The best horse needs breaking, and the best child needs teaching.

Natural ability does not remove the need for instruction. Even someone with exceptional promise benefits from learning how to develop and use it.

The comparison presents teaching as a necessary part of bringing out potential, rather than as a remedy reserved for those who lack ability.

Use the proverb when someone assumes that a capable child will learn without guidance, or when arguing that talent should be supported with patient instruction. The horse comparison gives the point a firm, traditional tone.