Tikbalang is a spirit of Philippine folklore dwelling in mountains and rainforests, pictured as a half-human, half-horse with a horse’s head and hooves and disproportionately long limbs. Its origins reach back into pre-colonial Philippine mythology.
It is a trickster that leads travelers in circles, can shapeshift, and is said to guard trees. Its horse-like form is held to have taken shape only after horses were introduced during Spanish colonization.