Penny parked her car near the edge of the parking lot and got out. A light breeze blew over the young woman as she stepped onto the hot asphalt, blowing a few strands of auburn hair in her face. Brushing them aside with one hand, she turned, reaching back into the car to grab her purse. Shutting the door, she locked the car. Penny had butterflies in her stomach as she turned. Her month at the Green Hills Ponygirl Ranch had begun.

Ahead of her, at the other end of the parking lot was a large country-style building, she assumed was the main office. On the other side of it were the other buildings that made up the ranch: the stables, the harness shop, supply sheds, and of course, the training fields and tracks.

Walking along the edge of the lot, Penny looked over the fence into the training field just beyond. It was a lovely day and the field was busy. Everywhere there were female trainers, dressed in boots, blue jumpsuits and caps, and with them were the pony-girls. Penny’s heart skipped a beat as she saw them. They wore nothing; save for the leather harnesses that encircled their bodies, holding their arms securely behind their backs, holding the bit-gags in their mouths. On their legs, the girls had on thigh-high leather boots, which ended with molded horse-hooves.

The pony-girls were being led to and fro, learning how to walk and trot and cantor under the skilled tutelage of the trainers. On a nearby track, three pairs of pony-girls, their harnesses decorated with racing colors, galloped along, dragging a jockey behind them on a racing cart. Penny’s heart raced, as she took it all in. Soon enough, she would be out there as well, wearing the harness, listening to the commands…

Penny felt as if she was walking an inch off the ground. She floated across the rest of the parking lot and into the main office. One of the trainers was seated behind a desk, at a computer. Her blonde hair spilled out of the back of her baseball cap, in a loose pony-tail. As Penny approached, she saw the girl, she couldn’t have been more then 20, 21 years old, had a name tag, introducing her as one Kelly Piece.

“Good morning!” Kelly said, looking up, a smile on her face. “What can I do for you this morning?”

“Hello!” Penny said, excitedly. “My name is Penelope Wilson. I’ve signed up for the training course.”

“Of course!” Kelly replied. “One moment while I look you up.” She turned back to the computer screen. While the younger woman typed, Penny looked around. The walls of the lobby were decorated with framed pictures of the Green Hills Ranch’s pony-girl teams, racing, dressage, team pictures as well as shots of the girls in action. Not to mention plenty of ribbons and plaques they’d won at shows and races…

“Ah, here we are.” Kelly said, after a minute. “Yes, you signed up for the month-long experience, is that correct?” Kelly nodded. “Very good.” She stood up. “I see you’ve also paid in advance, which means there’s just the matter of signing these release forms.” She handed Penny a clipboard with some forms on it, along with a pen. “We here at the Green Hills Ranch believe strict discipline is the key to training world class pony-girls. By signing this form, you accept that the listed disciplinary measures may be used in your training, and you agree to abide by all ranch rules and obey all instructions given by the instructors. If at any time you wish to end your experience, you will be immediately released, however your payment will not be refunded. Do you understand?” Penny nodded, quickly scribbling her name at the bottom.

“Alright then,” Kelly said, taking the clipboard back. “All we need to do now is take you to be measured for your harness.” She stood up. “If you’d follow me, please…” She turned and walked over to a door. Penny followed after her. On the other side was a large waiting room, which led to a number of small measuring rooms. Opening the door of one, Kelly waved Penny inside.

“Clothes off, please.” Kelly said, pulling out a measuring tape. “Pony’s don’t need clothes, after all.” Quickly, Penny kicked off her sandals, pulled off her shirt, her pants and finally her panties and bra. These, along with her purse, keys and jewelry were placed in a large plastic bag by Kelly. When Penny was completely naked, Kelly sealed the bag shut. “We’ll keep this in storage for the duration of your stay, or until you choose to leave.” She said, setting it aside. “now, arms up, please.”

Over the next couple of minutes, Kelly carefully measured every inch of Penny’s body, writing down her measurements on the clipboard. “You’ve got a bit of baby-fat I see,” she teased. “Not to worry. By the end of the month, you’ll be a lean, beautiful pony.”

“All finished.” Kelly said, rolling the measuring tape up. She led Penny out into the waiting room. “Take a seat while I run these over to the harness shop…”

Penny sat down, while the younger woman hurried out of the room. While she waited, the door opened and an older woman came in. Following after her were to younger girls Penny guessed to be the woman’s daughter. They were carrying a small pink duffel bag with the logo of a junior pony-girl show team. They stepped into one of the changing rooms while their mother took a seat.

“Hello, I’m Charlotte.” She said, extending a hand. “Charlotte Taylor.”

“Penelope Wilson.” Penny replied, shaking it, feeling somewhat insecure, sitting completely naked next to this older woman. Charlotte didn’t seem to care, or perhaps she was simply used to that sort of thing here.

“I’m just here dropping off my girls for their weekend training class. They love it! They’re both on their school team, and they take classes here during the summer months to stay in practice.” She shrugged. “It gives them something to do outside of school and its good exercise. What about you?”

“I’m here for the month-long experience.” Penny said.

“My girls would love that, but I don’t think I could bear to have them away from home that long.” Charlotte replied. “Where do you work, that gives you a whole month off for something like this.”

Penny shrugged. “I’m sort of, er, self-employed. I write books for a living. I just had a novel published last week, so I figured, why not take some time off, have a little fun. I’d always been kind of interested in this, so on a whim, I just signed up.”

Just then, the door to the changing room opened up and the two girls came back out. They’d changed out of their clothes into pony-girl harness. There’s was different from the ones Penny had seen on the other pony-girls walking past the training field, a different design, and the leather was pink, matching their team colors. Underneath the leather harnesses, they both had on a two-piece swimsuit, in the same colors with their logo. Their hands were free, at the moment and their bit-gags were unfastened, hanging down from one side.

“Now you girls be good.” Charlotte said as they came out. “I’ll come back to pick you up tomorrow evening.”

“Yes mom.” The girls said, cheerfully, walking over. Penny couldn’t help but admire the graceful way the girls moved in their high hoof-boots, each step precise, and balanced.

Just then, one of the other doors opened and Kelly came back in, carrying a brown sack. With her was another, brown-haired trainer. The two sisters stood at attention as she turned to them, crossing their arms behind their backs.

“Back for more, I see?” The trainer said, cheerfully. “We’ll have you ready for tryouts in the fall, don’t you worry!” She reached up and slipped the bits into the girls’ mouths. They ‘neighed’ appreciatively through their gags. From the pocket of her jumpsuit, she took out a pair of leather leashes and clipped them to the girl’s collars.

“Bye girls!” Charlotte said, standing up, waving as they trotted after their trainer, out of the room. “Hope you have fun to, Penny.” She said, as she stepped out of the room.

“If you’ll follow me, please…” Kelly said, motioning for Penny to follow her into one of the changing rooms. Opening the bag, she pulled out a mass of brown leather straps linked with brass facets and buckles and rings. For a moment, Penny wondered how on earth she was supposed to put it on, but Kelly handled the harness with evident skill. “Please stick your leg through here.” She said, holding the harness up.

Over the course of ten-fifteen minutes, Kelly worked to fit Penny into the harness. The harness shop had done a good job fitting the harness to Penny’s figure, but even a good fit didn’t satisfy Kelly. The young woman adjusted the straps here and there, until every strap and band fit snug against Penny’s bare skin. Her arms were pulled up, behind her back and secured in place.

Reaching into the sack again, Kelly got out a second harness, this one for Penny’s head. Kelly drew Penny’s hair up into a high pony-tail, where it hung down across her back. Meanwhile, Penny’s head was quickly wrapped in numerous leather straps. The straps were all secured to a thick leather collar around the young woman’s neck. A metal bit, wrapped in leather, hung from a ring near Penny’s jaw, ready to be secured between her teeth.

“Almost done now,” Kelly said, attaching a pair of blinders to the bridle. Just got the left boots now.” She motioned Penny to sit on the chair, while she took the boots out. Sliding them up Penny’s leg, Kelly zipped the long leather sheathes up. A number of leather straps ran up either boot, allowing her to secure the boots tight against Penny’s legs.

“At the end of the month, you’ll have the opportunity to purchase your harness…for a nominal charge, of course.” Kelly said, grinning. Penny grinned back. She was sure her bank balance wouldn’t suffer for one more little extravagance after this vacation…

“Alright, let’s see how this feels.” Kelly helped Penny onto her feet. Penny wobbled a bit. The boots felt like nothing she’d ever worn before. Inside the boots, she was all but on her tip-toes and even for, her toes were still several inches off the ground.

“It feels kind of odd.” Penny said.

“Oh, right.” Kelly said. She reached up and grabbed the free end of Penny’s bit, pulling it between her teeth, hooking it in place. “Pony’s don’t talk. They just neigh. This…is for yes, or good, this…for no, or bad.” She demonstrated. Penny tried to mimic Kelly, her attempts odd and garbled by the unfamiliar gag between her lips.

“Good enough for now. You’ll get used to the gag soon enough.” Kelly said, shrugging. She pulled a leash from her jumpsuit. “Alright, now we can start.” Kelly felt her heart leap in her chest as the younger woman clipped the leash to her collar.

“Just take it nice and slow for now.” Kelly said, tugging gently on the leash. Wobbling around, Penny struggled to keep her balance as she took a few unsure steps forward. “Don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of time for you to learn.” Kelly led Penny out of the changing room and into the ranch proper.

It felt odd to Penny, walking on the hooves. The blinders cut off most of her peripheral vision, all she could look at was Kelly, directly ahead of her, holding the leash. She wanted to look around, see everything going on around her, but the collar and harness made it difficult for her to turn her head. Still, she got glimpses of the other pony-girls and their trainers. Behind her gag, Penny beamed. Here she was, right in the heart of it all!

“Alright,” Kelly said, stopping beside a machine. A long beam was balanced on a center pole set in the ground. A number of straps descended from either end of the beam. The straps at one end were attached to rings in Penny’s harness, helping to support her. She found it easier to maintain her balance on her hooves. “Let’s begin your training. Walks forward…”