Directed a horse without hesitation (7)
I believe the answer is:
steered
'directed' is the definition.
(steering is a kind of directing)
'a horse without hesitation' is the wordplay.
'a horse' becomes 'steed' (steed is a kind of horse).
'without' means one lot of letters goes inside another ('without' can be similar in meaning to 'outside').
'hesitation' becomes 'er' (sound made while hesitating - um, er).
'steed' placed around 'er' is 'STEERED'.
(Other definitions for steered that I've seen before include "Guided a vehicle" , "Went on a course" , "Guided or directed, ship or plane" , "given the push" , "taken the helm" .)