WARNING – There is a TON of stuff in this article. Take what you need and leave the rest. : )
Sometimes it can be a challenge to get kids to talk at the dinner table, especially teens. But having dinner conversations helps create a culture of togetherness and is worth the effort. This year marks the Year of the Horse. It begins on February 17, 2026, and will end on February 5, 2027. I know that seems odd compared to our calendar, but the moon cycle determines the dates each year. The Chinese New Year is a great jumping-off place for some happy dinner conversations.
In China, they use a zodiac based on a 12-year cycle to determine when the new year begins. To celebrate each new year, they have a 16-day festival. This year, the festival will culminate with a full blood moon, known as the Worm Moon, on March 3, 2026. This New Year’s festival is also known as the spring festival.
There’s much to talk about as we enter the Year of the Horse. As you ask good questions and share interesting information, you can get some great dinner conversations going and then expand them over the next couple of months.
Sample Questions
• Does China use the same calendar system we do?
• Do you know how China celebrates the New Year?
• Did you know that in China, there is an animal sign for each new year?
• Did you know that if you were born in the year of the horse, you would have cool characteristics?
(vitality, speed, perseverance, success, and be hardworking, warm-hearted, and independent)
• Have you ever heard of the Worm Moon?
• Do you have a favorite book about horses?
• Would you like to know what animal was on the zodiac the year you were born?
In this article, I’m sharing interesting and fun ideas so that as you take the leap and give this a try, you will have what you need. Below you’ll find information on the Year of the Horse, family learning ideas, family activities and games, and family reading.
Information on the Chinese New Year – Year of the Horse
The Chinese Zodiac, known as Sheng Xiao in Chinese, is based on a 12-year cycle. Each year in the cycle is related to an animal sign. These animal signs are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. The zodiac is calculated according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar. The selection and order of the animals that influence people’s lives originated in the Han Dynasty (206 – 220) and is based upon each animal’s character and living habits. The spirit of the horse is the spirit of the Chinese people. They are always trying to improve themselves. This spirit is energetic, bright, warm-hearted, intelligent, and able.
People born in the Year of the Horse have ingenious communication techniques and, in their community, they always want to be in the limelight. They are clever, kind to others, and like to join in a venture career. Although they sometimes talk too much, they are cheerful, perceptive, talented, earthy, but stubborn. They like entertainment and large crowds. They’re popular among friends, active at work, and refuse to be reconciled to failure. Hmmm, could that be you? You can find more details about the year of the horse HERE.
Were you born in a Year of the Horse? You can find out what animal was celebrated in your birth year HERE. I was born in the year of the Ox, and my birthday on the Chinese lunar calendar is Dec. 23, 1949. According to the calendaring system we use in the USA, it’s February 9, 1950. Interesting.
Family Learning Ideas
Whenever there’s a special event in the world, such as a holiday, it gives you a wonderful opportunity to create learning experiences for your family, which then can lead to great mealtime conversations. Here are a few ideas to get you started with the Year of the Horse.
1. Take the time to discover each person’s animal sign.
2. Learn the difference between astronomy and astrology, and there is a big difference. That will help clarify why calendaring systems are different.
3. Study the country of China, the writing, the history, the culture, and the arts.
4. Since this is the year of the horse, learn about horses. Sharing facts or asking questions about horses to see what your family already knows would create great dinner conversation. Here are a few facts to get you going.
Fun Facts about Horses
• Horses can sleep both lying down and standing up.
• Horses can run shortly after birth.
• Domestic horses have a lifespan of around 25 years.
• Horses have been domesticated for over 5000 years.
• Horses are herbivores (plant eaters).
• Horses have bigger eyes than any other mammal that lives on land.
• Because horses’ eyes are on the side of their head, they can see nearly 360 degrees at one time.
• Estimates suggest that there are around 60 million horses in the world.
• A male horse is called a stallion.
• A female horse is called a mare.
• A young male horse is called a colt.
• A young female horse is called a filly.
5. Visit a nearby farm or petting zoo to see horses.
6. Watch “Miracle of the White Stallions” by Disney. I saw it as a young child, and I loved it! (Vienna’s famed Spanish Riding School – and its prized Lipizzan stallions – is threatened by devastating bombing raids and indifferent Nazi commanders. Despite the dangers involved in evacuating the magnificent animals, the school’s director and a handful of heroic citizens attempt a daring, life-threatening plan to move the stallions away from the ravages of war and keep the historic breed alive.)
7. Play a Game
- Pin the tail on the horse (played like pin the tail on the donkey)
A picture of a horse with a missing tail is tacked to a wall within easy reach of children. One at a time, each child is blindfolded and handed a paper “tail” with a push pin or thumbtack poked through it. The blindfolded child is then spun around until he or she is disoriented. The child gropes around and tries to pin the tail on the horse. The player who pins their tail closest to the target, the donkey’s rear, wins. - Animal Charades
This is not just about horses; there are more animals than just horses in the Chinese Zodiac. This fun, old-fashioned kids’ party game has kids imitating their favorite animals. Each player takes a turn imitating an animal, while the other players try to guess which animal. The player who guesses correctly takes the next turn. - Hobby Horse Race
You can make a hobby-horse from a broom, a mop, a yardstick, a dowel, etc. They can dress up their “horse” using ribbon. Make the head from a paper bag. Decorate the horse’s face and put it over the top of whatever you are using for the body, and secure it with ribbon or string. Create a racecourse in your backyard: get them to run around the sandpit, under the trampoline, use the garden hose to map out a course, give them something to jump over- get creative, and it will be sure to keep the kids busy for a while.
8. Do a Craft – The crafts below need little direction. When needed, brief directions are given.
- Tube Horses – made from painted toilet paper rolls. The legs and neck are pipe cleaners or
construction paper. - Stick Horses – Have your child make a horse head. Attach them
to yardsticks, empty gift wrap rolls, or wooden dowels, etc. Cut two heads from paper or use a paper bag, decorate, add yarn or felt mane, stuff with crumpled paper or not, add wiggle eyes or color them in, staple, add a stick, viola! Now the kids are ready for stick horse races.
9. Make Fun ‘Horse’ Food
- Lunch for Hungry as a Horse Kids – Keep it simple. For lunch, serve apples and carrots, along with some Happy Trails mix (nuts, seeds, M&M’s). Throw in some chips and a sandwich.
- Serve a ‘Horse’ Sandwich – What you’ll need:
• bread and filling (PB&J, lunch meat, etc)
• sliced cheese (for mane and tail)
• sliced ham
• string cheese
• peas (for eyes)
• celery (for legs)
• Raisins (for legs, spots, eyes)
The pictures should give you all the directions that you need. : )
Family Reading
If you have a family reading time, then read great books about horses, both fiction and non-fiction. If you don’t have a family reading time, try reading a chapter at a meal. You will eat cold food, but it isn’t forever. : ) Below is a short list of fiction, non-fiction, and kids’ books to get you started. There are also two Aesop Fables to share at a meal and then talk about. No reading needed. Remember the Year of the Horse lasts all year. : )
- Story 1: Aesop used horses to teach life lessons. You can find these stories in any Aesop’s fables book. Here are two to get started. You can tell these at a meal, ask questions at the end, and get another conversation going.
The Horse, Hunter, and Stag – A quarrel had arisen between the Horse and the Stag, so the Horse came to a Hunter to ask his help take revenge on the Stag. The Hunter agreed, but said: “If you desire to conquer the Stag, you must permit me to place this piece of iron between your jaws, so that I may guide you with these reins, and allow this saddle to be placed upon your back so that I may keep steady upon you as we follow after the enemy.” The Horse agreed to the conditions, and the Hunter soon saddled and bridled him. Then, with the aid of the Hunter, the Horse soon overcame the Stag, and said to the Hunter: “Now, get off, and remove those things from my mouth and back.” “Not so fast, friend,” said the Hunter. “I have now got you under bit and spur, and prefer to keep you as you are at present.”
Moral: If you allow men to use you for your purposes, they will use you for theirs.
- Story 2: The Horse and the Donkey
A horse and a donkey were traveling together, the horse prancing along in its fine trappings, the donkey carrying with difficulty the heavy weight in its panniers. “I wish I were you,” sighed the donkey; “nothing to do and well fed, and all that fine harness upon you. ”Next day, however, there was a great battle, and the horse was wounded to death in the final charge of the day. His friend, the donkey, happened to pass by shortly afterwards and found him on the point of death. “I was wrong,” said the donkey.
Moral: Better humble security than gilded danger.
Fictional Stories About Horses
• The Wild Little Horse by Ashley Wolff
• Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble
• All the Pretty Little Horses by Linda Saport
• Black Beauty by Mary Sebag-Montefiore
• Black Beauty: The Autobiography of a Horse by Anna Sewell
• National Velvet by Enid Bagnold
• The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
• Girl on the High-Diving Horse by Linda Oatman High
Non-fiction Stories About Horses
• The Kids’ Horse Book by Sylvia Funston
• I Wonder Why Horses Wear Shoes by Jackie Gaff
• Horse Heroes: True Stories of Amazing Horses by Kate Petty
• The True or False Book of Horses by Patricia Lauber
Picture Books About Horses
• The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble
• Robert the Rose Horse by Joan Heilbroner
• Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa by Erica Silverman
• Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse by Rebecca Janni
• Fritz and the Beautiful Horses by Jan Brett
• Scamper and the Horse Show by Jessie Haas
• Leonardo’s Horse by Jean Fritz
• Cowardly Clyde by Bill Peet
• Facts About Horses: 50 Amazing Illustrated Facts for Kids by Amy Lyons
