Horse Tattoos

What does a horse tattoo mean?

A horse tattoo means freedom, strength and a partnership that has to be earned. Freedom is the reading people say first, while partnership and earned status are what many clients actually mean. Each tradition gives the animal a different job. The Gaulish horse goddess Epona was one of the few Celtic deities to enter the Roman calendar. In the Chinese zodiac the Horse is the seventh sign, tied to fire and the south. In the American West the mustang, protected by law since 1971, became the freedom image proper, and the winged Pegasus of Greek myth stands for aspiration. Composition settles the reading: a riderless horse in motion says freedom, a head portrait a bond with one animal, a rider mastery, a rearing horse power under pressure. Black-and-gray realism and neo-traditional work are the most common, with the thigh as the default spot for large pieces.

horse tattoo meaning