But a study of the colors of horses' coats made me realize the inherent irony in this Disney-like phrase: With rare exceptions, a horse turns gray or white as it ages, and is usually born with a darker shade. If you are not sure, check the skin underneath a white horse's coat.
So, associating a prince with mortality is not really the best way to present his youthful charm. However, since most of us are not equine veterinarians, we can be excused for envisioning this most desirable companion for females in the color of purity and forget about old age.
Linguistic record
The Chinese attitude toward the zodiac animal of 2017 is embedded in a profusion of expressions handed down and enriched through centuries of man-horse dynamics.
Apart from serving as a symbol of loyalty and bravery for military heroes, the horse is often praised for its endurance, as illustrated in the proverbial thousand-mile horse.
Perhaps the best analogy for man's relationship with the horse concerns Bole, a wise man with an eye for the next thousand-mile horse. Here, the human being is the talent scout, manipulator and trainer, while the horse is to be observed for potential, and groomed. A mentor-protege parallel is quite obvious.
As such, the horse may also become the recipient of tiger-mom-style Chinese tough love, as in the phrase "A horse has to be whipped to run."
But ancient Chinese tended to identify with the animal so closely that when they talked about their horses they could be talking about themselves. "To err is human" has a Chinese equivalent: "Man may make mistakes and a horse may miss a step".
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