Horses appear frequently in Chinese Mythology. The seventh animal in the twelve year zodiac cycle is the horse. One reason for the swift horse’s low ranking is that all of the zodiacal animals raced across a river in order to determine the zodiac order. The Snake crossed the river by wrapping itself around the Horse’s hoof and frightened it as it reached the bank , so the Horse was delayed.
Kathleen Walker-Meikle The Horse Book
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