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Reader question: What does it mean when people say “he should get off his high horse”? My comments: They mean to say that he should be humble. In a nutshell, that’s about it. In other words, he should not talk or act like he’s someone riding a horse while others are walking on foot. You see, in the olden days, when horses were a means of transport instead of cars and sedans, those people who could afford horses, and high (tall) horses at that, were usually of a higher social status, or simply richer than those who were too poor to be able to afford one. In Chinese folklore, too, this is the case. In old-time stories, all flamboyant officials and businessmen seemed to be riding a high horse (Gao Tou Da Ma, or high-headed big horse). In any event, a lot of people riding their high horses must have given the impression that they were better than and superior to the rest of the population otherwise the metaphorical meaning of “high horse” would not have been created in the first place. Or the impression would not have been able to stick, after all, automobiles have replaced horses in the West for something like hundred years and, yet, “high horse” as a metaphor is still alive and well today. Again, when someone gets on a high horse, they tend to appear haughty and to speak in a manner that is condescending, arrogant and self-righteous, something like that. | 
