Horse Chinese Zodiac Compatibility
Tradition: Chinese zodiac. A tradition, not a forecast. The Chinese zodiac reads it this way; the evidence does not.
By Suraj Giri · Updated · Reviewer for this method: not yet appointed (see our editorial policy)
In the Chinese zodiac, the Horse matches best with the Tiger and the Dog, its two trine partners, and with the Goat, its secret friend; its most difficult match is the Rat, the animal opposite it on the twelve-year cycle.
The Horse is the seventh animal of the twelve-year cycle, and this page reads it against all twelve, the Horse included, by the tradition's three relations: trine, secret friend and clash. To pair the Horse with any other animal, go to the Chinese zodiac compatibility hub. The table further down is the whole answer; each section explains one part of it.
Which years are Horse years?
Horse years start at the lunar new year, not on 1 January. The Chinese year turns on a date between 21 January and 20 February that moves every year, so a birthday in January or early February can belong to the animal before the Horse. Not sure you are a Horse? The page on which animal is your birth year lists the date each year begins.
Who is the Horse's best match?
Best match. The tradition's easiest matches for the Horse are the Tiger and the Dog: the Tiger, Horse and Dog trine, animals four years apart. The secret friend, the Goat, makes one of the six harmony pairs with it.
Worst match. Horse and Rat is one of the six clash pairs: the two animals sit opposite each other, six years apart. A clash is the tradition's reading of two birth years, not a fact about two people.
A trine is one of four groups of three animals spaced evenly round the cycle, called San He in Chinese, and the tradition reads any two members of one as its easiest match. It ranks nobody inside the group, so the Horse's two trine partners stand level. The search for the Horse's "soulmate" ends in the same place: the tradition names no single one, only two trine partners and a secret friend. Both Horse pairings with pages of their own are trine pairs, named in the callout above.
Who is the Horse's secret friend?
The Horse's secret friend is the Goat, the animal right after it on the cycle: together they make one of the six harmony pairs the tradition calls secret friends. The six pairs sit at different distances on the cycle, so no count of years finds them; the list, Liu He in Chinese, does. On this site's ladder a secret friend is the second good relation, one step below a trine.
Who is the Horse not compatible with?
The Rat sits directly opposite the Horse on the twelve-year cycle, six years apart, and the tradition reads that clash as its most difficult match. The six opposite pairs are called Liu Chong in Chinese. It is the only animal of the twelve that this reading marks as difficult for the Horse. Difficult is not forbidden: the tradition names the hardest pairing and leaves the choice with the two people.
How compatible is the Horse with each animal?
Every other animal has one row below, grouped by relation: the trine partners first, then the secret friend, then the animals with no named relation, and the clash last. Neutral means none of the three relations applies. It is not a middle grade and it is not a warning. The relations follow the lists in Wikipedia's Chinese zodiac article and on yourchineseastrology.com, which agree on every pair. Two Horse pairings have pages of their own, linked from their rows once live.
| Pair | Relation | What the tradition reads | Steps apart on the cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horse and Tiger | trine | one of the four trine groups, which the tradition reads as the easiest match | 4 |
| Horse and Dog | trine | one of the four trine groups, which the tradition reads as the easiest match | 4 |
| Horse and Goat | secret friend | one of the six harmony pairs | 1 |
| Horse and Ox | neutral | no named relation | 5 |
| Horse and Rabbit | neutral | no named relation | 3 |
| Horse and Dragon | neutral | no named relation | 2 |
| Horse and Snake | neutral | no named relation | 1 |
| Horse and Monkey | neutral | no named relation | 2 |
| Horse and Rooster | neutral | no named relation | 3 |
| Horse and Pig | neutral | no named relation | 5 |
| Horse and Rat | clash | one of the six clash pairs | 6 |
The same animal: Horse and Horse reads as same animal. One reference, yourchineseastrology.com, names the Horse as one of four self-punishing animals and reads this doubled pair as a clash; we show it as its own relation and say so. Order: trine, secret friend, neutral, clash, and within each relation the cycle order counted from the Rat. Neutral means none of the three relations this site reads applies; the tradition's harms and punishments are outside this chart.
Is Horse and Horse a good match?
Two Horses are their own relation here, the same animal. One reference, yourchineseastrology.com, counts the Horse among four self-punishing animals and reads a doubled Horse as a clash. We show the pair as its own relation instead, because we have found no second source for that reading.
Who should a Horse marry?
For marriage the tradition reads the same three relations, so the Horse's best matches are still the Tiger, the Dog and the Goat; nothing in it forbids any pairing. The reading takes two birth years and nothing else, so the answer for a Horse woman is the same as for a Horse man. Chinese astrology also gives each year an element, and this reading leaves it out. Who marries whom stays a decision for two people; the tradition only says which pairings it reads as easiest.
Which animals are the Horse's best friends?
The Horse's best friends in the tradition are the same animals as its best matches in love, because one set of relations covers both. The secret friend carries the tradition's own word for it, and the trine partners stand beside it. Any other friendship is a row in the table above.
Why do other charts list different matches for the Horse?
Some charts for the Horse name two difficult animals where this page names one. This page reads three relations only. Charts that list more difficult matches for the Horse usually add the tradition's harms and punishments, or describe personalities, and neither is part of this reading. A pairing this page calls neutral can be a harm pair on a fuller chart.
To read the Horse against one other animal, pick both on the hub. The full chart of every pairing sits in the strip at the top of this page.
How we calculate it
- The birth year gives an animal, counted from the lunar new year rather than 1 January, so a birthday in January or early February may belong to the previous year's animal. The tool says so and offers both.
- The twelve animals sit in four trines of three, which the tradition reads as the easiest matches.
- Six harmony pairs, the secret friends, are read as good, and the six pairs opposite each other on the cycle are read as difficult.
- The verdict is the strongest of those readings that applies to the two animals, and neutral when none does.
The full rule, in plain words and in pseudocode, is on the methodology page.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Chinese zodiac: The San He, Liu He and Liu Chong lists, and the years table
- Your Chinese Astrology, Chinese Zodiac Compatibility: The three relation lists, and the self-punishment reading