What can a 1,200-pound horse teach an Army veteran about trust, strength, leadership, and life after war?
On this episode of The MisFitNation, we welcome Zachary Leyden, U.S. Army Long Range Surveillance veteran, horseman, entrepreneur, co-founder of Leyden Horsemanship, and co-author of Soft Is Strong: The Art of Horsemanship.
Zachary served in Afghanistan and came home carrying PTSD. Through the guidance of a mentor, he found his way to horses—and discovered that working with these powerful animals could teach him lessons about communication, awareness, trust, pressure, and clarity that no classroom could.
Today, Zachary owns Ocean View Stables in Daly City, California, the only horse ranch in the San Francisco metro area. He manages a herd of 24 horses and a staff of 27, rehabilitates rescue horses, and has allowed veterans to ride free since day one.
And that's only part of his story.
Zachary also works full time as a senior business analyst in tech—running the ranch from an office he built in the back of his barn, with the Pacific Ocean on one side and horses on the other.
In this conversation, we explore Zachary's remarkable journey from Afghanistan to the saddle and the philosophy behind Soft Is Strong.
What does “soft is strong” actually mean when you're standing beside a nervous 1,200-pound animal?
Why is pressure information rather than punishment?
What can horses reveal about us before we recognize it ourselves?
And what happens when the principles required to earn a horse's trust are applied to leadership, relationships, teaching, communication, and everyday life?
We also get into:
• Zachary's transition from Army Long Range Surveillance in Afghanistan to civilian life
• PTSD, structure, purpose, and finding a reason to show up
• Why Zachary is careful to say the barn is not a clinic and horses are not a treatment plan
• The difference between genuine calm and a horse that has simply shut down
• Rehabilitating rescue horses that have been failed by people
• Why veterans have been able to ride free at Ocean View Stables since day one
• Running a 24-horse, 27-person operation while maintaining a full-time career in tech
• Turning generations of horsemanship knowledge into written standards and education
• The mission behind Saved by the Saddle
• Zachary and Kalea Leyden's book, Soft Is Strong: The Art of Horsemanship
• Why softness isn't weakness—it's discipline
This isn't simply a conversation about horses.
It's about trust, trauma, leadership, communication, resilience, purpose, and what strength really looks like.
Whether you're a veteran, horse lover, leader, entrepreneur, first responder, or someone working through a difficult transition of your own, there is something in Zachary's story worth hearing.
🐴 Explore Ocean View Stables:
https://www.oceanviewstables.com
🇺🇸 Learn about Saved by the Saddle:
https://www.savedbythesaddle.org
🐎 Discover Leyden Horsemanship and Soft Is Strong:
https://www.leydenhorsemanship.com
🎙️ Discover more powerful stories of resilience, leadership, service, and overcoming adversity from The MisFitNation:
https://www.themisfitnation.com
👍 LIKE this episode, SUBSCRIBE to The MisFitNation, and SHARE this conversation with someone who needs to hear it.
Because sometimes strength isn't about applying more pressure.
Sometimes soft is strong.
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