The Kingdom of Hyrule is a vast place to explore in Tears of the Kingdom, and while you’ll eventually be able to skydive from towers and utilize Zonai devices to cross land, sea, and air, there are sometimes when you just need a mount that doesn’t rely on batteries.

This holds especially true early in the game when you’re still discovering new regions and towers, so we’ve got all the info you need on How to Get a Horse.

Looking for something in particular? Click the links below to jump to...

• How to Find a Horse
• How to Tame a Horse
• How to Stable Your Horse
• Breath of the Wild Save Data Horses
• Epona, The Amiibo Horse
• How to Enhance Your Horse Traits

Finding a Horse

As soon as you get back down on the surface of Hyrule, you can already start hunting for a trusty steed — but we recommend mainlining the story quests just for a bit, at least until you get the Paraglider and activate the Lookout Landing Skyview Tower.

Wild horses can be found almost all over the landscape of Hyrule, but most tend to stick to grassy plains which surround Central Hyrule Field. They’re often found in groups of 3-4, and you should even be able to spot a few just to the west of Lookout Landing.

To tame a horse, you need to find a way to get on its back, and avoid getting thrown off. The problem is, horses spook easily. You can try pressing in on the left control stick to crouch and slowly come up behind them, but all it takes is one to spot you before the rest stampede away.

You can also approach a horse slowly with a food item in your hands, like an apple or a carrot. Some of them may still spook, but others may approach you to take the snack.

If you have trouble approaching them, you may find it easier to surprise one from the air (so why not shoot out of the nearby skyview tower for height?), or if you’re far from a tower, look for a ridge or even a tall tree to get some air to paraglide down from.

Taming the Horse

If a horse took a snack from you, you’ll be able to mount it without a fight. Otherwise, once you sneak up and press A — or land on them from above, you’ll need to mash the L button with your remaining stamina to calm it down.

Certain horses may be stronger than others, and require more stamina, but you can pause to use stamina replenishing food if you’re in danger of running out.

Once it settles down and your stamina bar indicator goes away, you’ll successfully have the horse under your control, but your task isn’t over yet. As far as the game is concerned, you still own a wild horse, and if you get separated or fast-travel away, you won’t have an indicator to find it again.

Instead, you’ll need to gently guide the horse to the nearest stable to register it. The term “gently” is used because your new horse can still be fairly unruly and unpredictable. It may veer off course, stop suddenly, or just generally be hard to get going, so be sure to periodically tap the L button to continue to soothe it to increase your bond, and settle it down when it decides to be difficult.

You can also feed your horse by holding food in front of it to speed up this bonding process.

Stabling the Horse

An unregistered horse can only be taken in at one of Hyrule’s many stables, which can be found along the main roads in every direction leading from Hyrule Field.

Technically, work has even begun on a mini-stable in Lookout Landing, but it won’t be ready early in the game. Thankfully, there’s one not too far away to the southeast at Riverside Stable that you can get to by following the roads from Lookout Landing.

If you’ve found a horse elsewhere in the world, just keep an eye out for the drifting puffs of smoke that signify a stable in the area.

Once you reach the safe haven of a stable, speak to the man behind the counter at the front to officially register both Link and your new horse. Stables now have a “Pony Points” rewards program, so the more you visit new locations, or spend the night, and the more horses you board, the more rewards you’ll get in return.

You’ll also find when registering and naming your horses that each wild horse has their own stat pool, which rate their Strength, Speed, Stamina, and a new one not featured in Breath of the Wild called Pull that measures how well they can tow objects.

In Tears of the Kingdom, you can unlock a Towing Harness with just 3 Pony Points as your first reward. Equip it at a stable to attach wagons and such to your horse.

Breath of the Wild Save Data Horses

Those who have played Breath of the Wild may find an extra treat when using a stable. If you have save data from the previous game on your current console that you’re playing Tears of the Kingdom on, the game will transfer over any horses you have stabled in the previous games - including their names and customization.

Epona, The Amiibo Horse

Just like in Breath of the Wild, players who have access to either the Super Smash Bros. Series Link Amiibo, or the Twilight Princess HD Series Link Amiibo, can scan them using your Ability wheel to summon Epona at will. Epona has 4 stars in Strength, Speed, and Stamina — but due to her legendary status, she cannot be renamed nor upgraded, and she cannot be equipped with a towing harness, so it’s still worthwhile to get another horse registered!

Enhancing Horse Traits

Even if you find and register a horse that appears to be lacking in some categories, there is a way to strengthen your horse.

You’ll need to journey far to the northeast of Hyrule, past a pretty nasty blockade of monsters, to reach the Akkala region.

If you head north from Tarrey Town and the East Akkala Stable, you can find the mythical Horse God Fairy Malanya, who asks only for a single Endura Carrot.

After this, you’ll find that you can either revive a horse that has died in your care, or enhance the abilities of any horse you’ve registered in exchange for some hearty meals.

Some of these meals are quite specific in their ingredients, and you can push horse traits as high as 5 stars with enough meals to trade for.

For instance, upgrading a trait to level 2 will only require a single meal, but upgrading to level 5 will require three different types, as well as three of each meal!