How Horses, Those Who Study Them, and 265 Minutes with One Colt Helped Me Find Myself at Midlife
By Tik Maynard
An extraordinary follow-up to the bestselling memoir In the Middle Are the Horsemen.
He thought he had it made: a dream farm, amazing wife, wonderful kids, and a clear and present purpose—horses. But then he began to wonder if he was doing it all right enough, and he began to wonder if it was right at all.
When midlife appeared before horseman Tik Maynard, he had plenty of past adventures to cite and no shortage of future possibilities. But his own questions about his life as a horse trainer and equestrian competitor began to overwhelm the joy of all he had accomplished and discovered. It suddenly became imperative that he reconsider his path and open himself to alternatives—and a course that might drastically differ from what he’d always thought he wanted.
When an invitation was offered to participate in Road to the Horse, the World Championship of Colt Starting, Maynard saw an opportunity to learn, expand his world, and reboot the passion that had always driven him. So he took a chance on himself and an unknown, unbroken colt, and said, “I’ll do it.”
In these deep, considered, and painstakingly articulated pages, Maynard chronicles a year of reading, traveling, asking questions, and trying new things. He throws himself into the needed preparation to have 265 minutes in front of a live audience be something positive for both him and a horse he did not yet know.
Maynard meets some of the leading figures in the world of animal behavior and training and examines how humans can successfully communicate with other species from a multitude of entry points, both traditional and “out of the box.” He shares his struggles with the philosophical and ethical side of his life’s pursuit and illustrates conversations that helped him construct a system of beliefs and understanding that supported his natural abilities and a lifetime in the saddle. Everything he thought he already knew gets challenged.
With a diligence and intelligence that is unique to the horse book genre, Starting in the Middle extends beyond the barn to the broader questions faced by the human race. Maynard has again given us an honest telling of one life and the pursuit of fulfilling it.
Available in paperback and eBook from Trafalgar Square Books and other booksellers.
See this article in the May 2025 Online Digital Edition:
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