Handlers Guide

Hi Broad Oak Handlers!

As a Handler you are responsible for many aspects of the experience that you might not be aware of, and we have developed this handy guide to add to your and the pony/ponies that you are working with while at Broad Oak Stables. Many of us have things that we like to do with the ponies that we have developed over our time at Broad Oak Stable. This list is not all encompassing or the end all be all list; it is only meant as an aid to assist with your RP and to increase your enjoyment while at the stables.

One of a Handler's responsibilities is to maintain the wellbeing of the ponies. Or in other words, grooming. Grooming keeps the ponies happy and healthy. Doing grooming tasks on ponies will greatly help in growing the bond between you and the ponies, and might even lead to more intimacy.

Note: Whenever you see the word "pony"/"ponies", unless explicitly mentioned, that also applies to "mare"/"mares" and "(she-)stallion"/"(she-)stallions"

Feeding

You are able to rez a set of buckets containing food and water for ponies. Just press the button beside the door to a stall. there is also two different buckets of apples for you to choose from if they have earned a treat!

The buckets will rez at the front of the pony's stall and will disappear after 10 minutes.

Please make sure that the pony's leash is long enough for the pony to reach the feed bucket. Usually a leash length of 5m will do.

You can also feed ponies by grabbing an apple from the backyard, slice the apple, and feed the apple slices to the ponies.

Brushing

Despite our ponies having no fur, it's a good idea to brush them using soft-bristled brushes every now and then.

Doing so will make the skin of our ponies to glow with health. And provides you with a quite intimate roleplay activity to bond yourself to the ponies better.

Hint: You can use the pony rack in the barn to ensure that the pony stays still while you brush their body.

Cleaning / Bathing

Since ponies are not wearing any clothes, their skin will get grimy and dirty. And since they are restrained, they can't wash themselves. This is where grooms come in, to help the helpless ponies maintain a clean and healthy skin.

Cleaning/bathing a pony is indeed a quite intimate activity, and it is not unheard of that this activity leads to a greater bonding & intimacy (and intimate RP scenes), and that is allowed by the way 😉

There are a few facilities you can use to clean them up:

Shower in the Broad Oak Clinic

There is also a shower just inside the Broad Oak Clinic, to the right of the entrance.

This shower can clean up INM 'liquids'

Grab the pony's rein and pull them to the shower, then order them to stand under the shower while you turn on the water.

It might take several minutes to fully cleanup INM 'liquids'

Additionally there is a building next to the barn that has showers in it as well

Pony Walk-in Bath

If you are feeling a bit lazy, you can also use the walk-in bath. This might not give the best cleaning result unless you brush the pony and have them walk into the bath again.

There are two stables known to have this facility are FFF and DeFerre. You will need to take the pony there.

Automatic Pony Washer

And if you are feeling especially lazy, you can use the fully automatic "pony washer" machine. Just set the machine's operating mode, then order the pony to 'sit' on the machine's poseball.

This facility is not available on BOS; one stable known to have this facility is FFF.

Health Checks / Fitness Care

Ponies need to have their health checked regularly. There are two kind of checks: Quick Checks on the Rack, and Veterinarian's Check

Rack Check

Get the pony out of their stall (reined, of course) and have the Rack (in the stalls area) 'capture' them.

Remember to adjust the horizontal bar in the middle so the pony's hip rests comfortably against the bar's cushion/padding.

After the pony has been secured to the rack, you can proceed with quick checks by changing the pose. Among others:

• Check Left Shoe

• Check Right Shoe

• Reseat the tail

• Ensure that restraints are tight and firm

• Give a massage

• ... and others (there are lots of poses available, roleplay creatively)

Veterinarian Visit

To do this, you have to take the pony to an Broad Oak Clinic, that does have lots of interactable items such as:

• Examination/operating table

• Treadmill

• Medicines/hormones

• etc.

Mucking

The ponies are not the only ones to be kept clean and healthy; their stalls must also be kept clean and healthy.

Mucking is the term for cleaning up the hay that serves as the ponies' bedding in their stall. This is done by throwing the older hay into the composter, scrubbing the floor, and laying down a new layer of fresh hay.

You can roleplay doing mucking, then rezz a new layer of fresh hay by hitting the switch next to the stall's door.

Exercises

Ponies need to be exercised regularly to maintain their health.

Below are some possible exercises you can give to the ponies.

Don't forget to bring the ponies to the water trough and give them time to drink after they have been exercised.

About facilities...

Broad Oak Stables promotes the utilization of all the sims for training for several reasons; ALL of the pony sims put a lot of time and effort into making their stables unique and different, each one has their specialties. The TP doors in the barn will take you to wherever you want to go train.

Walks

Ponies will appreciate you taking them out of the stall. So, at the very least, grab their reins and bring them out to enjoy the fresh air of the outdoors.

You'll have a chance to show off their beauty as well, especially when there are visitors! Show them (visitors) that we take good care of our animals :-)

Running Oval / Whip Circle

Grab the pony's rein and bring them into the fenced-off area in the ranch. Order them to walk/run using whip commands.

Notes:

• For Running Oval, may have to let go of the reins so the pony will not get injured when they run to the reins' length. Just remember to grab their reins again afterwards.

• For Whipping Circle, the pony must be leashed to the center post, with the leash length adjusted so the pony can reach the circle where they are to exercise on.

Flower Dressage

Ponies will need to be exercised not just physically, but also mentally.

Taking them to a flower dressage field will be a great mental exercise for them!

This is something that is quite complex, so it is recommended that Handlers read and understand the rules set forth to it.

Silent Dressage

Silent Dressage is a test, so to speak, of the bond between ponies and their groom/trainer, and at the same time also a test of the ponies' gracefulness.

It is a very complex exercise, even more complex than Flower Dressage, so we recommend you read more about it in this well-written Tall Tails article.

Slalom / Steeples / Other Exercises

For a different exercise, you can also have the pony do a slalom/steeples course. This will give variation and prevent exercises from becoming boring.

There might be other exercise facilities suitable for exercising ponies.

Feel free to be creative / take them there. Just remember to keep them reined so they will not wander off.

Carting

A favorite BOS activity is Carting, especially since we have several outposts on the mainland, enabling us to do carting on mainland roads.

In addition, some other stables do have interesting carting paths, such as BBF and TT.

And finally, the "GTFO!" delivery game makes carting more fun!

Because of all of this -- and because carting can become a reasonably complex matter -- details about carting will be described in a separate guide.

Disciplining

If warranted, a pony may be given spanks and/or other punishments, for instance if they are actively resisting clear instructions.

This is not a blanket permission for you to abuse them!

Call a Trainer or Manager if you are not comfortable with punishing / giving other disciplinary actions.

Do remember that each pony is different and will react and perceive disciplining differently. Use your best judgement and go OOC if it is not the reaction you expect, or things get worse.

Remember that first and foremost, we are all here to have a good experience. 😎

After-Care

Despite everyone's willingness to submit themselves as ponies, please remember that on the other side there's a human being that also have needs to be attended, cared for, loved.

An after-care session is therefore a very good thing to add to your role play. It does not to be complex and/or long. Simple gestures such as hugging the pony, caressing their manes, or even having the pony sit with you, goes a loooong way towards building a very strong bond between you and the ponies.