Deborah's next few weeks after naming her ponies were marked by very strong emotions and she could barely concentrate on anything but thinking about her ponies. The complete removal of the fear for her life was gone and her cold dark side invaded the void left when the fear was gone. For the first week she thought constantly of her soon to be ex-husband and the treatment he was going through and while satisfying she wondered if the hate would overwhelm her but eventually it abated. She had nothing but contempt for Butter, the little slut and potential murderer, was where she really belonged as a collared, harnessed, and branded pony girl. Deborah had a supreme confidence that the SS Ranch would deliver on their promises of breaking and training her ponies properly despite the bungled abduction. What she had seen at the ranch was enlightening and a breakthrough in her understanding of what could be accomplished taking humans and making them ponies. Once the initial rush of emotions that first week wore off she finally began thinking about Stoney and her fascination with ponies really took off there. She did have a bit of sympathy for the life changing event he had not consented to and the unfairness of it but she did love the look of those legs and rump while she had exercised him. He seemed fluid in his motions, his responses to her control stirred something deep inside her, and he had an animal quality that she could not quite but her finger on. She wondered how he was doing, if he was adapting, how he felt deep down, and what would he end up as. So many thoughts and she knew she needed to get back to the ranch soon but had been warned to wait a few weeks while the breaking took hold.

After three weeks Deborah received Sheldon's call that she had been impatiently waiting for, "the ponies are broken and while still being trained were ready for a progress inspection so would Mrs. Whittingham care to visit?" If Deborah could have transported herself through the phone line she would have but she composed herself and said she would be there in two days when she wanted to be there right then. Sheldon confirmed her arrival and suggested she plan on making a day of it, he would provide lunch, and Rhonda could be her guide for the day. This appealed to Deborah has she pleasantly thought of exercising her ponies and Sheldon reminded her to dress for a day at the ranch.

Deborah arrived first thing in the morning two days later and over coffee with Rhonda and Sheldon received a detailed and verbal update on her ponies. It seemed expected that Dickie would break first but she expressed concern that Butter had taken longer than Stoney and was given a long explanation that girl ponies took longer and broke completely both physically as well as emotionally. Boy ponies broke physically and became obedient and compliant not registering the emotional implications with their false acceptance but it would take hold. Deborah relished the descriptions of the physical abuse that Dickie and Butter had undergone but displayed a tinge of remorse for what Stoney had undergone which was addressed by Rhonda. She explained that while his abduction was tough and unfair it was better to firmly take the new pony through this stage as rapidly as possible bringing less wear and tear on the animal, "better to know his real status, no hope for a human future, and start to undergo the pony metamorphous". Intellectually Deborah took this in but internally and she felt some empathy for him but this did not overcome her fascination with wanting to explore her delight she took in his capture, breaking, and training. No matter what the future held this delight in pony ownership was taking hold and she strongly wanted more of this feeling.

Then Rhonda led Deborah to the barns, and before showing her the ponies for inspection, took her on a tour of the ranch. First up, was a group of ponies receiving their morning watering and Deborah saw four ponies at the watering station and Rhonda showed this group intentionally. She wanted to measure Deborah's responses and interest. Two of the ponies were older "milkers" in the early 40s, past their prime as mares, but still producing good quantities of milk for sale and two geldings which were being boarded at the ranch. Each pony was collared, harnessed, branded and attached at a watering station slurping their water to start the day. A groom was in attendance checking the volume they were taking in and the milkers seemed to be in a hurry to water quickly. The gelding's empty ball sacks were obvious and shrunk to nothing while their cocks were small and nestled into their bodies with no cock ring holding them. Each cock appeared to have not been ever very large but this was because they'd been castrated years earlier. The milker's udders were huge and swollen to a hard tightness and while they displayed some calmness it appeared that they were ready for something. The geldings displayed nothing but placid acceptance and while in good shape physically were not in the same league as Stoney to Deborah eyes which was true. Deborah was astounded by what she saw and looked from pony to pony quickly trying to deduce what she was seeing as it was quite outside the realm of her experience and her online research had not completely prepared her to recognize what she was seeing. Rhonda, with measured self assurance, explained what the milkers were, "brood mares past their prime but still had good productive udders", and "well .... the geldings are boarded for other clients and are for use by their owners as they see fit". After a long pause Deborah inquired to who owned the milkers and it was confirm that they were property of the ranch but her question about ownership of the geldings was met with slight head shake from Rhonda and a "perhaps you will meet their owners in the future".

For the next 30 minutes the tour continued with explanations of the stalls, vet medical facility where Deborah asked, "was this where it was done?", and finally they arrived at an exercise corral. In the corral four ponies were being exercised at a fast walk by an overhead walker that they were connected to. Each pony was leashed to an arm that led them around in a broad circle and a male groom was in attendance coaching them to keep their knees up high and correct any display in posture. To Deborah the ponies all appeared to be in good condition and responding well but the groom was giving particular attention to one pony boy and correcting him with each circle sweep. As the walker machine completed a full circle Deborah noted with intense satisfaction that the pony getting the extra attention was in fact Dickie. She stepped up on the lower railing and leaned in to get a closer look noting that he appeared in good condition with what appeared to be old punishment marks on his rump and back thighs. He did not notice her at first and was concentrating on the groom's instruction, keeping pace with the machine, and maintaining knee high pony strides. He was not winded yet, but he was breathing hard having developed some measure of endurance, and he was covered in sweat. Deborah loved the way his cock was pulled back and understood it was locked there by her tutoring earlier by Rhonda. It was obvious his physical conditioning had progressed, he was no racket ball junkie anymore, and his pony posture was visible even to Deborah's inexperience eye. Then Dickie realized that Deborah was there and abruptly stopped until the leash tightened and he received a sharp painful shock from his collar causing him to resume his fast walk. He was deeply humiliated seeing Deborah and the look in her eyes told him everything --- "no release, no pardon, no parole, his pony sentence was permanent". The unspoken communication between them was like an earthquake, he knew his human life was over, and she felt a surge of power that it would take her years to describe, "he was pony, she was owner".

Deborah stepped down from the corral railing, turned to Rhonda, and in a deep emotional voice said, "YES!", and then with an evil voice said, "and now where is Butter?" A hundred yards away at another exercise corral stood a stopped overhead walker machine and Jo was just starting to take the brood mares for their unplugging and bowel empting. This time Deborah immediately was searching for her blond brood mare and found her panting from exertion at her spot on the machine. Butter was now tanned from her exposure to the sun on a daily basis the past three weeks, standing straight with a pony posture in her boots, and periodically moved her tail at her rump to swish away the insects that surrounded her. The scene to Deborah was just as intense as seeing Dickie as she turned to Rhonda saying, "she is a pony!" in excited astonishment, to which Rhonda responded in a measured tone, "she is well on her way but we still have lots of work to do". Butter's physical conditioning was also apparent, she had lost her 10 pounds of party girl weight, her rump and legs were taut, and her demeanor expressed that she was comfortable in her harnessed nakedness. Inside Butter hated her appearance despite being congratulated constantly on it but in time she would lose her woman's ideas of appearance and accept what she was. The permanent bald head with tail, nose ring, harness and boots, and above all the brand had shattered her woman's self image and the hands on handling by the grooms caused her deep humiliation with its unabated animal degradation. Plus this talk of brood mare stuff had her scared to death.

As Jo took Butter from her walker spot a few minutes later Rhonda and Deborah followed 20 feet behind as the pony girl was led to the round trough and her leash tied off. Deftly Jo kneeled behind Butter, found the switch for the plug in the tail, turned it and pulled the plug out. Deborah marveled at how Butter stood stock still and submitted to this and then Jo flipped up the metal lid with her boot and commanded, "squat Butter", whereupon Butter squatted and started peeing into the hole followed moments later with lumps of manure plopping out of her. Deborah was truly disgusted, horrified, and astonished at the sight and wondered how any woman could be made to do that. She looked several times at Rhonda, who said nothing, and then back at Butter who when finished stood and shook her rump a bit. Jo waited a moment and took a wet wipe, spread Butter's rump cheeks and wipe away the residue from the anus. Jo closed the lid with her boot, untied Butter, and then led her away. By this time Deborah's mouth was open in unbelieving what she had just witnessed and Rhonda broke in, "hey they are animals now, ponies have to piss and shit like any other livestock, this is the way we train them to do it, and Butter will never ever sit on another toilet". Deborah internal thoughts were "OK right, but that this is some powerful process going on HERE!"

It was nearly lunch time but Rhonda guessed that Mrs. Whittingham wanted to see Stoney before they ate and it would allow her time to continue the indoctrination on pony ownership. They found him being led to another corral where a young petite female groom half pushed and pulled him in the open gate, deftly undid his leash, and swatted his rump with her hand causing him to take several fast steps into the corral where once in he moved to the herd. The groom closed the gate, smiled a "hello" at the other two women, and purposely walked away apparently to her next chore. Several questions were going through Deborah's head as her gaze followed the 20 something young woman groom and before she voiced them Rhonda piped in, "Janice is in training as a professional groom as a favor to another smaller ranch that wanted her to gain experience and as you can see she is well on her way ...... did you see how easily she managed Stoney?" This drew Deborah's attention back to Stoney who had moved closer to his herd of three very tall and physically conditioned pony girls and a short but muscular gelded pony boy. She studied Stoney for a moment watching his movements as Rhonda explained what his day had been like so far, watering, hard 90 minutes of exercise, bowel movement, feeding, and now a few hours in the corral before his next exercise period which peaked Deborah's obvious interest. "Of course Mrs. Whittingham we'd like to coach you while you conduct his next exercise period", Rhonda stated matter of factly. A thrill went up Deborah's spine that as "yes I'd like that very much", she said. Stoney looked well, tanned, more muscular, and something about his movement really stirred her inside that she could not quite put her finger on. Then if dawned on her that since she had last seen him his emotional and physical posture was more pony like.

After studying him intently for few minutes she asked about the other ponies, "they seem a little different from the others we saw earlier". Rhonda kept the condescension out of her voice, "you are picking this up Mrs. Whittingham, these pony girls are for show and their owners board them here for training and care till there next show event, we keep them physically trained and they were chosen for this based on their physical and emotional traits, and these are the most valuable types of ponies". Deborah thought "oh really they look wonderful" but then voiced while pointing at the gelding, "and that one?" Rhonda explained that they usually avoid discussing specifics about ponies owned by others and their circumstances as it was considered unprofessional but that owners themselves might share a pony's history. Then she said in confidential undertone, " that pony double crossed the wrong casino owner, was brought here for breaking, castration, training, and now is awaiting transportation to his new owner's farm where he will be a draft work pony". Very interesting thought Deborah, so she was not the first to use pony life for revenge.

That afternoon Deborah, under Rhonda's tutelage, exercised Stoney with a long lead line and pole whip. She developed her coordination with the whip to encourage him and remind him who was in control but not to cause anything other than discomfort a few times. Per Rhonda's coaching she took him through warm ups, trotting speed, and finally to 10 minutes of loping strides before bring him back down to a walk to recover some wind and then repeated the process several times to complete an hour. Eventually Rhonda stopped coaching, stepped to the side of the corral, and let Deborah gain her experience and judgment in handling Stoney. Rhonda could see the delight on Deborah's face and determined that "yes we have a pony owner" and this would brighten Sheldon's day as that meant profits. Stoney for his part knew the routine and sensed Deborah's newness to this and wondered "So why is she my owner? Did she have me kidnapped? Why did she do this to me!" Physically he had given in because he got tired of the punishments and could not hold out any longer, but internally he still had human emotions and thoughts but these caused him anguish so he had begun to banish them to another room in his head. He started trying to lose himself in the daily pony exercise periods and the time in the corral. Plus while he was being handled by the grooms he tried to gain their trust by pretending to be comfortable with the routine of washing, watering, feeding, and shitting. He blocked out the comments of how hard he pissed and when he felt his bladder was full just let it go. His humanity was draining away and he was unconsciously developing a pony personality.

When the exercise period ended Deborah was at a loss of "What's next?" but Rhonda approached and handed over a leash and instructed her to clip it on first and then undue the leader line while maintaining positive control. Then she said, " let's take him for watering" and allowing Deborah to hold the leash two feet from the collar began leading them out of the corral and to the side of the barn where the water nozzles were. Once there Rhonda described how to secure Stoney, insert and connect the nozzle, and measure the flow and volume. Once the water started Rhonda did something as an example for the new owner and began stroking Stoney's rump with her hand and verbally congratulating him but in a animal trainer voice, " Good job today Stoney, good pony, make your owner proud and you'll earn a treat, would you like that pony boy?" Deborah took this all in and when Rhonda moved her hand from his rump her hand took its place on the other side and sent a shock wave through the new owner's thoughts, "This is my pony boy .... And I sure do like this feeling inside and oh my this pony rump is hard". When the watering was done and the nozzle removed Rhonda slipped her hand in her jean pocket and brought out a sugar cube handing it to Deborah saying, "Just slip it into the corner of his mouth". She did and saw that Stoney's expression was one of delight and surprised gratitude at this display of positive reinforcement thinking, "It certainly beats a caning", and not realizing the descent into pony life just took another major step.

Another groom came for Stoney and led him away for a wash and the two women made their way to the ranch house as Sheldon observed them. His assessment of Deborah was that she was obviously pleased with what she had seen today and later Rhonda's report on her response was gratifying. There was money to be made in handling Mrs. Whittingham's problem and then helping her explore the joys of pony ownership. After some discussion of the day Deborah took her leave and made an appointment to return in a week which dragged by for her because she really wanted to spend more time at the ranch but her hold on her emotions prevented it. Eventually she would find excuses to spend more time and the idea of doing more training on the pony Stoney was exciting and deliciously satisfying.