Published , by Sam Chandler
Published , by Sam Chandler
The land of Hyrule is vast, too large to walk across it, which is why you’ll want to get a horse as soon as possible. The good news is that catching, storing, and upgrading a horse in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is easy, the real challenge comes in finding one with the best stats and in the breed you like! Here’s what you should know about unlocking a mount.
To get a horse in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom you must first catch one. This can be either easier than it sounds or much harder, depending on your luck. To catch a horse, sneak up behind it and press the A button to mount it when the prompt appears. Link will leap onto its back and then it will start to buck. While this is happening, mash the L button to try and calm it. If successful, the horse will calm down and you can ride it.
While the horse is bucking, Link will be constantly losing stamina. Higher quality horses take longer to tame, which means Link will need to have a lot of stamina to get them under his control. There are two ways to deal with this: Upgrade Link’s stamina meter or eat food that recovers stamina.
At first, each horse you tame will be quite belligerent and uncooperative, walking this way and that no matter where you tell it to go. To improve their temperament keep riding them and soothing them (L button). This will build trust between Link and the horse. Over time the horse will improve, becoming easier to control.
It’s all good and well to catch a horse, but you’ll want to keep it so Link can use it whenever he needs. Once a horse has been tamed, ride it to a stable and register it. The first time you register a horse it will be free, each time after that it will cost 20 rupees.
Registering a horse will let you name it. Pick carefully, as the horse’s name cannot be changed. A stable can store a decent number of horses, but the slots are limited so just keep the ones you like!
With Link’s horse tamed and stored, there are a couple of ways to summon it. Firstly, your horse can be summoned from any stable across Hyrule. Simply speak with the attendant and request your horse. It will be collected and delivered to you immediately. The attendant will also ask if you want to add any special things to it – like the towing harness.
The other way to summon Link’s horse is by whistling. When out and exploring the land, press down on the D-pad to whistle. The horse will come trotting up to Link provided the horse isn’t too far away. A good rule of thumb is that if the horse icon is on the mini map, you ought to be able to whistle for it.
As mentioned above, when requesting Link’s horse from a stable, the attendant will ask if you want to add anything to it – like a towing harness. These items are some of the ways a horse can be upgraded in Tears of the Kingdom. Each stable you find and every horse you register will unlock Pony Points, which in turn unlock rewards.
It's actually possible to upgrade your horse, though it requires visiting the horse god out in Akkala to the northeast. You can find this to the right of Death Mountain and to the north of the Zora Domain (credit to Shacknews Chatty member LorrickAldus for the information). In the event you can't make it out there yet, try heading out to find another horse. Tame it and see how many charges it has.
Unlocking a horse in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is quite important. While you can no doubt walk just about everywhere, having a mount makes the whole process much easier. Remember to visit all the stables and tame more horses to give Link more options when it comes to his noble steeds. Check out the Shacknews Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Strategy Guide for more help.