The Forgotten Horse - Book 1 in the Connemara Horse Adventure Series for Kids.

by Elaine Heney

*** Winner of the Best International Equine Fiction Award at the EQUUS Film & Arts Fest 2022, California USA ***

When a mysterious grey pony called ‘Ozzie’ appears in the paddock by her home, 12-year-old Clodagh’s life is about to change dramatically. Charged with caring for him by the local manor’s owner, she quickly befriends him. But what will happen when his absent owner unexpectedly reappears and sells him to a riding school with a very bad reputation. Can Clodagh save her new pony friend? Or does she have to say goodbye to Ozzie, forever? Join Clodagh and Ozzie in their very first adventure to find out!

This wholesome and beautifully told horse story is perfect for horse-crazy kids and the young at heart.

Written by international horsewoman and award-winning documentary director, Elaine Heney, this tender and touching story explores the depth of the relationship that can be created between girl and horse - that can last a lifetime. Because by listening to the horse everything becomes possible.

This heart-wrenching story underlines the importance of kindness, resilience and never giving up - even in times of adversity. Perfect for middle school kids who adore horses and all those who love young adult fiction. This enchanting book is full of love, soul and lifelong horsemanship lessons.

This is the perfect children’s equestrian book for young readers, girls, boys, tweens and teens and all who love great horse stories to curl up with and enjoy. This is the first book in the Connemara Horse Adventure Series for Kids.

Genres: Young Adult, Horses, Childrens

149 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 23, 2022

About the author

Elaine Heney is an Irish horsewoman, film producer at Grey Pony Films, #1 best-selling author, and director of the award-winning 'Listening to the Horse' documentary. She has helped over 120,000+ horse owners in 113 countries to create awesome relationships with their horses.

Elaine's mission is to help horse owners around the world to listen to their horses and make the world a better place for the horse through her award-winning movies, DVDs & online training courses. She lives in Ireland with her horses Ozzie & Matilda.

Elaine offers online courses in confidence building, polework, lateral work, liberty training, dressage & listening to the horse at Grey Pony Films.

Reviews

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice story told in the way so many of these books were told when I was a kid and horse-obsessed. I read it mainly for nostalgia. There were some editing errors which we distracting but otherwise, it's a easy to read, post-lockdown story of a young girl having a dream come true through hard work, and a supportive family and community. Not entirely realistic but a good dose of hope for those who need that sort of thing!

[Aoife · Rating 5 out of 5]

12-year-old Clodagh is delighted when she wakes up one morning and a friendly pony has appeared in the field beside her home. As she gets to know Ozzie, and begins to fall in love with him, disaster strikes and Ozzie is sold to the local riding school - that doesn't have a good reputation on how it treats horses. Clodagh needs to come up with a plan to save Ozzie, and do it fast.

This was a very sweet book that called out to the 12-year-old pony mad little girl i used to be (and low key still am, won't lie). Obviously I'm not the target audience for this book but I still really enjoyed it - it's simple but heartwarming and follows a little girl determined to save the pony she loves.

I wasn't mad about the trope that appeared in this book (and has appeared in other horse books) that people from a more privileged background do horse-riding just for the sake of it and don't really like horses at all which I have always hated and in my own experience, I've found that anyone who does horse-riding as a child is either born into a horsey family or is obsessed with horses. So I hate when that trope shows up in a book.

I also thought it odd that Clodagh's parents didn't really help her when it came to her plan with Ozzie - her mam was clearly a nice person, and they didn't stop her plan to buy Ozzie but it felt very realistic that a 12-year-old with an after school job could save up enough money to buy a horse (so why encourage it?) but I guess it's also realistic that a horse would only be £400.

I liked this a lot(though it was a bit short) and I'm looking forward to continuing with the series.

[Barbara McVeigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasant story for girls who dream of horses.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had this book in my Kindle collection so chose to read it one morning to my restless kitty since we have been trying to save the The Olympian books for a family read. The first thing that I have noticed is that our protagonist has a rather unique name at least to me - Clodagh - and as such I wish the author had included a pronunciation guide for that reason. Instead I went with Google Translate but after having finished the book actually found there was yet another pronunciation, which probably was more or less more correct than what I had been struggling with.

Another aspect that I picked up on right away was the fact that there was definitely some grammatical and spelling errors that could have been taken care of with a good editing. Fortunately, though, there wasn't too much to take away from the actual story.

The Forgotten Horse is a story about a girl who wakes up to find that the manor owner that her father works for has rented a neighboring paddock out to a man who basically abandons his pony there without the bare minimum. As a result Clodagh (Clo-dah) takes on caring for the pony, bonds with him and then he is taken away to a nearby riding school that is just as bad as the previous owner. Unable to take it anymore she chooses that she will get a job to raise the funds for the pony that she sees should be hers.

This makes this story a coming-of-age tale that is more geared towards those readers who have a love for horses, especially ones who may already be immersed in the world of horses, as the book does include many equestrian terms, some of which were also misspelled although in one case the right spelling was included a bit further down. As a result I did get sidetracked during my reading with a web page about the correct pronunciation of horsey terms.

I have to say even with the pronunciation difficulties that could be found in this book if this book had been around when I had my own horse phase I would have probably fallen in love with it. As with the much more vintage Black Beauty and Afraid To Ride plus the more contemporary Pony Pals, The Forgotten Pony tackles themes that readers don't find much more of in newer books thus making it quite a refreshing while startling read for modern young readers.

Again I would recommend this book for those who are into horses but do keep in mind there may be some requirements for keeping a dictionary on hand or even something that may help with pronunciations if you are a particular reader.

[Danielle Ollenberg]

Just sad

Just as sad as you want to call for forgetting the pizza hut for a party that got you kick out

[K Carrington · Rating 1 out of 5]

very disappointed

That an “international horsewoman” would write a book that advocates the feeding and grooming of a horse without permission of the owner!
Didn’t bother reading after that bit.
It’s never ok to feed an animal that isn’t yours anything. Find the owner or report it if you think something is wrong!!!

[Dayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful read

I've been reading this to my little girl every night for the past few nights. We have both adored Clodagh and Ozzie's story. A heart-warming story of a beautiful friendship between a girl and a forgotten horse who she befriends. It really pulled at the heartstrings in places and got me all teary. It was such a lovely read!

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

I loved this book. I am an senior reader and highly recommend this book. It took me back to my childhood. A great read for anyone. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my mom's Goodreads account but we read this amazing book together. As an 11 year old girl who loves and rides horses it touched my heart. Ozzie reminds me a lot of my pony with the rolling and getting dirty. I highly recommend this book to other horse lovers.

[Sean Conneely Jennie Conneely · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Forgotten HORSE

This is a great book it was a perfect book for horse and pony
lovers to read.It has emotions but it also has love in it I personally really enjoyed this.I have no complaints about this book and I recommend reading it😊

[Anna Nicholls · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely story. Needed better proofreading! A few distracting copy errors and typos.

[mrs e garwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely pony book

This book has everything a good 'pony book ' needs. There is a horse mad child. A pony who needs rescuing. And a happy ending. Lovely story for horse mad children.

[Rosa Beagle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a few grammatical errors

[Alayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't finish this story. It was poorly written and I didn't find it interesting.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decided to give my mind a break and indulge in some tween fiction. As a current horse Mom and horse crazy as a child, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think tweens (and older) who are horse obsessed will enjoy this story of a young girl who forms an attachment with a neglected horse. Her struggle of working to save for him, the family relationships and just the good overall feeling of this story are all wrapped into a well written package.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book is listed as suitable for children aged eight and older, the sweet, but realistic story about what it takes to care for a horse, would appeal to any horse lover looking for a quick, easy, and intelligently written story. The concepts might be over the heads of some eight year olds, but the language is definitely accessible and the story would catch their imagination. An all around winner.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written book about a young country girl who wakes up one morning to find a grey pony has come to reside temporarily in the paddock next to her house. Clodagh is already in love with horses and takes riding lessons. She falls for Ozzie in a big way. The book tells the story of how and why Clodagh sets out to own Ozzie.

I loved this heartfelt story of a girl and a pony.

[Barbara Randell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story of the friendship between a girl and her pony.

[Telisha Vida · Rating 5 out of 5]

L

[Candice Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. It has a lot of feelings I've had for my own horses that I ride. All horses should be loved and cared for. - from my 9 yr old

[S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute. Brought back old memories of reading the Saddle Club as a kid and was just the nostalgia trip I was looking for.

[priscilla mccumber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book

This is a very amazing book. Loved it. Is a great read for anyone who loves horses. A bit of suspense also. Will be looking for more book from this author.

[Mollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book but it was a little hard to follow along. If I had a summary of the whole book, I would enjoy it. I think it had a few to many details. It was good still.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forgotten Horse

This book is written for 12-18 year olds, but is well written and I think that horse lovers of all ages will enjoy it as I did. It realistically portrays a girl from a middle class family who falls in live with a pony that is being kept in the paddock by her home. She has been taught to ride properly by her aunt and tries to earn the money to be able to buy the pony with the help of family and members in the community. I am definitely going to read all the books in this series.

[Carmalee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Story

This is a well written book! It’s aimed at younger readers but this adult enjoyed it. Heney addresses things like poor saddle fit and rough hands that are often ignored in children’s literature. Pick it up for the horse loving kid in your life. Or for yourself!

[Carol L. Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ozzie

I love horses and this story about Ozzie and Clodagh was great. And now I know about the Connemaras. Clough showed strength and determination, good lessons for kids. She also had an understanding family. I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

[Jen Massey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My baby loved it

I read this to my baby and she loved it. She fell asleep and was calm during the entire reading.