That was pretty much the first half of my life, I think. It was published this month by Random House. It links literature and real life as Midkiff quotes everyone from Mark Twain to Jane Austen and interviews women across the country who have been consoled, empowered, soothed, transformed and linked with their horses in a manner that is emotional and cerebral. Horses were freed from use in war and the farm, and that shift coincided with the shift of women from sidesaddles, corsets and constant child-bearing to physical, financial and scheduling freedoms. Girls, especially, seem to enjoy the company of one another in the barn's atmosphere, where they gossip, groom and comb hair, said Midkiff.
Boys have a gender difference.
They don't seem to care so much about the caretaking thing. The real transformation occurs when girls ride. They get on the horse and feel powerful, tall and strong. We are equal to men, if not bigger and stronger, when we are on a horse. Midkiff created a Women and Horses fitness program to give women the ability to ride better and with more harmony.