A woman who lives on a drystock farm in Co. Tipperary has immersed herself in all things equine; writing books based on horses and also establishing Gray Pony Films, which films and documentaries that promote the philosophy of listening to horses.
“My family has always had horses, and my grandfather used to judge at horse shows, and was a great judge of horse conformation,” said Elaine Heney.
“I got my first pony, a Shetland pony called ‘Breezly’ and started riding lessons when I was six years old. I completely fell in love with horses and everything to do with ponies. The highlight of my year was spending one week each summer at pony camp.”
“I thought it was a magical process to be able to build a relationship with a horse, where you trust each other so much. In my 20s I went backpacking to Australia, and ended up working as a trek guide at a trek center in the southern alps in New Zealand,” the author said.
“I was astonished to see all the horses were ridden with only rope halters, by beginners, up and down the mountains, and it worked perfectly.”
“It completely changed my existing beliefs of what was possible in terms of training horses to do collection and lateral work, and proved no pulling, stress, double bridles or gadgets were needed.
“So that sends me off on a journey I’m still on, and I’ve traveled all over from Las Vegas to Italy and South Australia to learn from the best horse people I can find. Steve Halfpenny, Australia; Jeff Sanders, US; Mark Rashid, US; and Tanja Penders, Germany, have been incredible to learn from. You can never know it all when it comes to horses, so I’ll keep learning as much as I can,” said Elaine.
She is the author of 25 books about horses and ponies. One being ‘The Equine Listenology Guide’, which is a book for adults, looking at life from the horse’s perspective. It’s a mixture of horse stories, lessons, exercises and case studies from students around the world.
Elaine began selling her books on Amazon, but they are now available to order directly on her shop website, in bookshops and in libraries.
“This year I also did my first show season, so I did book signing events at 21 shows, including the Irish Pony Club festival, the RDS, and Badminton and Burghley Horse Trials in the UK,” the author said.
Elaine’s children’s books include two educational books. ‘Horse Care’ is for kids aged 6 to 11. It’s packed full of puzzles and quizzes, and has lots of horse care and horsemanship tips, perfect for young readers and pony clubbers preparing for their C and C+ tests.
‘Listenology for Kids’ is for ages 9 to 14, and is perfect for those wanting to expand their pony care knowledge while understanding their pony better. I have 3 fiction series. ‘The Saddlestone Connemara Pony Listening School’ is a series of 5 books for children aged 6 to 10. Then my next two series of 6 books each, starting with ‘The Forgotten Horse’ and ‘The Riding School Connemara Pony’ are for children aged 8 to 14 years but adults read them too.”
Right now the author is busy preparing for Christmas, “I’ve just added some limited edition book bundles to my website. I’m working on a new horse book for adults. This weekend I will be signing books at the Pony Show at Hollypark Stables in Limerick, so I’m really excited to visit there again.”
