Nuts and Bolts

Shopping in a hardware store with a ponyboy requires patience and a sense of humor. Shopping in a hardware store with two ponyboys requires patience, humor and some skill. If that hardware store is Lowe's or Home Depot, a lot of unpredictable things will present themselves. It can be hard on the nerves.

Fortunately for me and my stable pal Stormy, Ladresseuse has skill, patience and a sense of humor. Of course, she can be very single minded when there is something to be done, but not so much so that she can't handle ponies who bear watching.

So it was that the three of us headed out to three big box hardware stores in the Boston area. We were on a mission to build eight stalls for the pony paddock at the Winter Flea scheduled for mid January 2008 in Providence. Mistress had planned things out pretty well in advance, but you know how these things go. Details fail to cooperate, what seemed easy on paper needs a few adjustments in practice, certain ponyboys are useless with rulers and pencils and would rather look at the pretty Christmas displays and other sparkley things. Those sorts of distractions that make up what has come to be called the holiday season can wreak havoc on the organized mind. But Mistress proceeds with aplomb - and makes certain that her ponies do likewise.

We started at Lowe's. That's where the proper sort of fencing was being sold. It seems that Home Depot doesn't sell wooden picket fencing at this time of year as it is out of season for erecting garden fences. Well it isn't out of season for erecting stalls for human ponies. Someone should call and tell customer service that. I'm sure they'd listen.

The fencing was kept in the garden section, which meant that we started outdoors. It was pretty cold with a light breeze, so we worked fairly quickly. Stormy and I pulled out fence sections and held them up for Mistress to inspect and approve or reject. She chose nine of the best panels (which isn't saying much - at $14 per section, the stuff was a bit rough) and Stormy and I stacked them on a cart. Mistress started pulling the cart with Stormy and I following behind when she looked up and asked, "Why am I pulling this?"

Roles corrected, Stormy and I pulled the cart to the front. Then we headed into the store. It's odd, but there appears to be an inverse proportion between the size of the store and the probability that you will find everything you are looking for. You will always find one or two bolts of the sort you want, but if you need 150 things can get taxing. This pony doesn't do taxing very well. I got bored and wandered off a couple of times, finally getting engrossed in the socket wrench display (beneath it all, I'm a guy OK?). This continued until Mistress noticed that my sweatshirt had two strings on it. Lead lines, she called them. That put a stop to my wandering.

We checked out - or rather, Mistress checked out while Stormy and I pawed at the ground with our feet. I truly wonder if employees at these places don't notice the weird around them or if they have become so accustomed to it that they take it in stride.

Out in the parking lot we stacked the fence sections on top of Mistress' van for the short trip back to her house. Watching her tie the sections down with rope, I was glad we were not going to be traveling on highways at high speed. But the ties held and we got everything back to home base safely.

We had the fence sections, the carriage bolts, nuts and washers. Now all we needed were the corner plates, hitching rings and large screw eyes. That meant a trip to Home Depot so off we went.

Remember what I said about only one or two of the item you need? We had to haunt two different Home Depot locations to get everything. I was downright punchy by the time we came out of the last store. I look to Stormy at times like that because he's all about dignity and honor. He behaves himself well (most of the time - he started the foot pawing session at Lowe's). I need to learn that from him. All the same, I need to be foolish now and then. Ponies need a sense of play but learning where the limits are is important too.

Once back at the stable, we started the construction process. Mistress does a lot of figuring in her head and I quickly learned to avoid trying to follow what she was saying. Just do what you're told, ponyboy, and things will work out fine. Or at least, nobody can blame you if it all hits the fan. Either way, what bliss.

There was much sawing, measuring, marking and stacking. Stacking - that's what I do well. Stormy and Mistress busied themselves with measuring and marking while I carried fence segments about and found places to store them in the very small workspace we had. There was pizza, pineapple upside down cake and more work that evening until we were exhausted and unable to see straight. The night was capped off by one of the most kick-ass Martinis I have ever had, and we went to bed shortly thereafter.

Next day, Stormy had to leave early. We all had breakfast together and said our goodbyes. I hate seeing him leave, but life is like that. There was little time to dwell on such things, however, because we had more work to do.

Did I mention that I'm pretty useless with rulers and pencils? I can usually fumble my way through a project (like the model of a Tesla coil I built earlier this year) but only if I keep my eye on what I'm doing very carefully. Trouble is, I have a hard time staying out of pony space when I'm around Mistress. That can make for problems with concentration. I did well for the most part, and even caught my own mistake. Of course, I had committed that mistake four times before I caught it, but we were able to correct it without trauma or having to buy something new. Whew!

We also got a chance to talk about the bridling ceremony we will be doing at the Flea. For those who don't know, a bridling is the pony equivalent of a collaring. After it is done, I will be her pony. She may have other ponies, but I will have only one Mistress. I like the sound of that. We talked about how it could go and when it will take place. I don't want to spoil the fun by detailing it here, but no doubt you will be able to read about it here after the Flea. If you're coming to the Flea, you can attend! Look for the pony paddock and ask Ladresseuse or check the signs to see if the time is posted. Things like this should have witnesses.

Finally, it got to be afternoon. With a four hour drive ahead of me, I had to set out for home. That's always sad, but there is always the future.

Many thanks to Mistress, her wonderful partner (whom I met for the first time this trip), Stormy and the folks at Lowe's and Home Depot for making it all possible.

Another Trip to New Hampshire

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Pony Play 101 - Some of my Favorite Links

Lord Saber's pony play FAQ site is probably the first site I visited when I started looking into pony play. As with most other sites, it is written by a male Dom and focuses on ponygirls. Still, it's well written and he acknowledges that ponyboys are easily as numerous if not more so, and it is easy to think in whatever terms you wish. He also has a large number of links on this page.

Equus Eroticus Magazine is geared entirely to the pony play scene. It's interesting to see people I know in print! Single issues are $12 and an 8-issue subscription is $80. It is published on an irregular bases, coming out whenever there is enough material to put one together. In November 2007, they will be going to full color. It's a high-quality magazine even in black and white, though.

The Albany Power Exchange has a good page that gives a brief rundown on pony play here. Most of what I learned early on about the BDSM lifestyle came from the APEx Site. The sheer volume of information here is unbelievable.

The Central Texas Kink Ranch holds several pony play weekends during the year that include plenty of time for play as well as workshops and classes. This is an actual horse ranch (Arabians), so the setup is certainly realistic. The weekends are unbelievably inexpensive. A weekend pass is $40 and lodgings are a very small extra charge. A pony like me can have stable accommodations for an added $2. This includes fresh hay, blankets and feed and water pans - all I need! Those wanting private rooms can have them for $15. This is in the Austin, TX area, so heat isn't a problem. The only real expense is getting there. Booked way ahead of time, a round trip flight is as little as $350 to Austin from Logan Airport. I am contemplating a pilgrimage someday - as is my trainer.

The Water Hole Custom Leather is Buck's site. There is a ton of information here as well as a good listing of the sorts of tack and gear that ponies use. Of particular interest are the stories that you will find if you visit Buck's Stall. Among other things, he has a 14-chapter story on how he became a ponyboy. Some of the story made my hair stand on end (I was very new to this at the time - my limits have shifted significantly since then), but I read the entire story in one sitting. The story doesn't seem to end at chapter 14, but I don't know if there is any more coming. A lot of pony play pages have links to the Water Hole. It's worth a good look around.

Trigger, The Human Equine is an interesting character. His dream is to live 24/7/365 as a horse and it looks as though that dream is coming true. To each his own. I do enjoy being human most of the time. It makes those trips into pony head space so much more special for me. Nothing is more boring to me than being hitched to a post and left to wait while my trainer is working with another pony. I don't resent it and I'm not jealous of the attention at all, it's just not very entertaining unless someone is grooming me, petting me, feeding me a treat or otherwise giving me something to focus on. I'm most likely to misbehave when I'm bored. Ponies are high-maintenance creatures! I can't imagine living 24/7 as a pony, but that's me. Check out Trigger's thoughts on this. I can't wait to meet him - perhaps at Camp Crucible. Speaking of which...

Camp Crucible includes what has been described as the best pony camp in existence by many I have spoken to. There isn't much to see on their site right now, but you can subscribe to their Announce List and get news when it is available. Camp is a bit pricey, but you get a LOT for your money. To quote the site:

"Your basic registration includes: 5 days and 4 nights of meals, snacks, drinks, lodging, spa treatments, pool activities, special events, 24 hour dungeon and play spaces - both public and private, world class lectures, demos, and one-on-one instruction by top players from all over the
nation . . . and even the Topless Taxis! We even have three world class camp stores for your fetish shopping experience."

'Nuff said! I'm going!

The Maximum Awesome My Little Pony page is the site that got me exercising. My unofficial mantra came from this site, "This is NOT a fetish for the lazy!" Lots of good basic information. And Sparky is one good looking ponyboy!

The Other Pony Club is in the U.K. This site also has basic information. Most of it is similar in tone to the rest of the sites you will find here, but from another perspective.

So that's it for now. If you are curious about pony play and what we do at events, you have a lot to help you in your search for information. If more links appeal to me, I'll post them here.

Why I Do This

Welcome to the Fetish Fitness Program!

Tonight I had my first workout at the fitness center. Not that I haven't been exercising. For three months I have hiked some of the more strenuous trails in Acadia National Park. Two weeks ago (I was out of town last week - more on that in a moment), I climbed Dorr Mountain, went down the west side to the Gorge, then decided to climb Cadillac as well. By the time it was over, I had hiked about six miles and was one tired pony!

But tonight was a little different. For starters, it was a full body workout. The guy who runs the place met me at 6 p.m. and took me through the entire workout, showing me the right way to use the machines and telling me how to progress without injuring myself. After going through the entire workout, I spent 20 minutes on an elliptical. If you've never tried that, you should. At least once before you die.

By the time I showered and dressed, I was pretty dragged out. Not in pain (I expect that in the morning), but I knew I had done something. When these moments hit, I always ask myself why I do what I do.

That question got answered last week (I said I'd get to this!).

I met Mistress almost 20 years ago. We met at a pagan gathering to which both of us still go. It was held last weekend and both of us resolved to get in a little pony play even though that was not the focus of the event. It took a couple of days before we could get the time and space for some play, but when we settled on a time, we invited anyone who wanted to come and watch to do so. You see, there was a discussion going on at the gathering concerning the BDSM scene and whether or not it "belonged" there. I suppose those conversations happen all the time in various places, but this seemed to cast a dark cloud over the entire weekend for many attendees who are scene folk. Mistress and I both thought an eyeful of pony play might help to ease some tension without even having to lower the kink factor that much.

Only two people came to watch - and both of them lifestyle people to boot, but neither had seen live pony play and what they had seen on film had failed to impress them. They wanted to see what it was all about. It's too bad that more people - especially those who were up tight about BDSM in general - didn't come, but horses and water, don't you know?

The four of us walked out into the woods and found a nice trail that would be suitable. Mistress put my tack on and I went into pony space without passing Go or collecting any dough. I needed that space and found it quickly. Mistress took some time to discuss pony play and give a few facts about what we would be doing. Then the reins went on. I can't describe the feeling I get when I feel those reins snap onto my bit. I give over to my Mistress and place her in charge. She takes care of me. We make magic. That's a power exchange for anyone who asks.

Mistress put me through my paces and showed our guests how capable I was of following commands. I don't speak French but Mistress does. It's my job to figure out what she wants when she issues a command and I can't get over how clearly she makes herself understood. But then again, if it's my job to figure her out, it's her job to communicate with me effectively. I love that process even when it goes awry and Mistress must show me another use for the reins (WHACK!).

I high-stepped, I trotted and I galloped for Mistress and our guests. Then Mistress set up a jump course and had me canter through it several times, changing the order of the jumps each time. I got confused only once when I tried to figure out what Mistress was doing rather than just listening to her, but overall, I did well.

After the demonstration, Mistress spent some more time talking to our guests. All the time she was talking, she stood there stroking my mane. I love that. The praise, the strokes and the pats on the back and butt. It's all good.

But this was especially good. I had done well and I was being told that without words.I felt a great rush of emotion I hadn't touched before now and I turned and put my head down on her shoulder, nuzzling her and completely caught up in the moment.

It was hard coming out of that space, but every good moment has its life and is gone. I am reminded of the old show business saying, "Always leave them wanting more." I want more.

The following morning I had to leave the gathering early. That would have been a sad thing had it not been for the reason. I was going to Connecticut to meet with Buck at Water Hole Custom Leather to discuss tack. With a ten-hour drive ahead of me I decided to get going.

Let me explain something. I was nervous about meeting Buck. It wasn't that he has been in the pony scene for over twenty years and is somewhat iconic as a result. I have met famous people before and long since got over the sort of effect that can have on a person. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I tend to be nervous whenever meeting people for the first time. On top of that, I get nervous when meeting with someone who has a lot of expertise on something. I don't like the thought that I might come off sounding like an idiot and I know very little about leather crafting. I had given this project a lot of thought but had no idea what to expect.

As a hedge to the nerves, my stable pal Stormy offered to come along for the visit. That had a practical purpose as well because there were some elements on Stormy's tack that I liked. The fact that I was a little late getting to the Water Hole made me confident that Stormy would be there when I arrived.

Fate has an odd way of pulling your tail and making you take notice. It turns out that Stormy and I had a bit of a miscommunication on the time and I arrived first. Buck called Stormy to let him know that I was there and Stormy told me it would be about an hour for him to get there.

OK, ponyboy, deal.

There's really nothing for it at a moment like that other than to take a deep breath and dive in. With that in mind, that's what I did. As it turned out, I needn't have worried. Buck seemed happy that I had given the matter a lot of thought. Seems a lot of people don't do that for whatever reason. The ice broke very quickly and we fell to talking about tack, my ideas, his suggestions and pony play in general. I had a blast.

Stormy arrived after that and we had a nice conversation that lasted at least another two hours. Then the two of us went out to lunch (his treat - thanks, Stormy!). We talked about a lot of things, some funny, some sad, some...well, personal. For an hour we had what for me was a great time. And when I finally had to head home, we said our goodbyes.

I got into my car and promptly headed in the wrong direction.

So why do I do this? The play, the nuzzling, people like my Mistress Ladresseuse Maureen, Stormy, Lucky Slevin, Buck, and all the others I have and have not yet met. They are all incredible forces in my life now and I welcome that.

And yes, the motivation to get into a fitness program is a part of that too. I told Buck that Mistress wants me to be a saddle pony one day. His advice consisted of two words, "Bulk up."

Overheard in a Tack Shop Recently

Clerk: Can I help you?

Rusty: At the moment, I'm just checking things out, thanks.

Clerk: Are you a horse person?

(pause)

Rusty: Yeah, that's one way of putting it...

No kidding

Another Rite of Passage

Here we go again...

So last week it was my first pony play event. This week, it was my first
dungeon party. The experience was no less intense.

I arrived at Mistress' house at around midday Saturday and found her
busily working on a saddle. She wants me to be a saddle pony at least in
part, and is the sort of person who can not only find an English youth
saddle in a bargain bin for $35, but who has the moxie to adapt it for
human use. We spent the afternoon ripping out stitches and putting holes
in our hands, trying and retrying various ideas to figure out a good
configuration. I think the project is well underway at this point, but
it's a work in progress. Kind of like me.

Two other ponies were supposed to come and join us, but both had to
cancel; one due to a family matter and the other due to a car accident.
Not her fault and she didn't get hurt, but no car or ride. That was a
bummer because I was looking forward to seeing them. On the other hand,
there was no competition for attention!

We left for the party in plenty of time to do errands and still get
there on time. On the way, Mistress asked me a number of questions about
my health and such. Clearly, she had big plans. We had already talked
about what was to happen and how it would play out, so I was nervous,
but not because of the scene she was planning.

New places, new experiences and new people are always a challenge for
me. So when we arrived at the dungeon spot on time and were admitted, I
was pretty quiet. I find keeping quiet and listening is a good way to
avoid social missteps - especially where such problems can get you
tossed out on your ear. After I had read and signed the rules for the
evening, Mistress introduced me to the host, a friendly and affable man
who made me feel at home. I was also introduced to a few people on the
Pony Up list who know me by name but had not met me face to face yet. I
then got to look the place over.

After some announcements and general discussion, I finally heard the
words that I was waiting for, "Let's get you into your tack." I'll
follow her anywhere when she says that. As it was an indoor, private
party, there was no need to be street legal, so everything came off
before the tack went on. I have all the body modesty of a goldfish, so
it seems I'm a pretty good instrument for getting things rolling (can't
you just hear Eric Idle saying, "Guaranteed to break the ice at
parties!"). Bit, reins, collar and a few bells, and I was off.

There weren't many people there, but those who had gathered were sitting
at one end of the room talking. The floor was pretty well open and
nobody was scening at the moment, so it was dressage training for me.
Mistress put me through my paces and gave me a good whack when I screwed
up, which was frequently at the start (I swear, I wasn't doing it on
purpose). The people all stopped talking and decided to watch the show.
Yours truly gave it all I had - or at least as much as I could given a
room full of very...interesting...furniture. We went on for almost an
hour doing dressage and reins while the crowd gathered. I was delighted to see that JoJo and Buttercup (another trainer and her pony) had arrived as well. I had met them the week before and it's always nice to see familiar faces.

Finally, I got what I had done all that hard work for - a grooming session.

Oooo! Mmmm! Ahhhh! OUCH! Owowowowow! Ooo, that's better. Must you use that thing? Mmmm - a soft towel at last. At least, that's what went through my head. Still, it was all good and brought the blood closer to the surface, readying me for what was to come next.

The tack was removed and Mistress maneuvered me into position against a
wall of chains. She told me to reach out and grab the chains and relax.
Then she opened her tool box. Now I know some of the things that live in
that box - the twitch among them, so I tend to watch pretty closely when
I am naked and she opens that thing. First she pulled out the dressage
whip. Now, I knew she wasn't going to use that on me with any force, but
still, I had to ponder what she had in mind. Some gentle work with that
whip and we were on to bigger and better things. Then  out came a
horsehair fly whisk. I got plenty of attention with that. Finally, the
big flogger came out. She started in gently and over the course of I
don't know how long, slowly increased the intensity. At first, I heard
myself wondering what would happen, and when I would slip into sub space
(I had been in pony space. Coming out of one and getting into another
was all new to me) when Mistress stopped, gently rubbed my back with her
gloved hand, pulled my head back gently and asked how I was doing.

Sometimes I can be a smartass. This time, I chose not to be. Instead of
asking her what was holding her back (a smartass answer), I asked her to
begin pushing the envelope. Then the flogging began in earnest. I don't
know how long it continued, but all of a sudden things changed. In less
than one minute, I began to feel all the pleasant effects of being
drunk. My body started shaking and my knees began to feel a little weak.
At about the same moment, the flogging stopped. Another pass with the
gloved hand, another check in, and Mistress decided that I should come
down a bit but that a little impact would be a good finisher. By this
time, I had long since stopped watching the tool box and thinking about
what was coming out of it. In fact, I had pretty much stopped thinking.
But after a minute of checking in and stroking my back, there was a
brief silence followed by the first strike.

The blows came from a flogger that resembles a bouquet of roses - all
made of leather and tightly formed. Believe me, when that hits, you know
it. I took four gentle impacts and (I think) three heavier ones. By this
point, I was off somewhere else. Still the impact was bringing me back,
and when Mistress again checked in, I decided I had had enough for this
session.

I went further than I thought I'd go, and further than Mistress thought
I'd go as well. But she wasn't surprised that I did it.

After some excellent aftercare and a chance to come back to myself, the
tack went back on. Two trainers, each with a pony and in a relatively small space, inevitably meant that sooner or later the two ponies would end up face to face. And so we did.

Now I had met Buttercup once before, so we weren't strangers. But perhaps we were a little self conscious. We nodded a greeting to each other in the polite fashion you would any acquaintance. That, however, was not the way it should have been done.

And here occurred an illustration in the differences of style. Buttercup's trainer, JoJo looked at him and reminded him that ponies always whinny a greeting to one another. My Mistress cracked me across the backside with the reins, smiled and asked, "Where's my whinny?" She kept that up until I let loose with a bellow that satisfied her.

I adore my Mistress. Have I said that?

After a little more reins work, Mistress turned to me, hung the reins around my neck, patted me softly on the chest and said, "Be a good boy.' I knew what that meant. Ponies are high maintenance party guests, let's face it. I don't expect my Mistress to spend the entire night scening with me or seeing to my own needs. She has some of her own. So I spent some time milling about and learning how to con other party guests out of treats while Mistress scened with someone else. I do hope she enjoyed herself. When that was through, she had her sub from that scene take my reins and walk me about a little. Perhaps it was nerves or something, but she seemed a little uncertain of herself and gave a few conflicting signals. All the same, I did exactly what I was told, stopping if I got confused. We went on like that for a short time before Mistress took the reins back. That's when she led me into the quiet room...

There was more lunge work in my future. Mind you, it's tricky in a 12 by 12 foot room full of furniture, but where there's a will, there's a way. And Mistress has the will. I just want to make her proud, so I'll do as I'm told. She put me through my paces for a while and then led me to an odd sort of bench that was half kneeler and half massage table. It looked strange to me, but it took no real persuasion to get me to kneel and then lay my upper body down. Mistress then opened my girth belt and climbed on top of my back as though she was riding me on all fours. She took her signal whip out and slowly stroked me with it on my legs, back and butt. Occasionally she would crack the whip, which was a little startling but certainly did me no harm. With me in this position of absolute submission to my Mistress, I went deep into sub space again. I don't know how long I stayed there, but after a while, I sensed that she had climbed off of me and was awaiting my return. It took some time and I had some doubt about wanting to come back, but all good things must come to an end and, after all, the party had ended. Time to go home.

Making a Ponyboy 2

September 17, 2007

Wow...

I just got back from my first pony play event. I want to go back and do 
it all over again. Now. No kidding. Typing is difficult because my hands 
are shaking slightly. I warned my partner at work that I would be 
useless today, and in the future, I'll plan to take a day off at this 
end of an event as well. That's life and learning, but here I am for now.

It all started on Friday with the set-up. I was to be part of a 
three-person work crew to get the site up to shape for the event. One 
person had to back out of this due to work issues, so there were two of 
us. Still, we got things in shape working from 1:00 to about 6. Somehow, 
helping to get the area setup was a good preparation for me.

Saturday started out rainy but our spirits were not dampened. The 
weather report said it would clear by early afternoon, and as we had 
seen the weather clearing in Malden, MA, we knew we would be seeing blue 
sky in plenty of time. The other ponies started arriving around noon and 
by 1 there were five of us. We ranged in experience from none (me) to 
six years. We worked on gait training, jumping and then moved on to reins.

What a moment that was. Getting hitched to reins for the first time and 
worked to them. That's when I finally understood what submission is. Not 
in the cerebral way I did going into this, but on a much deeper and 
emotional level. After a time on reins, by myself and in teams and - 
finally - blindfolded, I would have done anything for my Mistress. It 
remains that way now.

We went to a play party after the afternoon session, and Mistress 
hitched me up in line with one of the other ponies, parading us all 
around the house. I got a bit of a lashing with the reins for deciding 
to turn when I had not been told to. That same thing had happened earlier in the day, so Mistress decided to push her point home by having me march straight into a wall. When I did that, she knew that I had gotten the message! I also got the spurs when someone suggested it, but other than that, nothing but praise and a few 
treats (mind you, I didn't mind the lash or the spurs). Mistress 
unhitched us and got talking with some other people. Not hitched to 
anything and with Mistress not holding my reins, I decided to wander 
around and schmooze. I'm good at that. People were well behaved and did 
not offer to touch the reins, but I did get a few complements in my 
rovings and even a scratch or two behind the ears. I live for that now. 
 :-)    When Mistress finally caught up with me, she offered the reins to 
a couple of people, one of whom took her up on it. He marched me around 
once, declared it a lot of fun, and moved on.

I stayed in pony gear for almost 12 hours enjoying every minute of it 
until at last, I felt like I was going to drop where I was standing. At 
about 2 a.m., I finally asked my Mistress to let me out of the gear, 
which she did. I got a cup of water, headed up to bed, and crashed like 
I've never crashed before.

So now I'm hooked and loving it. As a result of the weekend, I have been 
invited to a party next weekend at a private dungeon. Once again, I will 
go as La Dresseuse Maureen's pony (meaning I'll be perfectly safe). She 
has promised to push a few limits on me. I suspect a flogging of some 
magnitude is in my near future and I'm looking forward to it. Imagine!

Making a Ponyboy

I'll confess to something. I'm new. New to blogging and new to pony play. I have been posting my thoughts on my transitional experience on some internet lists and someone suggested blogging instead. OK. Here goes nothing.

One word before I start. This blog will contain language that, while not crude in its terms may still offend the sensitive. I will be talking about things kinky and out of the ordinary. I sincerely doubt I will rise to the level of pornography (I'm not that talented, frankly), but you will get more than a dose of stuff to make you go, "Hmmm..." Whatever you may think of it, the notion that it offends someone only points out the fact they are reading it. Do with that what you will.

But keep your kids out, OK?

So a little history. Several years ago, a friend of mine traveled to the Fetish Fair Flea Market in Boston where she saw a ponyboy for the first time. I don't remember her description other than something about a saddle and a butt plug with a tail hanging from it. She was laughing too much to be truly coherent. Overall, the description and concept sounded a little wacky especially given the way she was relating it. But I filed the information away wondering if it would ever be of use to me.

Let me explain something. If you ever told me that I would be the slightest bit interested in leather, bondage, dominance and submission, or sadomasochism even a few months ago, I would have suggested you take a pill. Nothing interested me less and I had an aversion to pain to boot. But life has odd ways of throwing down the gauntlet and making you rethink things - often on the fly.

I have a dear friend (it always starts with a dear friend, doesn't it?) who it turns out loves to train human ponies. I had never known about this until early last June when she posted a note to a list serve giving details of her time at Camp Crucible over Memorial Day Week. She talked about ponies in a very matter of fact way and it took me just a couple of paragraphs to realize that the ponies themselves were human beings playing the role of ponies.

Ponyboys and ponygirls...the file drawer in my brain opened and I suddenly remembered the laugh riot I had shared a few years ago on the subject. But rather than simply dismiss this as whimsical nonsense (or abuse as some on that list were doing), I decided to check it out.

And along came Google.

Looking at all of the images and reading the many web pages I found about pony play was a serious eye opener. For starters, nobody was laughing. There was plenty of humor, but nobody was making fun of the idea. Looking closer, I began to realize that this was something I wanted to know more about personally. In fact, I really discovered that I wanted to be a ponyboy.

Writing to my dear friend, I asked her what it would take to get involved. I don't know if that surprised her or not, but she invited me to subscribe to her pony list and check it out there. I also subscribed to a BDSM list in order to look at the wider scene to see how that ocean fit together with the very small pond that is pony play.

I spent the following three months talking about pony play and learning all that I could about it, but it wasn't until September that I was actually able to attend my first pony play event. The details of that experience can be found in the next post here.

For the record, I'm a perfectly sane and healthy individual. In fact, I haven't been this healthy in many years. Two years ago, I weighed in at 226 pounds with a 40 inch waistline. My knees ached constantly and it was dangerous getting down the stairs every morning. I was starting to wonder when I'd suffer my first heart attack despite the relative health of my family.

I started on the South Beach Diet in July of 2005 and began losing weight. I had not heard of pony play at that time, but I needed to change things. By May of this year, I was down to about 194 pounds. After discovering pony play (and reading on one web site that this is NOT a fetish for the lazy), I worked harder on the diet and started exercising. I am now down to 174 pounds (11 pounds lower than my original goal), have taken 6 inches off my waist (I can finally see my tender vittles when I look down!), have lost the pain in my knees and have started showing off some decent muscles in both my legs and abs. Whatever anyone thinks of people dressing up and behaving like ponies, the whole scene has made me a much healthier person. If that offends you, I don't want to know you.

One last thought. I consider this blog a living document. That means I will come back and edit it frequently - including the older posts. I am told that I write well, but I do not write quickly and I feel free to change what I have written over time if I think it will improve the reading experience. Everything in this blog is based on my own experiences and is factual unless clearly stated otherwise. Any resemblance of the characters I mention to people that you know is probably coincidence. People I mention by name have given their consent for its use or are already all over the Internet.

Now...on with the show!