Take a horse to water but cannot make it drink

Origin of: Take a horse to water but cannot make it drink

Take a horse to water but cannot make it drink

You can take a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink is a very old proverb meaning that people, like horses, will only do what they have a mind to. It is first recorded in English as far back as the 12th century and is listed in Proverbs by John Heywood in 1546.