--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The secret is, first, get a thoroughbred…" description: "\"The secret is, first, get a thoroughbred horse because they are the most nervous animals on earth. Then get the biggest gun you can find and make sure ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f50/jesse-owens-11808_animal_the-secret-is-first-get-a-thoroughbred-h_215907.jpg" --- # The secret is, first, get a thoroughbred horse because… ![“The secret is, first, get a thoroughbred horse because they are the most nervous animals on earth. Then get the biggest gun you can find and make sure the starter fires that big gun right by the nervous thoroughbred's ear.” quote by Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f50/jesse-owens-11808_animal_the-secret-is-first-get-a-thoroughbred-h_215907.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f50/jesse-owens-11808_animal_the-secret-is-first-get-a-thoroughbred-h_215907.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f50/jesse-owens-11808_animal_the-secret-is-first-get-a-thoroughbred-h_215907.jpg) > “The secret is, first, get a thoroughbred horse because they are the most nervous animals on earth. Then get the biggest gun you can find and make sure the starter fires that big gun right by the nervous thoroughbred's ear.” [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A metaphorical strategy: combine a nervous animal with a powerful weapon to illustrate confronting fear directly. **In simple terms:** Face fear head‑on with decisive action. Key Takeaway Confront challenges boldly. Themes fear courage strategy Mood inspirational pragmatic Type advice motivational When to use this quote - public speaking - performance pressure - competition preparation Key Concepts psychology of anxiety risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance courage with caution? - What non‑violent methods can calm nerves? A Different Perspective Overreliance on aggression can backfire without preparation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Athlete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/athlete/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun/) [Horse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horse/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nervous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nervous/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) [Thoroughbred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoroughbred/) [Thoroughbreds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoroughbreds/) ## Related quotes > [Imagine yourself sitting on top of a great thoroughbred horse. You sit up there and you just feel that power. That's what it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bradshaw/imagine-yourself-sitting-on-top-of-a-great-thoroughbred-horse-you-sit/) [Terry Bradshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bradshaw/) > [I am still under the impression that there is nothing alive quite so beautiful as a thoroughbred horse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/i-am-still-under-the-impression-that-there-is-nothing-alive-quite-so/) [John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/) > [Money... is like a beautiful thoroughbred horse - very powerful & always in action, but unless this horse is trained when very young, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/money-is-like-a-beautiful-thoroughbred-horse-very-powerful-always-in/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [Our tax code encourages people to raise thoroughbred horses, not children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-schroeder/our-tax-code-encourages-people-to-raise-thoroughbred-horses-not/) [Patricia Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-schroeder/) > [“A cat can outrace the best thoroughbred horse if only it can grasp the idea of racing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/a-cat-can-outrace-the-best-thoroughbred-horse-if-only-it-can-grasp/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“You can call a jackass a thoroughbred but that doesn't make it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/attributed-to-abraham-lincoln/you-can-call-a-jackass-a-thoroughbred-but-that-doesn-t-make-it-so/) attributed to Abraham Lincoln > [John Sayles is good. He's like a good thoroughbred owner - he leaves the trainers alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-b-sweeney/john-sayles-is-good-he-s-like-a-good-thoroughbred-owner-he-leaves-the/) [D. B. Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-b-sweeney/) > [For a thoroughbred to age is never a graceful process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sinatra-jr/for-a-thoroughbred-to-age-is-never-a-graceful-process/) [Frank Sinatra Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sinatra-jr/) > [You can't win the Kentucky Derby unless you're on a thoroughbred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-torre/you-can-t-win-the-kentucky-derby-unless-you-re-on-a-thoroughbred/) [Joe Torre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-torre/) > [The natural impulses of every thoroughbred include his sense of honor; his love of fair play and courage; his dislike of pretense and of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-post/the-natural-impulses-of-every-thoroughbred-include-his-sense-of-honor/) [Emily Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-post/) > [“I never heerd...nor read of nor see in picters, any angel in tights and gaiters...but...he's a reg'lar thoroughbred angel for all that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-never-heerd-nor-read-of-nor-see-in-picters-any-angel-in-tights-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [You are your own master, you make your own future. Therefore discipline yourself as a horse-dealer trains a thoroughbred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/you-are-your-own-master-you-make-your-own-future-therefore-discipline/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [The difference between a mongrel and a thoroughbred, whether brute or man, is not in swiftness, beauty, or endurance, but in courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/the-difference-between-a-mongrel-and-a-thoroughbred-whether-brute-or/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [“The Thoroughbred was originally an English breed, and to this day, all so-named horses trace their lineage back to three stallions imported into England…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-letts/the-thoroughbred-was-originally-an-english-breed-and-to-this-day-all/) [Elizabeth Letts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-letts/) > [Im uptown, thoroughbred, a BX n-gga, ya heard?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-gunz/im-uptown-thoroughbred-a-bx-n-gga-ya-heard/) [Cory Gunz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-gunz/) ## More by Jesse Owens > [When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/when-i-passed-the-chancellor-he-arose-waved-his-hand-at-me-and-i/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [I'd noticed him watching me for a year or so, especially when we'd play games where there was running or jumping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/i-d-noticed-him-watching-me-for-a-year-or-so-especially-when-we-d/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [When I came back, after all those stories about Hitler and his snub, I came back to my native country, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/when-i-came-back-after-all-those-stories-about-hitler-and-his-snub-i/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [Joe Louis and I were the first modern national sports figures who were black... But neither of us could do national advertising because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/joe-louis-and-i-were-the-first-modern-national-sports-figures-who/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [A lifetime of training for just ten seconds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/a-lifetime-of-training-for-just-ten-seconds/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [It all goes so fast, and character makes the difference when it's close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/it-all-goes-so-fast-and-character-makes-the-difference-when-it-s-close/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [If you don't try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody's back yard. The thrill of competing carries with it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/if-you-don-t-try-to-win-you-might-as-well-hold-the-olympics-in/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [“In America anyone can still become someone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/in-america-anyone-can-still-become-someone/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [To a sprinter, the hundred-yard dash is over in three seconds, not nine or ten. The first 'second' is when you come out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/to-a-sprinter-the-hundred-yard-dash-is-over-in-three-seconds-not-nine/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [It dawned on me with blinding brightness. I realized: I had jumped into another rare kind of stratosphere - one that only a handful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/it-dawned-on-me-with-blinding-brightness-i-realized-i-had-jumped-into/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [I always loved running... it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/i-always-loved-running-it-was-something-you-could-do-by-yourself-and/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [We used to have a lot of fun. We never had any problems. We always ate. The fact that we didn't have steak? Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/we-used-to-have-a-lot-of-fun-we-never-had-any-problems-we-always-ate/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [She (Minnie Ruth Solomon) was unusual because even though I knew her family was as poor as ours, nothing she said or did seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/she-minnie-ruth-solomon-was-unusual-because-even-though-i-knew-her/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [There is something that can happen to every athlete and every human being; the instinct to slack off, to give in to pain, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/there-is-something-that-can-happen-to-every-athlete-and-every-human/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [It was bad enough to have toppled from the Olympic heights to make my living competing with animals. But the competition wasn't even fair.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/it-was-bad-enough-to-have-toppled-from-the-olympic-heights-to-make-my/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) [Explore all 57 Jesse Owens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The secret is, first, get a thoroughbred horse because they are the most nervous animals on earth. 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