Answering Reader Questions

I get a fair variety of questions here at cpony.com, but there are a few questions that come up fairly often, and I thought today I would answer a few of the most common ones here.

1. Where can I find a trainer?
   This is both the most common question and the hardest one to answer. My recommendation is to setup a profile on Fetlife. Fetlife is like a kinky version of Facebook with discussion forums as well. It is free to use, and I personally know several ponies who have found play partners or full time trainers on Fetlife.

   Once you have joined Fetlife and setup a profile, join some of the global pony play and animal roleplay groups and get involved in them: introduce yourself, ask questions, try to answer other people's questions. Some good animal roleplay groups to join are: Pony Play, Ponyplay, Pet Palace, Human Animals and Owners, Puppy Play, Human/Animal Roleplay.

   Also consider joining a local animal roleplay group so you can interact with animal players near you (e.g. Stampede or Bay Area Petplay if you're near San Francisco, Austin Pony Play if you're near Austin, L.A. Pony & Critter Club if you're near Los Angeles, Ottawa Pony and Critter Club if live near Ottawa - you get the idea).

   I also recommend registering at The Human Pony Registry, which is dedicated solely to pony play. The THPR is somewhat like a breed registry, but is open to all ponies as well as trainers and owners. In addition to the registry, the THPR has articles, stories, photos, and videos to keep you occupied.

2. Where can I find 'X' piece of equipment?
   I have lists of retailers for the most common pieces of equipment (such as bridles, saddles, and hoof boots). I also generally try to post links on each of my equipment description pages (usually near the bottom, but sometimes within the article itself) to give you someplace to start looking (e.g. my review of the rubber hoof gloves has several places to buy them at the bottom of the page). I also have a general links page that includes equipment retailers, bio-horse tack stores, pony play groups/clubs, etc. if you just want to browse around.
3. How do I start pony play? or What do I do during pony play?
   My recommendation is to start with a simple handwalk, which you can make more or less elaborate as your needs and interests dictate, but this is only one idea, so here are 10 scene ideas to get you started. And here are 10 more scene ideas. If you liked the original handwalk idea, I elaborated on it here to illustrate how it can be tailored to suit your own interests.
4. Can I do pony play by myself?
   Absolutely! I am not ashamed at all to say that I have done solo pony play on many occasions in the past - both in periods when I was trainerless, and even during periods when I had a trainer (I still practice by myself on occasion, when my current trainer is not around). This is easier for ponies than trainers, but practicing pony play by oneself can be fun and keeps the pony ready for his next training session.
5. Can you recommend any books or websites on pony play?
   What? You're not completely satisfied with cpony for all your pony play needs?

   Kidding...sure, there are lots of great ones. Here are a few: Humanpony's Tumblr (great selection of everything pony play and updated regularly: photos, videos, stories, places to find tack, etc.), The Human Pony (book), Sir Jeff's (everything ponygirl - from stories to photos), Fetish Pony (great informational site), and JG Leathers (lots of cool stuff especially if you're a gearhead like me).

   I also like Ponyboy Rusty's blog, Pet and Ponygirls (paysite), The Human Pony Registry, Ponygirl Lyndseys Corral (great informational site), and Five Case Studies of Pony Play (book).

6. Do you know of any inexpensive places to buy pony tack?
   It depends on what you're looking for, but generally bio-horse tack stores have most of what you would want for your ponygirl at a fraction of the cost. I recently wrote an article on making your own pony play tack, which might be of interest. Some items of tack require no work to adapt them for use on your pony (e.g. bits, hoof gloves, hobbles), some require a little work (e.g. bridles, saddles), and some will require a reasonable amount of patience (e.g. hoof boots).
7. What equipment do you recommend?
   Only you can determine what, if any, equipment is necessary to enjoy a scene. The best way to answer this is to picture yourself as a pony (e.g. in your imagination/fantasy). What do you see yourself wearing? If you picture yourself naked and being ridden bareback, you may not need any equipment at all. However, if you're like me, you're totally f***ed because your fantasy has you wearing 100 lbs of equipment, half of which has to be custom made. If that's the case, try to decide on the essential elements. For me that is a bit and at least some amount of bondage (ideally including hoof gloves, or barring that, hands wrapped into fists using vetwrap. I like to loose the use of my fingers when I am a pony).

Do you have a question not included on the list? Let me know, and I'll do my best to answer it!