[2] Horbowy was born in Poland, in the village of Łanczyn in the county of Nadwórna (now Nadvirna Raion), in the former Stanisławów Voivodeship in what is now Ukraine.
After World War II he and his family were forcibly resettled from Kolomyia to Kargowa near Zielona Góra in western Poland, where he attended elementary school.
[4] Although Horbowy had intended to attend the Silesian University of Technology, as he had always been interested in mechanics, he was persuaded to apply to the State College of Fine Arts in Wrocław, where he was admitted in 1953.
[3] There he studied under Professor Stanisław Dawski, at the time the rector of the college, and director of the Faculty of Ceramics and Glass.
[2] In 1959 Horbowy went to work as a designer for Huta Szkła Gospodarcza (HSG) at their "Sudety" Glassworks in Szczytna Śląska near Kłodzko.