My Uffington sense tells me that the horse and the fort are linked, and that there is a third element linked that we can no longer see.
That's the first thought that came into my head, so it must be right :)
"The hill-figure of the horse at Uffington may represent Epona (Celtic God), who not unreasonably might be considered to be the tutelary duvinity of the neighboring hillfort". Nora Chadwick, The Celts.
Could Wayland's Smithy be the third element? It's intriguing that the Saxons attached a horse-related legend to the old barrow.