“Hold on, I’m juggling a hundred bottles of lube.”She dropped them onto the table, making sure none rolled off, and took my hand.“Did you just arrive?”
“Yes.Adam’s showing me around.”
Liv was dressed in Lycra shorts and a tank top, with pink flip-flops on her small feet.Her toes were painted a vibrant shade of orange.
“Oliver’s going to start photographing the ponyboys tomorrow," Adam said, "But I want him to get a feel for the light and the spaces he’ll be working with.”
“Nice.Sounds like a sweet gig.”She waggled her eyebrows.
I laughed, immediately warming to her.“Yeah.Seems like.”
“He hasn’t seen a ponyboy up close, yet,” Adam said.
“Lorraine has Puck and Justin in the paddock.I think Michael’s got the morning off?”
“Yes, he had an appointment.Perfect.I’ll be taking Oliver over there.Hiro’s working with Andrew in the arena?”
Liv nodded.“Yep.”
I glanced at the whiteboard, seeing the names Andrew, Justin, and Puck at the top of each column.
“The trainers write down what gear they want their ponyboys to be wearing when presented to them at the start of their shift,” Adam explained.“It varies from day-to-day, although the body harnesses, collars and cock cages are standard.It’s up to the trainers if they want extras.”
I swallowed thickly.“Extras?”
Liv chuckled.“Bridles, tails, masks.It depends.The first pony show is on Saturday, but it’s pretty basic.The ponyboys don’t wear full gear in the shows at the beginning.Full tack takes getting used to.”
Full.Tack.What did that even mean?My head swam with questions.
“So, the men are put under the showerheads,” I said, trying to understand fully.“Bound, so they get into the submissive headspace,” I glanced at Adam.“And then, what?Just washed?Or…are there other preparations?”
I didn’t feel like blurting out “Do you give them enemas?”even though that was what I wanted to know.
“There are douching kits in the bunkhouse, that they can use before they arrive at the grooming barn,” Adam said, perching himself on one corner of the large wooden table.“We decided it would be too messy and invasive to do that here.Although we did consider it at one point.”
I nodded and Liv placed a hand on her chest.“From the bottom of my heart, I thank you, Adam.”
Adam winked at her.“You kids work hard enough without having to do all that as well.And the men probably prefer to do it in relative privacy.Although it might make for an even more debasing experience if it was done in the grooming barn.It was more a matter of timing and hygiene, really.I wouldn’t have any objections other than those two.”
“You are so pragmatic, Adam,” Liv rolled her eyes.
He inclined his head.
“So, what are we going to do with the photographs Oliver will be taking?”she said, standing the bottles of lube in an organized way on the table.
He shrugged.“Well, I want to update the website.AndDark Horse Magazinewants to do a feature spread on the Braided Crop Ranch.”
“No shit!That’s amazing!”Liv grinned and me and gave me a thumbs up.
“I…don’t know what that means,” I said.I’d never heard ofDark Horse Magazine.
“Dark Horse Magazineis a leading American fetish publication.We’re hoping a feature can increase our reach.Right now, we’re largely word of mouth.It would be nice to have more guys coming up from the States.”Adam stood.“They would normally send a photographer of their own, but I told them that might not be necessary, that we had someone coming to take professional shots of the ranch.I thought perhaps they could use some of your images, but only if you’re comfortable with it.You’d receive the standard royalties if the magazine prints them.We can look over the contract they've emailed me."
“Something to think about, for sure.I don’t mind, really, as long as they agree to use my alias in the publication.”
“I’m sure that won’t be a problem.I don’t want more than one photographer on the ranch at a time.I’m hoping that having you taking your images won’t disrupt the day-to-day operations too much.The last thing I want to do is take the ponyboys out of the headspace they’re in.The more you can make your task fit into the fantasy of pony play, the better.”
I cleared my throat.“Pardon?”
