The literal sense ('fall off a horse') generated the war-novel cliché
大将落马 'a general fell from his horse' (i.e. was killed in battle). In contemporary Chinese media
落马 has become the standard verb for officials brought down by anti-corruption probes — virtually every news story announcing a CCDI investigation uses
某某官员落马 'official X has fallen'. Especially associated with the Xi-era anti-graft campaign post-2013.
