SOLVED. Fantasy Quest Novel Where a Young Boy Trains to Get Revenge on the Mage/Warlord/Bad Guy who Murdered his Family - Goes on Various Quest to Retrieve Items Necessary to Defeat Bad Guy Including a Large Black Horse. [s]

[Christopher]

The Legend of TarikI read this book as a paperback from a U.S. public school library in the early 1990s. Cover art was typical late 70s early 80s barbarian fantasy, showing the protagonist on his black horse. At the beginning of the book, the protagonist is young boy. His family or village is wiped out by an evil wizard or warlord or general bad guy. I think he was thought to be dead, then found by a priest and nursed back to health. Later, he begins training with the monk focusing on developing Jedi-like concentration as well as fighting abilities. At one point, his teacher has him sit in a garden and watch birds until he is able to determine which foot they land on. He then goes on series of quests to find a number special and/or magical items to help him defeat the bad guy. I specifically remember a very large, black horse, possibly a sword, and some type of amulet or jewelry.

[Peter]

My go to answer for this sort of question is The Legend of Tarik by Walter Dean Myers. The horse on the cover is brown, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. The only other thing I really remember from the book is that his teacher made him pour water from one hand to another over and over to teach him patience.

[Christopher]

Thank you so much. This is exactly what I had been looking for.
Your answer threw me at first because I was sure that the horse in the story had been black. If you look closely at the cover, it's actually a black horse wearing brown leather armor.