notecard with details and I'll write a follow-up giving yours a mention.

PHD Racing Sulky and Tish Celt Race Cart

The Prancing Harlot Designs cart is a simple, lightweight one-pony and one-driver cart, designed purely for speed on the race track

It is highly maneuverable, and moves at a good pace of speed.

The Page up key increases the speed from walking, to a trot, and onto a full speed canter and Page down decreases through the three "gears".

The driver sits low and far back, keeping a low streamlined profile behind the pony.

The cart's lightweight construction and racing design makes cornering a little hair-raising - try it with a blindfolded pony if you are a true adrenaline junky.

This is a cart where the pony sits on a poseball to pull, so is not the best for rougher terrains.

But if you plan to race your pony, this might well be the cart to use.

At L$500, it might not be the cheapest, but it's a welcome addition to any speed freak's collection.

An alternative - and fairly similar - cart, is the Tish Celt Race cart.

It is available in a variety of colours; one color is L$300, or the 7 cart "Track Set" just L$900.

The designs vary, and I am still to pit the two racing sulkies against each other to see if there is any real difference other than the appearance.

So I suggest you check out both carts if you are planning to race.

Carts - The Runabout and Gig from Barad Dur

The Runabout was the first cart I purchased on getting into SL ponyplay, and is still one of my favorites.

The cart allows one pony to pull it, and a number of passengers - definitely one for the stronger pony.

It looks great, and comes with color change scripts to allow customization.

To get the cart going, the pony has only to tap the "up" arrow key once.

There is no need to keep the key pressed to move; a useful feature on longer trips, but it does make tight turns a little tricky as the cart doesn't slow down.

Course corrections are easy enough at slow speeds, and you might find yourself frequently tapping up to speed up, then tapping down rapidly to enable negotiations of corners.

This keeps the pony alert and I rather enjoy this. Maneuverability is not its strongest feature, but it is a big heavy cart, so, this helps add to the realism.

There are more modern carts, but it still remains one of my favorites, and offers a great ride for multiple passengers. The maker has confirmed that she is looking at updating the scripts.

I would recommend at least a look at this wonderful cart to anyone.

The price has dropped since I bought mine, and it can now be bought for L$700 from Barad Dur.

The gig is the second cart from Barad Dur for me to write about, and it is another favorite. Available in a multitude of colors and at a reasonable price.

This cart, once rezzed, requires either pony or trainer to touch it to tell it to hitch to the pony.

Ponies beware : once hitched to the cart, you will not be able to unhitch without someone else to do that for you.

The cart is a follower, and so does not require the pony to sit on a poseball and it follows rather nicely, keeping a smooth travelling motion most of the time. SL lag permitting of course.

The cart offers a selection of riding heights for the passengers of the cart, and also offers great all round visibility for riders and ponies alike.

(Some carts actually fill most of the ponies view in 3rd person because of camera positions. This is not an issue with this cart.)

Because the cart is a "follower", maneuverability is not hampered in any way, allowing easy crossing of uneven surfaces as well as smoother terrain.

Looks great, and at a bargain price of L$300, definitely worth a closer look.

Which Cart?

So, you want to get yourself (or your pony) a cart - but which one?

There are a few different kinds. Most common is the "vehicle" type of cart.

The pony "sits" on a pose ball located between the shafts of the cart, then the driver (and possibly passengers) sit in the cart.

The pony uses the arrow keys to move the cart around the sim.

A cart usually seats between 1 and 4 passengers.

There are also multi-pony carts; these allow two to four ponies to pull the same cart, although only one pony will usually control.

There are now a few multi-pony carts that share the control of speed and direction between two ponies.

These require good coordination and teamwork to negotiate the trails of SL.

Less common is the "follow" cart.

This cart is rezzed by the pony, and the cart then follows the pony from a set distance, including jumping over obstacles or even flying.

They are easier to control, more maneuverable, and are much better at cross country carting.

Those are methods of rezzing and controlling the carts.

Here are the kinds of cart, based on their purpose and looks :

The sulky is the small, light weight, single seater cart used for racing.

A buggy is a more comfortable ride but a little heavier for the pony to pull.

A coach is much heavier, and probably better used when you have a team of ponies available... or one very strong pony. ;)

So which cart to get? Depends on the task, and your tastes. I got every model I could, but you don't have to do that.

I'll go into a little more detail about the types of carts in coming posts.

Training Your Pony

So you have dressed yourself, your pony, obtained a nice riding crop or buggy whip - perhaps even obtained the steering HUD to direct your pony.

What now?

I would advise the training circle, or whip circle as it is also known, as a good place to start.

The reins are hitched to a pole in the center of the circle and given about 10 meters of leeway. This should allow the pony to stand on the circular path around the circle.

The idea is the trainer stands in the center, and using the whip commands, trains the pony to respond to the audible signals, Rather than voice commands. This is in preparation for pulling a cart.

The Xcite! buggy whip comes with the whip commands on it - otherwise a steering HUD is your best aid here as a trainer.

The pony starts on a mark on the circular track if there is one, otherwise at any point, and faces the trainer.

At this point the trainer should make use of the whip commands. 1 crack of the whip in the air, signals the pony to go. 2 cracks of the whip is to stop. 3 is turn left and 4 right.

Some use 5 cracks of the whip to tell the pony the training session is over and to come to the center of the circle.

To start the pony off, while they are still facing the trainer, a left or right turn command is given. Followed by the go command.

Randomly, the trainer then gets the pony to turn left or right, stop and go on command.

Invariably this may well turn into the trainer trying to trick the pony into stopping, then go without a turn. Or to stop, then turn left, then right, then go then stop and so on.

To avoid stressing the pony, encouragement should be given, and sessions kept short but frequent.

And once your pony is confident here, it is then a simple matter to hitch them to a cart, and try the commands out on the road.

Carts

Ok, so now you or your pony have researched and purchased your tack, and perhaps even had a little practise at slalom, steeple and carting. What should you do next?

Well, from my personal experience, the easiest, and perhaps one of the more fun elements for most ponies, is getting to grips with your own cart.

Rental ones are available on some of the pony sims, or a few left conveniently for the use of the passing ponies, but,your own personal cart is perhaps something to consider.

After all, why take a cab everywhere, if you have your own car?

Which cart is the best? There is no easy answer to that. All the carts available in SL offer something that more suits one, but not the next.

You need to work what kind of use your cart will get :

• How many ponies are you going to have pulling it?
• How many passengers?
• Will you be keeping to flat roads, or venturing over rough terrain?
• Do you require a cart that the pony "sits" on a poseball to pull, or do you want one that "follows" the pony?
• Is speed or maneuverability your most essential requirement?
• Do you want to be able to change the colour of the cart?
  
• and perhaps most importantly of all, what is your budget?

Most of the carts will fit be around L$500, though there are more expensive ones.

And trainers or owners, why not get yourself a nice buggy whip to let your pony know where you want them to go?

Xcite offer a buggy whip which includes the whip crack commands, and Sensations offer a coach whip, although this does not include the commands.

Not to worry though, as there are a couple of steering Huds designed to offer you ease of commanding your pony.

Two such HUDs can be found in the tack shop at Frilly Filly Farm - including the one I had made specially to help with blindfold pony training.

One of the most important thing to check with any cart is is : it copy enabled?

I have lost more than one cart from a sim which was no copy, and that really annoys me.

You spend ages deciding on which cart to get, you forego that lovely new latex catsuit or formal gown, and get a cart.

Then, as you cross a sim border, the cart spins off into the nether regions of SL, never to reappear.

My advice is : if it isn't copyable, don't get it. No transfer is fine, even no mod, but no copy is just a risk you don't need to take.

Jodhpurs or Chaps?

So you now have your pony tacked up, but you can't really stand around a farm wearing a ballgown or designer dress, so, what to wear?

For just mucking around in the stables, or on the farm in general, a nice pair of jeans, some wellingtons or riding boots and a sports jacket or quilted vest are great.

Or for a more western or cowboy/girl feel, why not go with jeans, chaps, cowboy boots and a check shirt?

Perhaps the most traditional jodhpurs, blouse or shirt and hunting jacket are more your style? SL has them all.

By far the easiest place to get almost all your equestrian fashion from is E Watkins as mentioned previously.

Maison Broceliande has some excellent riding breeches for L$400.

Hoof It! also do a nice range of jodhpurs and other riding wear and they also stock a wonderful grooming kit, however, other places also have some fantastic items.

Or perhaps you like to race ponies, in which case, some jockey wear might be more tempting? Visit the Scotland shop's 6th floor.

Latex riding gear or for a strict trainer style, a Victorian riding habit?

Metronome do some wonderful jockey boots priced at L$350.

Adam and Eve store has some lovely plain riding boots in the bargain basement for just L$100.

Riding crops, perhaps a buggy or coach whip and a steering HUD are also an added bonus to enhance your ability to direct the pony.

Pony Fun

After last week's post on rules, I thought I should emphasize how much fun pony play can be.

Real equines are playful, so why shouldn't a ponygirl be playful too?

For example, when taking the walk through the pony bath after a long run, I love to run and jump, splashing everyone nearby - including my trainer!

And on leaving the bath, I will shake tail and mane vigorously, soaking anyone close by.

If you have a follow cart, while walking or running, throw in a few jumps to shake things up for the passengers.

It's important that no matter how strict and rule based your play is, that you always enjoy what you are doing and make it fun.

There is no reason why a pony can't be seen playing with a ball, kicking it around a paddock.

Owners and trainers should always ensure the pony is healthy and not depressed.

Occasionally changing training exercises and locations will add variety and help keep things interesting, and in turn, fun.

I'd love to hear what other ponies and trainers do to keep the fun factor in ponyplay, and I'm sure others would love it too - leave it in a comment!

Right or Wrong?

One of the more difficult things in writing this column is maintaining a perspective.

Much of what I have written so far is my own personal opinion, based on my experiences and observations.

I have written here what I think may be useful to old and new ponies alike.

But I must express that what you have read here is simply a guide, from my own personal point of view.

There is no right or wrong way to be a pony.

Some are the more casual ponies, occasionally getting into tack to pull a cart, and others are full time ponies with owners.

For some, very little of what has been written in this column will be useful, for others, I hope, much of it will.

Some stables have very strict rules, where others are much more relaxed. How useful this guide is depends on how seriously you take your pony-play.

It is not my intent to tell anyone how to be a pony. That is for the pony's owner, trainer or caretaker to determine. I do not intend to set a standard to be used across SL.

My opinion is that the more natural and free flowing something is, the more fun it is.

And so my hope is that this guide helps new ponies to gain a better understanding of the pony-play scene, helps them to feel a little more comfortable the first time in tack.

I also hope that it helps those that would be trainers or owners to understand a little of what it is to be a pony, and just what a privilege is it to spend time with one.

Ultimately, it is a free realm of possibilities, and should be explored as fully as you are able.

If you disagree with anything I write here, I would welcome your comments to the benefit of all that read this to get another's perspective and thoughts.

And so, gentle reader, I now bid you farewell till next time.

Non Pony Specific Items

This is an often overlooked subject, but I feel it is worth a mention.

There are, naturally, items that can be bought that are not specifically related to ponyplay, yet can be used all the same.

Obviously, riding outfits are one such thing that spring to mind. Riding boots, jodhpurs, or other items of clothing suited to a life on a farm or ranch.

Whips are another such item. A riding crop, most commonly used in general BDSM play, is almost an essential tool for a gentle reminder that a pony is a controlled animal.

But what about the pony?

My favorite item for this is the arm binder. A pony has no need for arms, and, sometimes, hand hooves and arms just get in the way. So why not use an arm binder?

I find the Dari Haus S2 binder works best for this, not least because it is RLV enabled, can be time locked by the pony or a trainer/owner.

This also comes at the best price. Free. Dari Haus will be missed in SL, but her legacy lives on for all to enjoy.

Second Life will not be the same without designers like Dari, who made some amazing items before leaving SL.

Blindfolds also can be used to control a wayward pony, or just for fun with a cart.

Hay bales, and all manor of farm related items, including stables and blacksmiths forges all add to a pony environment.

So remember to expand your searches to at least look at something that doesn't have "ponygirl" or "ponyplay" in the description.