Horses are back in The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom, and if you’ve played its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, you’ll probably already have a good idea of how they work.
If you’re new though, or need a refresher, we’ve put together a short, handy guide to finding and taming a horse so that you can roam around the surface of Hyrule quickly and a little more safely. Plus, there are some brand-new features to keep in mind, so read on:
How Do I Unlock Horses In Tears Of The Kingdom?
Before you can even think about acquiring a noble steed and zipping around Hyrule on horseback, you’ll need to tidy up a few prerequisites first.
Once you’ve made it through the early main quests and reached the Lookout Landing location in Hyrule, you’ll eventually be able to speak to a pair of characters at the landing’s small stable – if they’re not ready for you yet you’ll have to progress through the main quest line a little first and come back. Eventually, You’ll be asked to repair the stable’s roof, which you can do using the Ultrahand ability to move a nearby plank onto the roof, thus fixing the stable and granting Link the go-ahead to get wranglin’.
Where Are Horses Located?
Horses can be found all over Hyrule, specifically on the main “ground level” map. The best places to find them are large, open fields – especially any fields that are nearer to a stable, like the one you’ve just fixed. You can also find enemies riding them, and with a bit of skill you can shoot a roaming Bokoblin off of its mount and take it for your own – more on that a bit further down, though.
How Do I Tame Horses?
It’s not enough just to find a horse in the wilds of Hyrule and ride it off into the sunset – you’ll need to tame them first. It works in much the same way as it did in Breath of the Wild, so once you’ve found a horse you’ll need to crouch and sneak up on it slowly from behind.
If you can get close enough with the horse being spooked and running away or giving Link a kick to the skull, you can tap the A button to mount it. Then, you’ll need to quickly soothe it with the L button (left bumper) until it calms down and you can safely ride it away. If you’ve managed to swipe a horse from an enemy, it should already be tame enough for you to simply jump on and disappear with it.
How Do I Increase The Bond With My Horse?
Once you’ve caught a horse, you’ll probably want to bring it to the closest stable and register it as yours – which costs 20 rupees per steed (the first one is free). That way, you can customise the horse with its very own name and saddle, and retrieve it from any of the stables across Hyrule when you need.
With that done, you’ll also want to build up a bond with your horse to ensure it’s always going to do what you want it to. Like BotW, giving your horse soothing pets with the L button as you’re roaming around with it is a great way to increase your bond. You’ll also want to equip it with better gear like saddles and bridles, many of which you can obtain using the new Pony Points, obtained by getting a membership card from a stable master and consistently using Hyrule’s stable facilities.
Can I Unlock Epona In Tears Of The Kingdom?
The short answer to this is yes.
The long answer is yes, but she’s not nearly as useful as the other horses.
You can unlock the iconic Epona one of two ways – either by using the Super Smash Bros. Link amiibo or Twilight Princess Link amiibo which will unlock her instantly, or by having already unlocked her in Breath of the Wild. Your horses from the previous game will be carried across to the new one as long as you have your old save file on the same Switch console you’re using to play Tears of the Kingdom.
But while Epona’s in-game stats are great, she can’t be customised with any of the horse gear, which means she’s also unable to equip a tow bar to pull things like carts.
If you’re just starting out on your Tears of the Kingdom adventure, check out our other guides to unlocking all of Link’s new abilities, and using amiibo figures to score some great unique gear.
