Taming Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild horses isn't easy, and you'll need a combination of stamina and stealth to get your very own horse. It's worth doing though, as horses in Breath of the Wild are incredibly fast and ensure that travel across Hyrule is far more efficient than just walking. Not only that, but if your horse is close-ish, you can whistle to summon it!
But where do you get started with horses? How on earth are you meant to catch them? And can you just leave them standing while you clamber up cliffs? We have all the answers here, so worry neigh more...
How to catch a horse in Breath of the Wild
So you can see the perfect horse. The mane event, so to speak. Look how handsome it is grazing in the long grass. Isn’t that a lovely colour of grey? Put simply. You want it. But how are you going to snare it as your own? Two words. Stealth and stamina.
Horses like calm, so no running up or they’ll just hurtle away. Crouch and sneak up from behind, then when you get close enough you should see the option to mount (easy, tiger). Now things are going to get tricky, as the horse isn’t going to like being jumped on and you’ll need to hammer L to try and soothe it. This takes up stamina exceptionally fast so make sure you have some cooked Stamella Mushrooms or other stamina boosting foods. Depending on just how wild a particular horse is, you’ll need to be prepared to quickly eat to stop it bucking you off. You’ll know when it’s calm enough as some lovely pink heart dust will escape the horse’s head and it’ll let you take it to the stable to get registered.
On the way to the stable, you’ll want to start building your bond with the horse which might be a bit wild and try and lead you off in its own direction. Gently steer back to the right way and give it a pat with L and you’ll get more of that suspicious pink dust, which shows it doesn’t mind being trained because you’re being nice about it. Just don’t pat it too much. It needs to know it’s doing the right thing so don’t go overboard. A bonus way to build your bond is hold an apple and stand next to your horse once it’s registered. Not only will it grab the apple from your hand, even more pink dust will appear. Oh, and it’s adorable.
Once you get to the stable, just hold ZL to lock onto the man behind the front desk and talk to him. He’ll ask if you want to register the horse and talk you through the process, taking 20 rupees in the process for a bridle and saddle. It’s also here that you’ll find out your horse’s stats. Which leads me nicely on to...
Which is the best horse in Breath of the Wild?
Every horse has its own set of statistics that are split into four categories:
- Strength - Power for mid battle action.
- Speed - You don’t really need my help with this one.
- Stamina - How many times you can hammer A to gee them on faster when you’re galloping across the plains of Hyrule.
- Temperament - How wild it is and probably why you had such a problem taming it in the first place.
There doesn’t seem to be any rule as to which colours of horse have the best stats. It’s really the luck of the draw, so track down your favourite combo and find out. I will say that I found my best horse, Auditore, who has two out of three stats with 4/4 and one with 3/4 standing alone in the middle of a field. He was ultra wild so I don’t know if other horses just couldn’t stand his company. Their loss is clearly my incredible gain. Many plains will have a stack of horses to choose from so just see how it goes.
If you’re looking for something a little grander, grab the Hunt for the Giant Horse side quest from Straia. You’ll find him at his camp next to Pappeto’s Grove in the Lake Tower Region. That’ll start you on the quest. Just stock up on stamina. You’ll need it. Another quest horse is the Royal Stallion. If you want it, you’ll need to head to the Outskirts Stables and speak to Toffa. He’ll start you on your mission and when you return successful, he’ll give you the Royal Saddle and Bridle.
Can your horse die in Breath of the Wild?
Well, I hate to break it to you like an old Bokoblin club but yes, your horse can die in Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. There’s two pieces of good news though. The first is that it’s actually quite difficult if you’re taking good care of your hooved friend. Like pets or children, leave your horse a safe distance away from danger, don’t hit them with your own weaponry or, y’know, set them on fire and you should be fine.
It’s also worth noting that they don’t love swimming or falling off cliffs so maybe don’t do that either. Just remember that if you leave your horse at the bottom of a cliff, you can just continue your adventure and pick them up at the stables later on. Choose to board them and then just take them straight back out again. If they die though, they’ll be very much gone from the stables but never from your heart.
However, the second piece of very good news is that should you accidentally send your horse to the glue factory in the sky, there is a way to bring them back. They don’t even smell weird or act remotely evil which is a plus.
How do I bring my horse back from the dead in Breath of the Wild?
You need Malanya. She’s the Horse God. Obviously. Here’s how to get to her.
- Fast travel to Lake Tower in South Hyrule and make sure you have 1000 rupees (otherwise it’s a long slog back).
- Pick up one of your (non-dead) horses at the Highland Stable to speed things up a bit.
- Then ride West around the bottom of Haran Lake until you reach a road that’ll take you South.
- From here head along the road until you cross, surprise surprise, the Horse God Bridge.
- Keep going until you reach the abode of the horse god, Malanya.
- Pay her 1000 rupees and you’ll now be able to resuscitate any of your dead horses from now on. There’s no need to pay every time, she’ll just bring back who you need now that you’ve paid.
- Ta da! No more death.
Customising your horse in Breath of the Wild
Sure, the stable gives you a saddle etc when you register your horse but if you want something a little fancier, you can of course upgrade those to your heart’s content. Nothing but the best for your horse. Not all stables have them but if there’s someone at the front feeding the horses, you can customise the saddle, mane and bridle. Bear in mind that you need the bond with your horse to be at 100% before you can buy him or her shiny upgrades.
Guaranteed upgrade stations are the Highland Stables and the Foothill Stables. There’s also an obstacle course you can clear at the Highland Stables that if you beat certain times you can earn both the Extravagant Bridle and Extravagant Saddle. You will have to do it twice to get both the bits though. The aforementioned Royal Bridle and Saddle are available from Toffa but you’ll need to snare yourself the Royal Stallion first. Plus, if you’ve found secret vendor Kilton, he’ll sell you some Monster armour for his own currency, Mon. It’s not cheap but just think how good it will look...
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