A plushie horse with a sad expression has gone viral in China after a manufacturing mistake turned its smile into a frown.
Dubbed the “crying horse,” the Year of the Horse-themed toy has become an unlikely bestseller as shoppers seek out the sad stallion.
According to a report from Reuters, the toy first appeared at Yiwu International Trade City, China’s largest wholesale market. The red plush horse was originally designed as a cheerful decoration for the Year of the Horse.
However, a stitching error flipped the mouth upside down, giving the toy a permanently unhappy expression.
Horse plush with manufacturing error becomes best seller
Shop owner Zhang Huoqing said she initially offered refunds once the issue was spotted, but no customers took her up on the offer.
Instead, photos of the frowning horse spread rapidly across Chinese social media, where users began calling it the “crying horse.” The toy’s expression quickly became the focus of jokes and memes, with many saying it reflected how they feel at work.
“People joked that the crying horse is how you look at work, while the smiling one is how you look after work,” Zhang said.
That relatability helped push demand higher in the lead-up to Lunar New Year, with vendors reporting that the crying horse sold out and had to be restocked. Zhang told Reuters she now plans to keep selling the sad-faced version, saying it reflects “the reality of modern working people.”
Interestingly, this isn’t the only horse-themed manufacturing error that has gone viral, as back in January, an Umamusume plush was recalled after fans spotted a major design flaw.
