The world in Tears of the Kingdom is vast, and getting from A to B can take quite a lot of time if you don’t have many fast travel locations unlocked.
Luckily, it’s possible to find some great horses in the game to help make your travels easier.
There’s a big variety of horses, each with their own stats and styles, and taming them can be quite tricky if you don’t know where to start.
To help you find your next four-legged friend, here’s a guide on how to tame horses in Tears of the Kingdom. I’ll look at the taming and boarding process, along with tips on how to get unstuck if your horse accidentally gets stuck on a steep ledge or cliff.
How to Tame a Horse
Taming horses in Tears of the Kingdom can be tricky, especially if you haven’t enhanced your stealth in any way.
First things first, you’ll need to find a wild horse in order to tame it.
If you’ve just started playing, chances are that you’ve just unlocked the fast travel location at Lookout Landing. There are some small packs of wild horses that roam outside of this settlement, so take a look out there first.
When you find a wild horse, crouch down in order to enter stealth mode.
Slowly approach the horse from behind. I’d recommend going from a diagonal angle, as the horse will often kick backwards when startled and this can hurt.
Once you get close enough with spooking the horse, you’ll be able to press the A button in order to mount it. Prepare for some button mashing.
You’ll then need to repeatedly hit the LR button to soothe the horse. This consumes stamina.
If you manage to soothe the horse (some are easier than others) without being thrown off, you will have successfully tamed the horse.
The riding controls will pop up on screen if it’s your first time getting a horse.
Riding a horse can take time to get the hang of, especially at the start when you have not formed a bond with it.
Over time, your horse will like you more and become more responsive.
If you ever find yourself stuck while on your horse, don’t worry as there’s an easy fix. Horses can get stuck on tall ledges and rocks quite easily.
Simply hold down the ZL button and move your horse sideways.
It will follow your instructions, even if it was trying to resist them beforehand.
How to Board Horses
To board a horse, you will need to find a nearby stable in order to register it. There are quite a few across Hyrule, and they’re all connected so you can access your horses from any point in the game.
New Serenne Stable is usually the first one that players will come across in the game, as it’s relatively close to Lookout Landing.
Often, stables double up as inns which is very useful if you want to rest, regain health, and change the time of day. You can even get massages at inns.
Speak to the stable owner to begin the process of boarding your horse.
Usually, registering and boarding a horse costs 20 Rupees. However, if it’s your first time using a stable, you will be able to board your horse for free.
Once you’ve finished the interaction with the stable owner to register your horse, you can choose to board it or keep it with you.
If you choose to board your horse, it will go off to the stable automatically.
You’ll get a brief summary of your horse’s statistics when boarding it, too.
You can get your horse back at any point by visiting a stable, although it’s worth noting that there are finite stable spaces available.
Interestingly, if you have any Breath of the Wild save data with horses, your horses from that game will automatically appear in this game.
You’ll earn Pony Points when boarding horses which is useful if there are any particular rewards from the Pony Points system that you’re looking for.
You can check how many Pony Points you need for the next reward tier by opening your main inventory and tabbing over to the Key Items section.
The item description will tell you more about the card and how many more points you need to get to the next reward tier level.
The towing harness is the first reward from this system and it’s quite useful.
If you want to redeem any Pony Points, go to the desk with an open book in the stables. It will give you the option to learn more about the system or redeem your points.
Pony Points are valid at any stable in the game and you can redeem them whenever you like.
What to Do Next
If you’re struggling to sneak up on a horse and tame it, look into making a stealth elixir. There are plenty of useful elixirs in the game which can help you with everything from defeating enemies to staying alive in difficult conditions.
Following that, there are plenty of great recipes that can do that too.
If you’re new to the game and struggling to pay 20 Rupees for your next horse registration, look into the different ways you can farm Rupees. The currency is surprisingly easy to come across if you know which items to watch out for.