Horse Books for Kids with Equestrian Author Ellen Feld

What were your favorite horse books when you were a kid? I was—and still am—obsessed with the horse books by Marguerite Henry. King of the Wind, Misty of Chincoteague and Justin Morgan Had a Horse. Those books not only taught me about horses, but played a role in my love of reading. I’m happy to report I haven’t grown out of horses or reading! When fellow horse book author Ellen Feld offered to send over two of her horse books for kids for my perusal, I jumped at the chance to find new pony books.

While reading Rocket the Blue Ribbon Pony, I had a few giggles when the young protagonist takes her young pony to a horse show and things don’t go quite according to plan (been there, done that, lol—you might even see yourself in the story). This just proves that horse books for kids can entertain horse lovers of all ages. You just might see yourself in one of Ellen’s characters. 🙂

I’ve met Ellen in person a handful of times at horse book author events, but we really have never had time for a friendly visit. I asked Ellen to share her equestrian author journey with me (and you). Keep scrolling to learn about her creative process and how she brings real-life experiences to the page in delightful horse books for kids.

And now I present to you, dear reader, my interview with Ellen Feld …

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What inspired you to write for children, and what do you hope young readers take away from your stories?

Honestly, when I wrote my first book, Blackjack, I thought I was writing for an older teen audience. This was back in 2001 when there was very little information online for authors. Once completed, I had a friend’s agent read the story, and while he liked it, he suggested that I lower the age of the protagonist and make some minor adjustments to the text. Once I realized that my natural writing talent was on adventures for younger readers (ages 12 and below), my stories really took off.

One of the things that always bothered me about equine fiction for younger readers was how unrealistic it was. Large presses publish books by authors with no equine experience, and it shows in the stories. When the young protagonist befriends the wild stallion and together they save grandpa’s farm, I just roll my eyes. I want my books to be fun to read, but also educational and realistic. In my horse books, the protagonist doesn’t always win the blue ribbon, and horses act like horses.

Can you tell us about your creative process? How do you go from an idea to a first draft and then eventually a published book?

All of my fiction books are based on real horses, making it easy to incorporate their personalities into the stories. While the adventures are indeed fictional, most elements within the stories stem from experiences that happened to me or friends.

For example, in Frosty, the lead horse, Frosty, is bitten on the nose by a rattlesnake. Thankfully, that never happened to my horses, but it did happen to a friend’s horse, so I consulted her for an exact description of the event. I also conducted research and interviewed a herpetologist to ensure everything was accurate. In Blackjack, there is a terrible trainer who gets his hands on Blackjack. That character is a blend of several trainers I’ve encountered over the years.

Rocket: The Blue-Ribbon Pony is loosely based on a true story involving the real Rocket. The real Rocket competed in a local, three-show competition and was quite naughty at the first show. But what caused his antics? His hormones had just kicked in. Obviously, I didn’t want to include that in a children’s book, so I adapted the story to suggest that his behavior was due to his young owner neglecting to practice with her pony and assuming he’d be well-behaved. By the third show, the real Rocket, having been gelded, was a perfect gentleman and won all his classes. It was a lot of fun to incorporate that real event into a book.

Where do my ideas come from? Most of the basic plot lines come to me while I’m at the barn, either mucking stalls (a great time to do some thinking!) or out on a trail ride. And if I get stuck on a point in a story, I walk away from it until the issue resolves itself, again, while I’m at the barn. I never try to force a story – if I’m not feeling it, it can wait. I put the manuscript down for a week, or a month, whatever I need to get a fresh start. The whole process from starting the first draft to published book typically takes about a year.

How do you decide what book to write next?

That’s hard, and I’m not very good at it! I started book three in my Rocket series last September. And there’s another book in my Donkey-Donk series that is already written out in my mind, we (Donk, my photographer, and I) just need to get to a beach… but then in October, 2024, my son’s horse Rimfire, who has a remarkable true story, went and won back-to-back world championships, one with me and one with my son. All my friends were telling me that I had to write his story, and I felt that it was the right time. So, both the Rocket and Donkey-Donk stories are on hold until I can get Rimfire’s story told. The first draft is almost done. Once it’s completed, I’ll go back to the Rocket story. And my brain keeps thinking of new stories to tell.

Which of your horse books is closest to your heart and why?

I get asked this a lot, and I don’t have a good answer. I like them all for different reasons—Blackjack because it’s my first book, and Rimfire and Rusty because they focus on equine sports in which I have very little experience. However, both books have received accolades from well-known figures in those disciplines for accurately portraying their sport. I also have two nonfiction police books, one on police horses and one on police dogs, which I wrote to give back to my law enforcement friends. And I’ve received an incredible outpouring of thanks from various law enforcement groups for positively portraying their equine and canine companions. That means a great deal to me. Essentially, it’s really hard to choose—it’s a bit like deciding which of your children is your favorite. I can’t.

What advice would you have for someone (child or adult) who wants to write horse books or stories too?

I once had someone come up to me at a book signing and say, “I hate to write, but I want to be an author. What advice can you give me?” (Yes, I was really asked this!) I told him, as nicely as I could, to find another career. Seriously, I tell wannabe authors, whether adults or children, to write about what you love and if you love horses, then write horse adventures. Just write! Lots of practice. And don’t be afraid to share those stories with friends and be willing to take feedback without getting upset. It’s not easy to take that advice, but you’ll need to develop a tough skin because once you’re an author, you’re bound to get a few reviews that criticize your work.

What’s the most rewarding part of writing horse books?

Talking with my young fans, either in person at book signings or via fan mail. I’ve had many tell me that they fell in love with Morgans from reading my books, some convinced their parents to buy them a Morgan, and several even named their new horse after one of my Morgan characters. Many young readers also tell me that they want to be authors and ask for advice. I just love the enthusiasm they show and the fact that I play a little part in that makes all the lonely days when I’m stuck on a plot point worth the struggle. Oh, and then there was the time when a twenty-something young woman showed me her leg tattoo, which was the horse on the cover of my book Shadow. That was funny and she was soooo excited about the tattoo.

[Susan: That is VERY funny, and how flattering to have a superfan!]

Follow Ellen Feld, author of the Meet the Morgans series, Donkey-Donk and more: