🐴 Horse
"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink"
Meaning
You can give someone a chance, but you cannot force them to use it.
About the horse
Horses have long been work and racing animals, so their idioms describe effort, priorities, and stubborn resistance.
Example sentence
I gave him the study guide, but he did not read it. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.
Test yourself
Which idiom means...
You can give someone a chance, but you cannot force them to use it.
More horse idioms
HorseIdiom
"Straight from the horse's mouth"
Information received directly from the person who knows the truth.
HorseIdiom
"Dark horse"
A person who surprises everyone by doing very well.
HorseIdiom
"Hold your horses"
Wait a moment; do not rush.
HorseIdiom
"Eat like a horse"
To eat a lot.
HorseIdiom
"A horse of a different color"
A completely different matter.
HorseIdiom
"Flogging a dead horse"
Wasting effort on something that cannot succeed.