Year of the Horse: Best Horses in Fantasy

The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle

My favourite book of all time, The Last Unicorn tells the story of a unicorn on a search for others like her.

Set in a medieval world where hope and magic is dying, but greed and fear are very much alive, The Last Unicorn cries for the reader to keep love and courage close to heart in even the darkest moments.

Features: Talking horse, mythical horse, horse main character

Animal Farm, George Orwell

Animal Farm‘s horses aren’t center stage compared to the pigs, but everyone who reads Animal Farm remembers the story of Boxer.

A short classic with a new animated film coming in 2026.

Features: Talking horse

Black Beauty, Anna Sewell

Another classic, intended “to induce kindness, sympathy, and an understanding treatment of horses.” Written from the perspective of the horse from the beginning to the end of his life, this is the original horse book that spawned the genre.

Features: Talking horse, horse main character, horse perspective

Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling

Horse creatures are far from key to the plot of Harry Potter, but between the unicorns, thestrals, and (arguably) Buckbeak, they have an important presence in the wizarding world.

I wouldn’t recommend reading Harry Potter if you’re looking for horse literature first-and-foremost, but it deserves a mention on this list.

Features: Mythical horse

In Calabria, Peter S. Beagle

This isn’t the only novel by Peter S. Beagle featured on this post, and again it features a unicorn. This time, however, the unicorn is not the main character, and is instead a threat to the repetitive daily life of a middle-aged Italian man.

Features: Mythical horse

My Secret Unicorn, Linda Chapman

Before Skandar and the Unicorn Thief, the My Secret Unicorn series was a go-to children’s horse book. This book is perfect for every kid who has dreamed of making friends with a horse, with an added dash of magic.

Features: Mythical horse

Silverhorse, Lene Kaaberbøl

This is a dark fantasy novel that I read as a teenager with a curious upheaval of typical fantasy gender stereotypes and a mysterious cover, I have largely forgotten the plot of Silverhorse even though the name and haunting memory of its ghostly, powerful horses has stayed with me.

Features: Mythical horse

Skandar and the Unicorn Thief, A. F. Steadman

One of the few titles on this list that I haven’t yet read, but almost definitely worthy of a place on this list, this semi-recent addition to children’s literature features some prominent unicorns in its marketing and has a respectable score on Goodreads.

Features: Mythical horse

The Horse & His Boy, C. S. Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia isn’t generally about horses, but book three of the series, The Boy and His Horse features a very relevant talking horse character. It’s one of my favourite books from the series, in part due to the charming title.

Features: Talking horse, horse main character

The Farseer Trilogy, Robin Hobb

A magical medieval fantasy following a human character who can communicate telepathically with animals and other ‘witted’ humans, The Farseer Trilogy‘s first choice of animal companion is canine, but there are named, beloved horses with lives and thoughts in this series.

Features: Talking horse

LOTR, J. R. R. Tolkien

When I started making this list, Shadowfax was the only horse whose name I could actually remember (until a friend reminded me of The Witcher). The Lord of the Rings series is full of important horses, including Asfaloth (Arwen’s horse) and Brego (Aragorn’s horse).

If nothing else, the knowledge that Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn’s actor) took such care of his horse on set and bought it after filming wrapped, is reason enough for this series to stay on this list.

(Viggo also bought Arwen’s horse and gifted it to the stunt double after filming wrapped!)

Features: Horse companions

The Stormlight Archive, Brandon Sanderson

The Stormlight Archive is an intense series of doorstopper fantasy novels. These hefty tomes are thick with worldbuilding, which centers heavily on armies, knights, and inevitably their horses. The Ryshadium (slightly magical horses) are much loved by their riders, and, while never main characters, they are a familiar face amongst the craggy, insectoid landscape that Sanderson paints in this epic.

Features: Mythical horse

The Witcher, Andrzej Sapkowski

This list would be incomplete without Geralt of Rivia and his horse(s), Roach, a mare who is possibly Geralt’s closest friend.

Features: Horse sidekick

The Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan

Not a series that I have personally read, but a close friend tells me that the horses of The Wheel of Time are significant. So much so, that a sizable portion of the series’ fanbase ascribes the position of the WoT universe’s God to one such horse character.

Additionally, Robert Jordan really liked his horses so the details are good.

Features: Horse companions

Honourable Mention: Loki in Viking Myth

Lastly, I offer an honourable (though bizarre) mention through viking myths.

Loki, the God of mischief, who we all know and love through Marvel’s Netflix shows (and many of us before that), at some point in the original myths finds enough time and desire to shapeshift into a female horse, seduce the epic stallion Svaðilfari who lived with the giants, and then give birth to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir, who becomes Odin’s steed.

Crazy, right? We’ll never look at Loki in the same way again, but this is the closest this list comes to a horse god.