What years are the Year of the Horse?

Recent and upcoming Years of the Horse are 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026, 2038. The next one is 2038. Because the zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, a birthday in January or early February may fall under the previous sign.

What is the Horse's personality like?

The Horse is energetic, independent, and warm-hearted — a free spirit who chases the horizon, wins people over easily, and cannot sit still for long. At their best they are cheerful, sociable, hardworking, free-spirited; the flip side can be impatient, restless, blunt, hard to pin down. The Horse is a Yang sign with a fixed element of Fire (火).

Which signs are most compatible with the Horse?

The Horse gets along best with the Tiger, Dog, Goat. The one classic clash (六冲) is the Rat, the sign sitting directly opposite in the cycle.

7th sign · 马

Year of the Horse

马 · mǎ

The Horse is energetic, independent, and warm-hearted — a free spirit who chases the horizon, wins people over easily, and cannot sit still for long.

Element: Fire (火 huǒ)Yang

Birth years

Were you born in a Year of the Horse?

If your birth year is below, you're a Horse — but a January or February birthday may put you under the Snake, since the zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year.

1966197819902002201420262038

Personality

What the Horse is like

energeticindependentwarm-heartedadventurous

Strengths

cheerful
sociable
hardworking
free-spirited

Watch out for

impatient
restless
blunt
hard to pin down

Element & polarity

A Yang Fire sign

Every sign carries a fixed element from the 五行 (wǔ xíng, the five elements). The Horse's is Fire (火 huǒ), which shades its character toward the qualities that element suggests.

Its polarity is Yang (阳 yáng) — the signs alternate down the cycle, and each birth year's own element layers on top, so a Horse born in one element's year reads differently from a Horse born in another.

Compatibility

Who the Horse matches

Best matches come from the harmony triangle (三合) and the six-harmony friend (六合); the classic clash (六冲) is the sign directly opposite.

Best matches

Tiger Dog Goat

Biggest clash

Rat

The Rat sits opposite the Horse in the cycle — the pairing tradition says strikes the most sparks.

Fortune

Lucky for the Horse

Lucky numbers

2, 3, 7

Lucky colours

brown, yellow, purple

Suits careers in

salesperson, journalist, athlete, entrepreneur

FAQ

Horse: common questions

What years are the Year of the Horse?: Recent and upcoming Years of the Horse are 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026, 2038. The next one is 2038. Because the zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, a birthday in January or early February may fall under the previous sign.
What is the Horse's personality like?: The Horse is energetic, independent, and warm-hearted — a free spirit who chases the horizon, wins people over easily, and cannot sit still for long. At their best they are cheerful, sociable, hardworking, free-spirited; the flip side can be impatient, restless, blunt, hard to pin down. The Horse is a Yang sign with a fixed element of Fire (火).
Which signs are most compatible with the Horse?: The Horse gets along best with the Tiger, Dog, Goat. The one classic clash (六冲) is the Rat, the sign sitting directly opposite in the cycle.