The Horse is the seventh of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. Horse years include 1978, 1990, 2002 and 2014, and the current one: the Year of the Horse began on February 17, 2026 and ends on February 5, 2027. The year follows Lunar New Year, not January 1. People born under the sign are traditionally said to be free-spirited, active and warm-hearted.
What years are Horse years?
The Horse comes around every 12 years. These are the first and last days of each Horse year, with the element it carries.
| Horse year | First day | Last day | Element |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | January 30, 1930 | February 16, 1931 | Metal |
| 1942 | February 15, 1942 | February 4, 1943 | Water |
| 1954 | February 3, 1954 | January 23, 1955 | Wood |
| 1966 | January 21, 1966 | February 8, 1967 | Fire |
| 1978 | February 7, 1978 | January 27, 1979 | Earth |
| 1990 | January 27, 1990 | February 14, 1991 | Metal |
| 2002 | February 12, 2002 | January 31, 2003 | Water |
| 2014 | January 31, 2014 | February 18, 2015 | Wood |
| 2026 | February 17, 2026 | February 5, 2027 | Fire |
| 2038 | February 4, 2038 | January 23, 2039 | Earth |
Is 2026 the Year of the Horse, and when does it end?
It is. The Year of the Horse began on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, and its last day is Friday, February 5, 2027. It is a Fire Horse year. The Fire element and the Horse meet only once in 60 years, and the last time was 1966.
For babies born around its edges:
- Born from January 1 to February 16, 2026: Wood Snake.
- Born from February 17, 2026 to February 5, 2027: Fire Horse.
- Born on or after February 6, 2027: Fire Goat.
What comes next, with the dates and customs of the new year, is on our Year of the Goat 2027 page.
Were you born in January or February?
Then the date matters more than the year. Lunar New Year can fall anywhere from January 21 to February 20. The Horse year of 1966 began on January 21, as early as it gets.
- Born on February 5, 2002? The Horse year started a week later, on February 12. You are a Snake.
- Born on January 25, 2003? You are a Horse. Most people born in 2003 are Goats, but the Horse year ran until January 31.
- Born on February 10, 1991? A Horse too. The Goat year did not begin until February 15.
Enter a birthday below for the animal and element of that exact date. The tool also has its own page, Birthday Profile.
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What is the Horse's personality said to be?
The zodiac Horse is the one that will not stand still. People born in a Horse year are traditionally said to be free-spirited, active and warm-hearted. National Museums Liverpool describes the sign as popular and attractive to others, warm and enthusiastic, in need of company, and often showy and impatient.
Traits commonly attached to the sign:
- Said to be strengths: energy, cheerfulness, independence, an open and sociable manner.
- Said to be weaknesses: impatience, restlessness, a love of the limelight, trouble finishing what was started.
The animal itself has an honored place in Chinese culture. The Victoria and Albert Museum recalls the legend of King Mu of Zhou, whose eight horses could carry him to the corners of the earth, and adds that painters regarded the horse as the hardest test of their skill.
Keep the portrait in proportion. The same museum points out that reading character from a birth year is a fairly recent development, not found in old Chinese texts. About one person in 12 is a Horse, and they are not all extroverts.
What are the five types of Horse?
Every year has an element as well as an animal: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal or Water. The elements belong to a cycle of ten "heavenly stems" that turns alongside the 12 animals, which is why each pairing shows up only once in 60 years.
Horse years end in an even number, and the last digit gives the element.
| Type | Years | Year ends in | The element is traditionally linked with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metal Horse | 1930, 1990 | 0 | Determination, discipline and strength |
| Water Horse | 1942, 2002 | 2 | Flexibility, intuition and communication |
| Wood Horse | 1954, 2014 | 4 | Growth, generosity and cooperation |
| Fire Horse | 1966, 2026 | 6 | Passion, energy and leadership |
| Earth Horse | 1978, 2038 | 8 | Stability, patience and practicality |
In the tradition the element shades the animal. The Fire Horse is described as the sign at its most spirited, because Fire is linked with the same energy the Horse already stands for; an Earth Horse is described as a steadier one. This is folklore, like the traits.
Why is the Horse seventh in the Great Race?
Because of a stowaway. In the legend, the Jade Emperor set a race across a river to decide the order of the years. The Horse crossed strongly and was about to take sixth place. Then the Snake, which had been hiding on its hoof, dropped down at the finish and slipped in ahead of it. The Horse had to settle for seventh.
It is told as a folktale, and tellers differ. The whole story is on our page about Chinese New Year animals.
In the older counting system behind the animals, the Horse marks the seventh of the 12 "earthly branches," written 午 (wu). The animal is 马 (ma). The same branch names the two hours around noon, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the direction south.
What does a Horse year mean if you are a Horse?
For everyone born in an earlier Horse year, 2026 is their own sign's year. It arrives at 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60. People born in the Fire Horse year of 1966 turn 60 in it, and for them the animal and the element both match their birth year. After February 5, 2027 the next Horse year begins on February 4, 2038.
A folk belief is attached to this. A person's own zodiac year, the ben ming nian, is traditionally regarded as a hurdle and not as a lucky year, and people wear red during it. It is a custom, not a forecast.
Which signs is the Horse said to get along with?
In the traditional scheme, the Horse belongs to a group of three with the Tiger and the Dog and is paired with the Goat, the sign that follows it. Its opposite, six places away in the cycle, is the Rat. The logic of those sets, and why they are folklore, is explained in our guide to Chinese zodiac compatibility.
The sign before the Horse is the Snake.