Unbridled: Where Identity, Freedom, and Courage Are Born
- Feb 12
- 2 min read
By Dusty Anne Simmers
There is a moment—right before you take the bridle off—when everything in your body lights up.
Your heart races. Your breath shortens. Your mind whispers every reasonable excuse to stay exactly where you are.
Because freedom is exhilarating… and terrifying.
I know this moment well. I’ve lived it on the back of a 1,400-pound former racehorse—no saddle, no bridle, nothing but trust. This isn’t a poetic metaphor. This is real life. This horse once outran a Kentucky Derby winner. He is power. Speed. Electricity. Boldness in muscle and bone.
And I choose to crawl onto his back with nothing.
Why?
Because that is where truth lives.
When you strip everything away—the gear, the control, the expectations—you discover what’s real. What’s earned. What’s aligned. You learn very quickly whether you trust yourself… and whether you trust the relationship you’ve built.
That’s what unbridled identity is.
Most women I work with are wildly successful. They’ve built careers, families, businesses, reputations.
From the outside, life looks good. Impressive, even.
And yet—there’s a quiet knowing.
A part of them still bridled.
Still performing.
Still playing safe.
Still living within rules they never consciously agreed to.
The unbridled life doesn’t come from adding more. It comes from removing what was never yours to carry.
The masks.
The “shoulds.”
The approval-seeking.
The belief that safety comes from staying small.
Here’s the truth no one tells you: when you unbridle your identity, things get wild.
You will be uncomfortable.
You will be misunderstood.
You will make mistakes.
You may even get knocked down.
But that’s not failure—that’s initiation.
Just like a powerful horse learning to trust without restraint, you learn who you are when you stop outsourcing your authority. When you stop letting fear, past wounds, or other people’s expectations hold the reins.
Freedom isn’t reckless.
It’s earned.
When I ride my horses unbridled, it’s not because they’re “calm by nature.” It’s because of relationship. Trust. Presence. Awareness. Years of listening. Respect.
And life works the same way.
You don’t wake up one day fearless. You wake up faithful. Faithful to your instincts. Faithful to your calling. Faithful enough to believe that even if something goes wrong, you can handle it.
That’s where courage is born.
Unbridled identity is where success stops being performative and starts being personal. Where you stop caring who’s watching and start caring who you’re becoming.
It’s where you say no to what breaks you.
Where you release relationships that dim you.
Where you color outside the lines—and finally feel alive doing it.
This is where masterpieces are created.
This is where women come home to themselves.
So let me ask you:
Where are you still bridled?
What part of you is waiting for permission?
What would happen if you trusted yourself—fully?
Because only you know what you’re capable of.
Only you can unbridle your truth.
Only you can decide when it’s time to ride free.
And when you do?
That’s not just identity.
That’s destiny.
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