What Is The Viral 'Crying Horse' Toy? Why Everyone Is Obsessed With This Chinese Plushie

Move over Labubus, there’s a new toy in the market that has everyone obsessed. Yes, we are talking about the viral ‘Crying Horse’ toy. This is a Chinese toy produced by Happy Sister in the city of Yiwu. It is a red horse toy which was being manufactured for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year. What started off as a manufacturing defect, this red horse got a despairing grimace, resulting in this ’Crying horse’. Despite this defect, the horse plushie became popular amongst shoppers and even started breaking Chinese social media! Let’s discover the story behind what this ’Crying Horse’ toy is and why people are so obsessed with it here!

What Is The Viral 'Crying Horse' Toy?

With the Chinese Lunar New Year being just a few weeks away, brands all over China have been preparing to celebrate this special occasion. The toy brand ‘Happy Sister’ was also preparing to launch new plushies in theme with the new year. 2026 is the ‘Year of the Fire Horse’, and Happy Sister designed an adorable red horse for this. Their horse plushie was supposed to have a broad grin, but a factory error meant it hit the shops sporting a despairing grimace. Its smile was placed upside down, the horse’s nostrils could be interpreted as tears by shoppers.

Despite its flaws, people are going crazy over this ‘Crying Horse’. This red gorse now also falls in the ‘ungly-cute’ category of toys, just like Pop Mart’s infamous Labubu. Social media is also flooded with memes of how people think the horse represents their mood while working their jobs. 

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Chinese Lunar New Year: Year of the Fire Horse

The Chinese New Year is about to begin on February 17, 2026, and last until February 5, 2027. Each Chinese Lunar Year has a specific animal allotted to it. In total, there are 12 animals. For 2026, the animal which will represent the Chinese Lunar New Year is the horse. This upcoming year will be observed as the ‘Year of the Fire Horse’. To commemorate the new year, ‘Happy Sister’ had come up with their cute red horse. Through a manufacturing defect, the happy smile was turned upside down, resulting in the ‘Crying Horse’ toy.

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Image Credit: Instagram, Twitter

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