Year of the Horse

Buckle up, for on 17th February 2026, we are not only entering the fast paced Year of the Horse, but of the Fire Horse, which will run through to 6th February 2027. By its very nature, the Year of the Horse is a fast paced year, with things happening quickly, but of the five Horse Years in a 60 year cycle, the Fire Horse is by far the fastest. The last Year of the Fire Horse was in 1966, a year of fast paced change, with rapid changes, groundbreaking advancements in technology, space travel and societal change. When we think of the 1960’s and its radical counterculture, the hippy movement, protests and a breaking away from the past to a new age and generation, we can pinpoint 1966 as the epicentre. The Year of the Fire Horse can be summarised as a year of change, the likes of which haven’t been seen in 60 years.

From the start, the Year of the Horse is going to feel very different from the slower pace of the Year of the Wood Snake, which comes to an end on 17th February. Where the Year of the Snake has been inward looking and for things to become more stable and settled after the fairly dramatic Year of the Dragon, things will start to move again. When the Year of the Dragon ended in January 2025, we all wanted the world to stop spinning, get our feet back on the ground and let things stabilise, which the Year of the Snake helped with. Now we’re ready to get things moving again.

Helping to get the year off to a positive and even exciting start is that the first month of any year is led by the equally fast paced month of the Tiger. While that is always the case, as the Tiger and Horse are part of the same triad of affinity and are the best of friends, they will be ready to race each other out of the gate. Together, the Tiger and Horse are going to egg each other on, saying to each other, ‘Let’s get out there and make things happen.

In the Year of the Horse you are more likely to take risks, with the Horse giving you the confidence to try new things on for size, something that brings a word of caution or at least a need to remember that while the Horse would love to canter across the fields without a rider on its back, if it is saddled and you are the one with your hands on the reins, you can do great things. Left to run free, the Horse can cause impulsiveness and excessive risk taking. You don’t want to stifle the Horse’s enthusiasm, confidence and risk taking, but you need to be in control. In other words, this is a year where you need to lead the Horse, rather than let the Horse lead you.

Above all, the Horse loves adventure and can help you get out of a rut, shake things up a bit, travel and try new things on for size. The Horse has no tolerance for stagnation, with a love of freedom, self expression and breaking free from limitations and especially those in your own mind. Things that you tell yourself that are out of reach or that you can’t do, the Horse will ask, ‘Why not’?

If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to become more physically active, the Horse can help with that. The last thing the Horse wants to do is remain shut up in the barn. He wants to move, run, get out in the fresh air and feel the wind in his ears, with the Horse loving any form of physical activity or just generally moving and becoming more active in all that you do.

At the same time, in some ways, the Horse is a contradiction. On the one hand, the Horse craves independence, a drive to do things your own way and to be true to yourself. On the other hand, the Horse is a social beast that craves company. In the Year of the Horse, you will be in your happy place when you are with people who share a common goal, outlook or are working towards the same thing. The Horse loves to travel and explore the world or just your own backyard, but ideally with others or at least have someone that you can report to later to share your stories and adventures.

On a personal level, the Year of the Horse offers a chance to change things up, get out of a rut, start living and exploring life and become more true to yourself. This is a year for trusting your instincts, taking some brave leaps of faith and following your true path, even if you can’t see where it leads. If you have been stuck or life has stalled, the Horse can get things moving again. There is even a chance to reinvent yourself if you want to. 

On a global level, this is a year that could see some rapid changes and especially in technology, medicine and science. When you have everyone around the globe under the Horse’s influence, all pushing that little bit further in their own fields, the pace of discoveries and advancements is going to pick up. Historically and especially during the Year of the Fire Horse, which we saw during the last Fire Horse Year in 1966 and before that in 1906, there were major cultural shifts. We can all look back at the 1960’s, but further back to the previous Fire Horse Year, in 1906, a major shift was taking place across the world and especially in the UK and the United States. In the UK, we saw the rise of the Labour Party and a massive rise in social reform. On the other side of the Atlantic, massive progressive change was underway. 2026 is set to join those ranks as a year of change.

Meanwhile, two of the best months of the Year of the Horse are going to be the month of the Tiger, which runs from 17th February to 19th March and can get things off to an exhilarating start and the month of the Dog, which will run from 10th October to 9th November. The Dog, Horse and Tiger are all part of the same triad of affinity, so are close friends and allies, helping each other out. All three also have a social bent, which is going to lead to a general sense of cooperation, banding together, the sharing of ideas and information or just helping each other out.

Click here to read your Individual Year of the Horse Horoscopes