There was no doubt that Astra loved horses. Ever since her parents had given her a My Little Pony toy for her first birthday, she had thought of little else. She played with it all day long, and it had to be standing between the pillow and the head of the bed before she would go to sleep. In the years that followed, she got other toy horses and was read lots of books about horses. Just before she entered school, her parents bought a hobby farm and moved to the country. Her parents were into riding and soon the farm had two full sized horses and a pony for Astra. In school, she read every book available about horses, and watched every movie, such as National Velvet. Her favorite TV shows were westerns, as they always had horses. She joined the local pony club and began to train in dressage and jumping. By now she had outgrown her pony, and it had been replaced with a full sized horse. Her life revolved around horses. When the Fall Fair came around, she spent all the time watching the horse events, participated in some, and even watched the heavy horse pulling events. When other kids her age were riding the Ferris wheel or the Tilt-a-Whirl, she was in the barns talking to the owners and their horses.

By her late teens, she had grown into a beautiful young woman. She was slightly above average in height, had an athletic build and nice figure. The package was completed by a pretty face, and long straight black hair down to her waist. About this time there were two events that caused a profound change in Astra's life. Her parents were killed in an automobile accident. Astra was devastated, but was also determined to go on. Her parents' estate had been left to her, and now that she was independently wealthy, she hired a maid to look after the house, and renewed the job of the groom, Tony. Tony was the son of the groom hired by her parents. His father had retired to Florida a year ago, and the job just naturally fell to Tony. While Astra waited for the estate to be settled there were some tough times, but Tony decided to wait it out. He liked the job of groom, but he also really liked Astra.

The second event in Astra's life was actually more of a realization. Although she was crazy about horses, what she really wanted was to be a horse herself. While researching on the internet for a science project about the evolution of the horse, she had stumbled across links to the pony-girl scene. She was fascinated, and proceeded to read every story on every site she could find. She was amazed that real people chose, or were forced to become human ponies, and she decided that was what she wanted to do. As her graduation was only a couple of months away, she knew it was time to put her plan into action.

Astra made her decision. She had read a couple of stories that talked about quadruped pony-girls who walked on all fours. She didn't like the idea of the upright pony-girls, as she thought they didn't look horsey enough, and also she didn't think the arms should be bound and useless. She remembered a previous visit to the shop of Pedro, the harness maker who had done jobs for her parents. One time they had come in to find him working on a small and oddly shaped bridle, and she now realized that it must have been for a pony-girl. Perhaps he could help her. She paid a call on Pedro, and came right out with her request. Pedro didn't bat an eye, and told her that he would be pleased to make pony-girl tack for her. He said that not many pony-girls want to be quads, as the tack is more complicated and it takes a great deal of training to become proficient. Pedro also told her that he had been thinking about some improvements that might make the quad better and that he would love to let her try them out.

Astra told him she wanted the tack to make her as much like a horse as possible. She had decided to do this to be a horse. She was not interested in a bondage game, and had no intention of surrendering her will to some overbearing groom or dominatrix. Pedro told her that she would need a helper to do this, as she would not be able to get in and out of the tack by herself. Pedro suggested Tony for her personal groom. Astra liked that idea, as he was already her employee, besides, he was good looking and she was fond of him.

Pedro asked if Astra wanted to come back another day, or did she want to get started right away. He knew her answer, and got out his measuring tape and a notebook. He told Astra that the secret of comfortable tack is a perfect fit, and this was even more important for a quad. He proceeded to take measurements of her body, up, down and sideways. He measured around her torso, moving up about two inches each time. He measured her neck and around her head at her chin, cheeks, eyes and forehead. He even made a vertical measurement around her head just in front of her ears.

Just as Astra thought he was finished, he went to the cupboard and brought out a box full of plaster bandage rolls. He told Astra to hop up onto the table and hang her feet over the edge. He bent her ankles so they pointed straight down and was pleased to see that she could do this. Astra explained that she had taken ballet lessons during one of the times that her mother tried to get her mind off horses. It was ironic, she thought, that this would now help her to be a better horse. Pedro started with the plaster just below her knee, and went on down her leg, unrolling the wet plaster bandages onto her leg. He set her ankle so her foot was “en pointe”, but bent her toes forward. When that foot was finished he did the same with the other. Again Astra thought he was done, but then he started to do the same on her arms. The plaster went from her elbow to her finger tips, with her hand pointed straight out. The fingers were wrapped together, but the thumb was separate. Once the plaster hardened, Pedro cut the casts off carefully and set them on the table. He planned to join them back together and use them as molds of Astra's arms and legs. Once he had washed the excess plaster drippings off her skin, the fitting was done. Pedro said that he would call he when he was finished, but said it would take a while to make it all. Astra wrote him a cheque for an advance, and was soon on her way home. She had taken the first step in becoming a horse.

Astra approached Tony about being her personal groom. He showed no surprise, and he was more than willing. It was a natural progression, he said, for someone as horse-crazy as Astra was. He said that he knew of a secret pony-girl club in the area, and had attended a few meets with his father. He was sure they would be welcomed when Astra was ready.

One month passed, then two. Astra was beginning to wonder why Pedro was taking so long. On the Monday morning after her graduation, she decided to pay a call on Pedro. Just then he called and said the tack was ready, and she should come in for a fitting. Astra fairly flew to her car, and soon was walking through the door of Pedro's shop. It was a warm day and she was wearing short shorts and a halter top. She kicked off her sandals as she climbed up onto the table. Pedro brought out the boots. They were sleek black leather and had a zipper along the inside of the leg. When Astra put them on the zipper seemed to disappear, and they fit perfectly. The boots had very realistic hooves on the bottom, and steel horseshoes were nailed to the bottom with real horseshoe nails. There were strips of spring steel built into the back of the boots to stabilize the ankles, but they still allowed some movement. Astra jumped down to test them, but they felt strange. Pedro explained that since she would be a quad, the angles on the hooves were different than if she was an upright pony-girl. She got back on the table and Pedro brought out what he called his “ultimate success”. The arm “boots” were very unusual. When Astra slipped her hand in, her fingers and thumb went into a comfortable, but unyielding socket. Similar zippers closed them on her arms, but what really astounded Astra, was the fact that she could bend her wrists, and the movement caused another joint to bend also. Below the tips of her fingers was another joint like a real horse.

Pedro had a degree in mechanical engineering, and had worked in that field for several years before he realized that he could make a living from his hobby. The boots contained a form fitted metal spine from the hooves to the boot tops, and included the two hinged joints. To make Astra's front legs bend, he had embedded four steel cables in each boot. Two cables ran over the back of her hand and then crossed to the under side. Two others started on the bottom and then crossed to the top. When Astra bent her wrist, the cables had to span a longer circumference and pulled tight on the inside of the hoof. When she straightened her wrist, the reverse happened and straightened the leg. The cables worked just like tendons. It was a truly ingenious solution, as most quad pony-girls have front legs that are like straight stilts. Now Pedro had her get down on all four hooves and the angles were perfect. Astra could even paw the ground like a horse, and she was overjoyed.

The next piece of tack was a leather garment that was laid over a padded sawhorse. Pedro had her straddle the horse and lay on the garment on her belly. He pulled up the two sides, asked Astra to breathe out and pull in her tummy. He zipped it up the middle of the back, and Astra realized that it was an odd sort of corset. It went from her shoulders to her bum, and had D-rings spaced in various places along the sides. It had rigid steel boning in the back that allowed no bending of her spine at all. Pedro explained that this was required as the human spine is designed to be upright. Without this support she would become swaybacked very quickly, and the resulting back problems would prevent her enjoyment of being a pony. There was a flap of leather above her shoulders, and Pedro had her hold her head as far back as possible. He zipped it up and she realized that it was a collar that held her neck back so that her face was forward. It was held on strips of spring steel, and while it held her up, its hold was gentle enough to allow her to look down if she wanted.

The next piece of tack was a bridle with a bit. It went across her forehead, down her cheeks, and around her head. It had two snaps on each side, and Astra was wondering what they were for when, all of a sudden, the lights went out. Pedro had slipped a mask over her head and snapped it to her bridle. Visibility was not very good through the eyes of the mask, but when she looked out she saw a horse looking back. Pedro had moved a mirror in front of her. Pedro explained that the mask was for special occasions and that it would be best not to wear it all the time for training. Astra was thrilled, as now she really did look like a horse.

Sadly it was time to take off the tack, and when everything was removed, Pedro put it into a large duffle bag, along with a package wrapped in brown paper. Pedro told Astra to open it first when she got home as it contained all the bits and pieces, as well as a computer disc with further instructions. Pedro said that the last thing he needed to do was add the mane and the tail. He could use horse hair for this, unless Astra was willing to cut her waist length hair so it would be her own. Again sadly she agreed, and Pedro cut off her ponytail at the nape of her neck. He took a third of the hair, cut it in half again, and wove it into the holes on the back of the mask, which now had a lush mane. The remaining long strands of hair, Pedro said, he could either attach to the end of the corset, or put into a butt plug. Astra decided to go full pony girl, and chose the latter. Soon Astra had all the tack in the bag. She wrote Pedro a massive cheque, but didn't bat an eye. She knew her account could cover it. She put the bag into the car and hurried home. She took the bag straight to the tack room in the stable, and then ran to the house to find her laptop. By the time she got back Tony was there, and Astra began to show him the tack. She wanted to put it on right away, but followed Pedro's instruction and put in the disc. She found the file called Astra the Pony, and together they followed the directions.

Astra was able to put on the hind boots herself. She stripped off and held up the corset, while Tony zipped it up. She put her hands into the fore boots, but Tony had to zip them up. There was no way she has going to be able to use her hands for anything but walking. She got down on all fours and Tony was amazed at the realism of her hooves, especially the front ones. The instructions called next for an array of dog collar-like chains that were in the package with the disc. They were basically two long chains that crossed through a ring. Each chain had a cuff on each end that attached around one ankle. The ring was suspended by two short chains that clipped to D rings on the side of her corset. The disc explained that this was a training rig that would help her move her hooves in the correct order. For walking and trotting only, as one front hoof moved forward, the chain would lift and pull forward the opposite rear hoof. After enough training, the movements would become second nature and the chains would not be necessary. The next piece of tack was the bit and bridle. Once it was on, Tony gave a little tug on the bit. Astra knew right away who the boss was, and it was not her. Astra had told Tony that she wanted the first training session to be with the mask in place, for the full effect. The last piece of tack was the tail, and Pedro had even thought to include a tube of lubricant, to ease it in.

The next instruction was one that Astra didn't like. In order to gently break in the tack, and Astra's muscles, Pedro limited her use of the tack to three hours per day for a week. One hour could be added each week for a month. By that time she would be able to wear it as much as she wanted. Astra thought, “twenty four seven”. Now she was ready to start training to be a horse. Tony led her out to the carousel in the yard and hitched her to the arm. He set the speed at slow, so that she could get the feel of it without tripping herself. For the first while, she didn't move her feet until the chain pulled them, but soon she was concentrating on each step and the chains did less work. After about an hour, she started to feel tired and her muscles were a bit sore. She shook her head and whinnied to Tony, but he said to walk on and refused to shut the carousel off. Astra had no choice but to follow or be dragged. Tony sat on the top rail on the fence and watched this beauty of a pony-girl in front of him.

Too soon, the three hours were up, and the carousel was shut off. Astra whinnied and pawed the ground like a real horse, but Tony was strict. He untied Astra and led her to the stable. Astra was tired, but the second and third hour had been better than the first, as she had actually closed her eyes and let the repetition of her gait take over. Once she was clear of her tack, she slipped back into her shorts and halter top, thanked Tony, and went to the house. The maid had a pot of chili on the stove, and she dished her self a bowl for supper. She then showered, and slipped under the duvet on her bed. She pretended she was sleeping in fresh hay in the stable and was soon fast asleep.

When she awoke in the morning, her muscles were a bit stiff, but the only area of concern was a pain in her neck. It was not too bad and she decided that she could get used to it. Training that day was more of the same, and by the third day, Tony had raised the speed a little to a slow trot. Again the chains gave the lesson and Astra soon zoned in to the gait and the chains just went along for the ride. This went on for the first week. On the following Monday, Astra was upset when Tony stopped her after three hours, as this was the day to add an hour. Tony explained that he had an errand to run and asked Astra to come with him. She agreed and soon Tony's pickup was stopping in front of Pedro's shop. He was beaming from ear to ear, and explained that since he had been so well paid for the tack, he had made Astra a present. He uncovered an object in the middle of the room, and there sat a beautiful sulky. It had 24 inch bicycle wheels and a low slung padded seat, with two long arms that had two clips on each. Astra whinnied and gave Pedro a big hug. They all laughed. They loaded the sulky into the truck and set off for home.

Now you can have your extra hour, said Tony, and he quickly suited her up again. The clips perfectly attached to D rings on her corset, and once attached she and the sulky were one unit. Tony explained that she had to be careful to not try to turn too quickly, as she would soon see that it was not going to happen, and she might trip herself up. Tony attached the long reins to her bit and fed them through other D rings and back to the sulky. When he got in, Astra was surprised that she felt very little difference in the weight of the sulky. Astra wanted the full effect, so wore the mask again. Tony gave a slight jerk to the reins and they were off. Visibility through the mask was limited, so she decided to not even worry about where she was going and trust Tony not to let her collide with anything. At times she even shut her eyes, and rhythmically trotted up the road. When the hour was up they returned to the stable. Tony unclipped the sulky and put it away, and was surprised when her couldn't see Astra. He found her standing in a stall, with her nose in the feed trough. Although there was no provision for eating with the mask on, Astra the Pony was playing her part.

Astra's training continued, and by the end of the month she could stay in tack all the time. The muscles in her legs had gotten stronger, and she was particularly pleased how strong her arms and wrists had become. She no longer needed the training chains and her hooves beat out the correct cadence of whichever gait she has using. When Tony allowed her to canter, or even gallop, her hooves just naturally went in the right order, even though the chains had not provided for those gaits. She often elected to sleep in the stable, and Tony was quick to give her fresh hay, and fill her water bowl, and put granola in her feed trough. Astra sometimes would sleep in the hay, or even sleep standing up. One day Tony led her to the corral, where he had set up a jump. The rail was a bamboo pole, and was set quite low. Astra jumped it with no problem. Tony set it higher and was amazed that she could jump it so easily, and that her wrists could take the landing. One day, after training, Tony told her that there was going to be an event at the local pony-girl club, and did Astra want to go. She excitedly agreed, but only if she went as a pony.

The big day came and Tony drove in with a horse trailer in tow behind his truck. He suited up Astra, including the horse mask, and then her added several bells to empty D rings on her tack. He walked her into the trailer, and tied her reins at the front. The sulky was put in along side. As they pulled out, Astra was afraid that she would fall over, but she found her balance had greatly improved, now that she was on four legs. At the ranch, Tony backed her out of the trailer, and everyone in the placed watched as this new quad pony-girl was led to her stall. Tony gave her some water from a bottle with a built in straw, and then set off to register her for the events. Tony felt that for this first meet he should only sign her up for half the events, so her put down Astra the Pony for the jumping and the harness race. Soon the announcement was heard for the jumping, and Tony led her to the ring. The audience was abuzz with talk of this mysterious beautiful new quadruped pony-girl.

There were nine pony-girls in the event, but all the rest were the upright variety. The bar started very low and was raised each time by one inch. Most of the girls could not jump very high, as they sort of hopped over the bar. Soon only one other girl was left to compete with Astra, and she soon knocked the bar down. Tony whispered to the announcer, who then told the crowd that the bar was to be set 2 inches above the club record. The audience cheered, and then fell silent. Astra whinnied and pawed the ground with her front hoof, and then trotted up and sailed over the bar. The crowd went wild. Astra stood up on her hind legs, and waved her front hooves to the crowd. A big fancy ribbon was pinned to her corset, and once the congratulations were done, Tony led her to the stall.

The day continued with the dressage and show pony events. Astra wished she could watch instead of being in the stall, but she was a horse after all, and the audience was made up of people. The last event of the day was the harness race, four laps around the quarter mile track. There were sixteen teams entered, and the race would start with four rows of four teams, positioned by draw. Tony had drawn the outside position on the last row, the positively worst position available. Tony told Astra to start easy and keep to the outside. He knew that a race would not be won on the first lap, but it surely could be lost, if the teams got tangled. The gun sounded, and the teams were off. Astra set a steady pace of a quick trot, and to show off for the crowd, she lifted her hands up so her forearms were parallel to the ground. At the same time she bent her wrists so that her hooves almost touched the underside of her arms. She was a beautiful sight to behold, and by the end of the first lap, she had passed all but four teams. Tony moved her to the inside and held her pace for the next two laps. The race was down to one last lap, and as the other girls started to tire, even though some of the drivers were whipping their ponies to go faster. Astra moved to the outside again, and trotted past them, keeping time to the jingle of her bells. When she crossed the finish line, ten full lengths ahead of the second place team, the crowd erupted into a standing ovation.

Tony brought her to a halt, jumped down and took her by the reins near her head. She was led to the winners circle and a large wreath was placed around her neck. It said “The Winner” on it, and when the announcer told the crowd that a new club record time had been set for the mile race, the audience again went wild. Astra bowed her head, pawed the ground with her hoof, and then let out a loud whinny. The crowd cheered again. When the festivities were over, still wearing her wreath, Tony led his horse to the trailer. They drove off for home and Astra felt smug as she thought about being the quad pony-girl who stole the show. In time, people would figure out who she was, but for today, Astra's secret was safe.

When they got home, Tony took off her tack and began to put it away. Tony laughed as he told Astra that a rich old man had asked Tony if he could buy Astra, and said Tony should name his price. Tony said that she was not his property as her was just her groom, but he knew she was definitely not for sale. Suddenly Astra jumped into his arms, and planted a long deep kiss on his lips. They moved toward a stall that had fresh clean hay it it. When they finally surfaced, Astra took Tony by the hand and led him to the house. The maid made them breakfast.

Tony and Astra are now a couple. A year has passed and Astra still trains as a pony every day. At night they enjoy life in the house, or even out on the town. Astra is happy with her life. She now has the best of both worlds, horse by day, woman by night.