What Kind of Action is it to Equip a Slotless Item?

[Dimminsy]

Example: Say I am playing a mounted druid and am using a Clear Spindle slotted into a Wayfinder for the protection from possession and mental control. If my Animal Companion gets dominated, what action would it be to give them the Wayfinder/Clear Spindle to protect them?

[Eridan]

You have to draw the item from a bag, bagpack, belt pouch or whereever you have stored the item. That is in most cases a move action. Than you have to give it to your AC and the AC has to take it. On my table it requires a 'readied action'.

Giver: Draw item (move, AoO), ready action to give the item to someone (standard)
Taker: Take item (move, AoO)

Another possibility is this:
Giver: Draw item (move, AoO), drop item to the ground (free) or throw it at a square (standard)
Taker: Take item (move, AoO)

[Dimminsy]

Say the same effect were to occur with just the ioun stone by itself. What kind of action(s) would it be to change the stone from orbiting around you to the Animal Companion?

[Eridan]

Magic item activation is in most cases a standard action.

So you need the same actions as in my previous examples with an additional standard action for the ion stone activation (AC).

This whole topic is not fully covered by the rules. GM fiat can allow / disallow other things.

[Bob Bob Bob]

By the rules as written, your animal can't use it.

Ioun Stone wrote:

Ioun stones only float when sent spinning around the head of an intelligent (Int 3+) creature; otherwise they are as inert as common stone. They have no effect on animals, mindless constructs, and other non-sentient creatures; comatose intelligent creatures and those with significant Intelligence damage or drain cannot use ioun stones.

I'm not sure if giving your animal companion 3+ Int avoids this.

As for the action to activate that, that's not listed at all. It tells you what to do, just not how to do it.

Ioun Stone wrote:

When a character first acquires a stone, she must hold it and then release it, whereupon it takes up a circling orbit 1d3 feet from her head.

Again, doesn't look like it plays well if your companion doesn't have hands. Of course, it doesn't look like it plays well with anything without a grasping appendage.

[Dimminsy]

@Eridan: Ya, I would agree on the activation being standard as long as it says "on command". But the way of activating the ioun stone is only holding it then releasing it (dropping is a free action), so the switching of hands would arguably be the only required action.

@Bob Bob: Huh, I guess I missed that part of the rules. My AnC will have 3 Int by the time I'd want to do this. I really don't know whether the "no effect on animals" part is kind of an AND thing with the < 3 Int requirement or is it like an OR.

I mean, if you pushed your AnC to lift up the ioun stone then "release" it maybe. But like Eridan said, this is a gray area.