When Zachary Leyden left the Army after serving in Afghanistan, he expected civilian life to be his next adventure. Instead, he felt lost without the mission and the people beside him. After a DUI, a Vietnam veteran invited him to work with Mustangs. One horse, Kirby, would not let Zachary near him. Zachary spent days trying to earn his trust—until he stopped chasing, sat down in the pasture, and let Kirby come to him.
That moment changed how Zachary understood horses, himself, and the people he hoped to help.
On The MisFitNation, Zachary tells Rich LaMonica how he built Ocean View Stables near San Francisco, where veterans have been invited to ride free since day one. He shares why working with a horse begins with presence and clear communication, how people can unintentionally teach a rescue horse to fear them, and what “soft is strong” means when you are standing beside a 1,200-pound animal.
Their conversation also reaches beyond the barn: the challenge of asking for help after service, leadership without rank, the founding of Saved by the Saddle, and Soft Is Strong: The Art of Horsemanship, the book Zachary wrote with his wife, Kalea. When Rich asks him to set every title aside and name his mission now, Zachary’s answer is simple: to be a good father.
Connect with Zachary:
Ocean View Stables: https://www.oceanviewstables.com
Saved by the Saddle: https://www.savedbythesaddle.org
Leyden Horsemanship: https://www.leydenhorsemanship.com
Explore The MisFitNation: https://www.themisfitnation.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices)
