Rex claim

"The ponies' natural curiosity is your biggest asset when attempting to bond with them. These gentle, inquisitive creatures are likely to come over and investigate your presence - especially if you have something delicious-smelling with you! Use this opportunity to talk to them, let them sniff you, and potentially feed a few treats. Horses value time spent together, so if you're planning to bond with a specific pony during Pónikötés Napja, make sure to leave enough time to just hang out with them. Good luck!"

- Chapter 3 of The Complete Guide to Teddy Cobs

 

Of course, it wasn't always that easy.

 

Eve had discovered that the pony she was intent on bonding seemed to be the exception to the rule. Inquisitive, yes, but also flighty - no matter how slow she moved or how gently she spoke and sang to him, the stallion wasn't convinced it should come any closer than fifty feet away from her before running off into the brush again. It was after her sixth unsuccessful attempt to approach him that she sank to the grass with a groan, head in hands, and reached for her water bottle. All that traipsing through the hills had her thirsty. Semi-wild, her behind!

 

She took the opportunity to rifle through her bag for some cookies, pulling a slightly crushed box of Thin Mints out from the bottom of her rucksack. Pulling the packaging open, she crunched glumly into one, staring off in the direction the black-and-white stallion had disappeared towards.

 

She wasn't sure how long she'd been sat there, but she was roughly a quarter into the box of cookies when she heard a rustle behind her. It sounded closer than she'd like an unknown creature to be - about thirty feet or so - and she turned to try and catch a glimpse of it from the corner of her eye. Nerves rose within her, but she tamped them down. This was no time to panic. She regretted sitting in the middle of an open space for her rest - this was still open park, after all, and there were a fair few wild animals around.

 

In her periphery, she spotted movement. A large shape moved towards her, and she forced herself to take a deep breath before turning a little further. To her surprise, the black-and-white stallion was a mere fifteen feet away, nostrils flared and ears pricked as it assessed her. She turned slowly back to the front with a widening grin. After all that trekking, the secret was Thin Mints?