1990: Year of the Metal Horse
The 1990 Chinese zodiac year is the Yang Metal Horse, and it runs from 27 January 1990 to 14 February 1991 — not from 1 January.
- Animal
- Horse 马
- Element and polarity
- Yang Metal
- Gan-Zhi
- Geng Wu 庚午
- Age this zodiac year
- Born in 1990, a person turns 36 during the 2026 year
Born early in 1990? You may be Snake, not Horse
Chinese New Year 1990 fell on 27 January 1990. Anyone born between 1 January 1990 and 26 January 1990 — a window of 26 days — belongs to the 1989 zodiac year, the Yin Earth Snake, and not to the Horse.
Check an exact birth date against the 27 January 1990 boundary.
Exact 1990 zodiac year dates
The 1990 lunar year carried a leap month, stretching it to 384 days — which is why the following Chinese New Year falls comparatively late.
Other Horse years around 1990
| Horse year | Complete name | Begins |
|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Yang Wood Horse | 3 February 1954 |
| 1966 | Yang Fire Horse | 21 January 1966 |
| 1978 | Yang Earth Horse | 7 February 1978 |
| 2002 | Yang Water Horse | 12 February 2002 |
| 2014 | Yang Wood Horse | 31 January 2014 |
| 2026 | Yang Fire Horse | 17 February 2026 |
The exact pairing 庚午 — Yang Metal Horse — returns only once every sixty years: 1930, 2050.