Getting around on foot can get tedious, and while you can use Skytowers and completed Shrines as fast travel points, this doesn’t really help when you delve into the great unknown. Fortunately, horses can be found throughout Hyrule, and with a bit of athleticism you can catch and tame these beasts to help you traverse Hyrule more quickly. This page will provide information about catching, taming and housing horses in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
How to Catch and Tame Horses in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom¶
Unfortunately the locations of wild horses aren’t marked on the map, but they’re not an uncommon sight throughout Central Hyrule, so just keep an eye out as you explore and you should spot some sooner or later.
Notoriously skittish animals, the horses in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will flee if they spot you approaching them. Try to approach from the back and crouch () if necessary. Using terrain features like trees and boulders will also help you avoid detection. Just keep in mind that horses are surprisingly good at detecting danger, so if they see hostiles approaching or if distant enemies are causing a ruckus (the more unsavory occupants of Hyrule aren’t above attacking each other, or wild horses, for that matter) they could just end up constantly fleeing.
Get close to one via the aforementioned contrivances and press the button, which will cause Link to mount the wild horse. This is only the start of your efforts, however, as wild horses must be broken before showing any signs of obedience. To do so, mash the button, which will attempt to soothe the horse. While riding these bucking beasts, your Stamina will be drained, and if you can’t soothe the horse before your Stamina depletes you’ll be bucked. Some horses are more temperamental than others, so if you can’t tame a particular wild horse, don’t be discouraged - you may just need to try to catch another one, which may be more amenable to your efforts.
How to Ride Horses in Legend of Zelda: ToTK¶
Once the horse is tamed you can ride it, but you shouldn’t expect freshly tamed mounts to be terribly well-mannered, even if they’re not likely to throw you off anymore. You can spur the horse onward by pressing , but this consumes a spur charge. Different horses have different numbers of these charges available, and they’ll be displayed at the bottom-center of the screen while mounted. Spur charges recover over time, and serve as a boost/stamina meter for your mount. If your horse isn’t behaving as you’d like, press to soothe it and it should become more compliant. As you ride and soothe a horse, your Bond with it will increase, making the animal less likely to misbehave. Just don’t spur the poor animal into trees, boulders and other obstacles. Surprisingly they’re not fans of that sort of behavior. You can dismount a horse by pressing the button.
If you want to keep a wild horse you’ve caught and tamed, you’ll need to visit a Stable. There, you can register multiple horses via the Stable Master at the front desk, and it’ll act as storage for them since you only want one horse out at a time! You’ll get a bridle and saddle as well.
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