Taming a wild horse in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild transforms how you travel across the sprawling landscapes of Hyrule. While traversing open plains on foot takes considerable time, securing a reliable mount allows Link to cover vast distances efficiently. Mastering the mechanics of approaching, mounting, and soothing wild horses ensures you can claim any steed you encounter.
Finding and Approaching Wild Horses
Wild horses roam in herds across open areas like the Granteed Plains, Ash Swamp, and fields near local stables. Spotted horses generally have gentler temperaments, making them ideal targets for beginners with limited stamina. Solid-colored horses offer superior speed and strength stats, but they resist capture far more aggressively.
Approaching a horse requires stealth because sudden movements or loud footsteps will startle the herd. Press the left joystick to crouch and slowly walk up behind the horse out of its line of sight. Wearing stealth-boosting armor or consuming stealth-enhancing meals makes sneaking significantly easier.
Soothing and Managing Your Stamina
Once you are close enough to mount the horse, press the interact button to leap onto its back. The horse will immediately begin bucking to throw Link off, causing your stamina wheel to drain rapidly. Rapidly press the soothe button to calm the animal down before your stamina empties completely.
If you attempt to catch a high-stat horse, your base stamina wheel might run out before the horse surrenders. You can pause the game mid-struggle to consume stamina-recovering dishes or elixirs to keep soothing. Alternatively, player techniques like ice arrows or gliding from above offer alternative entry points for mounting.
Building Trust and Registration
Calming the horse is only the first phase of taming, as the mount may still resist your steering commands initially. Whenever the horse disobeys or successfully clears an obstacle, press the soothe button to reward it and build affection. Feeding the horse treats like apples directly from your hand also rapidly increases your bond level.
To permanently keep your new mount, ride it to any stable across Hyrule and speak with the front desk attendant. Paying a small registration fee of 20 rupees allows you to name the horse and equips it with a standard saddle and bridle. Once registered, you can board or retrieve your horse from any stable location whenever you need it.
