premise: Sleipnir appears nowhere.
hypothesis: In Norse mythology , Sleipnir ( Old Norse `` slippy '' or `` the slipper '' ) is an eight-legged horse . Sleipnir is attested in the Poetic Edda , compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources , and the Prose Edda , written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson . In both sources , Sleipnir is Odin 's steed , is the child of Loki and Svaðilfari , is described as the best of all horses , and is sometimes ridden to the location of Hel . Additionally , Sleipnir is mentioned in a riddle found in the 13th century legendary saga Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks , in the 13th century legendary saga Völsunga saga as the ancestor of the horse Grani , and book I of Gesta Danorum , written in the 12th century by Saxo Grammaticus , contains an episode considered by many scholars to involve Sleipnir . In modern times , Sleipnir appears in Icelandic folklore as the creator of Ásbyrgi , in works of art , literature , software , and in the names of ships .