Characters
You can lead a horse to water, but if you can get him to float on his back, you've got something.
— Laws • Hartley's First Law
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
This reworks the familiar saying about leading a horse to water. Bringing the animal to the water is the easy part; the speaker suggests real accomplishment would be getting it to float on its back. The humour comes from swapping the usual stubbornness complaint for an absurdly higher standard.
Context reviewed