Red Dead Redemption 2 Horses are more advanced than ever before and this guide will ensure that you know all about finding these magnificent mounts, reaching max bonding, finding stables, perma-death, and feeding them.
Red Dead Redemption 2 Horses
Before we dive into how to care for your horse and all of the other things that go along with managing it, you need to know how to get a horse from the wild.
Once you have found your horse and caught it, you need to first break it and then tame it before you use it. When you see a horse out in the wild, you need to get out your lasso.
Select the lasso from your Weapon Wheel and then use it by holding the LT and then RT to swing it. If the aiming marker is red, then you will hit the target.
Once you have the rope on your horse, you can press X to calm it down as you get close to it slowly. When you are close to the horse, you can mount it.
The horse will try to get away from you and you need to win a mini-game in order to be able to ride it. Once you break the horse, it is yours to control for however long you want or however long the horse survives.
Horses Locations
Let’s take a look at where to find every single one of the horses in the game one by one. Horses in Red Dead Redemption 2 are divided into several categories and you should choose the one that you feel comfortable with.
In total, there are 19 different breeds of horses, the types which will appear under the “Horse” heading in the table below. For each breed or specie, there may be multiple variations or skins for the horse which are labelled under the “Coat” heading.
In this section of our RDR2 Mounts Guide, we have detailed how to unlock different types of horses available to Arthur Morgan in the game as well as horses locations.
| Horse | Coat | Location |
| American Paint | Overo | Wild/Ambient |
| American Paint | Tobiano | Wild/Ambient |
| American Paint | Splashed White | Wild/Ambient |
| American Paint | Grey Overo | Tumbleweed Stable – Epilogue 1 |
| American Standardbred | Black | Wild/Ambient |
| American Standardbred | Buckskin | Wild/Ambient |
| American Standardbred | Palomino Dapple | Valentine Stable – Chapter 2 |
| American Standardbred | Silver Tail Buckskin | Tumbleweed Stable – Epilogue 1 |
| Andalusian | Dark Bay | Strawberry Stable – Chapter 2 |
| Andalusian | Rose Grey | Van Hor Stable – Chapter 6 |
| Appaloosa | Blanket | Wild/Ambient |
| Appaloosa | Leopard Blanket | Wild/Ambient |
| Appaloosa | Leopard | Van Hor Stable – Chapter 6 |
| Appaloosa | Brown Leopard | Tumbleweed Stable – Epilogue 1 |
| Arabian | Black | Saint Denis Stable – Chapter 4 |
| Arabian | White | Go North West of Valentine. |
| Arabian | Rose Grey Bay | Blackwater Stable – Epilogue 1 |
| Ardennes | Bay Roan | Scarlett Meadows Stable – Chapter 2 |
| Ardennes | Strawberry Roan | Van Hor Stable – Chapter 6 |
| Belgian | Blond Chestnut | Wild/Ambient |
| Belgian | Mealy Chestnut | Wild/Ambient |
| Dutch Warmblood | Sooty Buckskin | Scarlett Meadows Stable – Chapter 2 |
| Dutch Warmblood | Seal Brown | Strawberry Stable – Chapter 3 |
| Dutch Warmblood | Chocolate Roan | Valentine Stable – Chapter 2 |
| Hungarian Halfbred | Flaxen Chestnut | Wild/Ambient |
| Hungarian Halfbred | Peibald Tabiano | Wild/Ambient |
| Hungarian Halfbred | Dapple Dark Grey | Valentine Stable – Chapter 2 |
| Kentucky Saddler | Black | Wild/Ambient |
| Kentucky Saddler | Chestnut Pinto | Wild/Ambient |
| Kentucky Saddler | Silver Bay | Wild/Ambient |
| Missouri Fox Trotter | Amber Champagne | Scarlett Meadows Stable – Chapter 4 |
| Missouri Fox Trotter | Silver Dapple Pinto | Blackwater Stable – Epilogue 1 |
| Morgan | Bay Roan | Valentine Stable – Chapter 2 |
| Morgan | Bay | Wild/Ambient |
| Morgan | Flaxen Chestnut | Wild/Ambient |
| Mustang | Tiger Striped Bay | Head South of Armadillo |
| Mustang | Grullo Dun | Wild/Ambient |
| Mustang | Wild Bay | Wild/Ambient |
| Nokota | Reverse Dapple Roan | Saint Denis Stable – Chapter 4 |
| Nokota | Blue Roan | Wild/Ambient |
| Nokota | White Roan | Wild/Ambient |
| Shire | Raven Black | After you complete Exit Pursued by a Bruised Ego – Chapter 2 |
| Shire | Dark Bay | Wild/Ambient |
| Shire | Light Grey | Wild/Ambient |
| Suffolk Punch | Red Chestnut | Wild/Ambient |
| Suffolk Punch | Sorrel | Wild/Ambient |
| Tennesse Walker | Mahogany Bay | After you complete Outlaws From the West – Chapter 1 |
| Tennesse Walker | Red Roan | Valentine Stable – Chapter 2 |
| Tennesse Walker | Black Rabicano | Wild/Ambient |
| Tennesse Walker | Chestnut | Wild/Ambient |
| Tennesse Walker | Dapple Bay | Wild/Ambient |
| Thoroughbred | Brindle | Strawberry Stable – Chapter 3 |
| Thoroughbred | Blood Bay | Wild/Ambient |
| Turkoman | Gold | Saint Denis Stable – Chapter 4 |
| Turkoman | Silver | Tumbleweed Stable – Epilogue 1 |
How to Call your Horse
Often times, your horse will be far away from you and you will need to call it. There is a specific range at which you can call your horse and the horse may not come to you at all.
In order to overcome both of these problems, you need to increase your horse bonding level. You can go to a stable to respawn your horse if you are unable to call it.
You can call your horse by pressing up on your D-pad. The horse follows you around when you go around on a train or a stagecoach.
Remember that your horse will sometimes only come in your close vicinity and you will need to go and get on it.
Bonding and Loyalty
There are a total of 4 different horse bonding levels all of which can be seen if you take a look at our Horse Bonding Guide.
You can increase your horse bonding level by creating waypoint markers and using the automatic travel which will give you experience with the horse.
There are other ways to increase your horse bonding level too. You have to feed your horse. The food is found in stables and you can use your Weapon Wheel to feed your horse.
Remember that not feeding your horse will have negative consequences. Also, make sure that you calm your horse down by pressing L3 if you find enemies agitate it.
Lastly, remember to groom your horse and clean it when it is dirty. This can be done by pressing L2 to look at it and then left on D-pad. If your horse is already clean, then this will not work.
You need to reach a certain amount of XP to get to the next bonding level. The more stats your horse has, the more XP you need in order to get to the next level.
Let’s go ahead and take a look at how much XP you need to progress to the next level with your horse. Remember that the stats are represented by adding all 4 of the stats that your horse has.
| Bonding Level | Stats 1-12 | Stats 13-16 | Stats 17-21 | Stats 220-30 |
| Level 1 | 50 XP | 50 XP | 50 XP | 50 XP |
| Level 2 | 200 XP | 250 XP | 300 XP | 350 XP |
| Level 3 | 300 XP | 450 XP | 600 XP | 750 XP |
| Level 4 | 400 XP | 700 XP | 1000 XP | 1300 XP |
Now that you know the amount of experience that is required for you to level up, let’s take a look at the actions that grant you that aforementioned XP and enable you to level up.
| Action | XP |
| Tame the Horse | 25 |
| Equip Saddle | Up to 50 |
| Riding a specific amount | 15 |
| Calming | 15 |
| Patting | 5 |
| Cleaning When Dirty | 15 |
| Feeding Treat | 5 |
| Feeding standard food | 5 |
| Feeding nutritious food | 15 |
| Walking | 2/5 seconds |
| Gallop | 1/5 seconds |
| Leading | 2/5 seconds |
| Unloading (after carrying load for 2.5 hours) | 15 |
| Hitching (1 per area and 1 every 12 hours) | 15 |
How to Revive your Horse
Your horse can die for a number of different reasons. When your horse dies, you can revive it. In order to revive your horse, you need a special item known as the Revive Tonic.
It can be bought from numerous different vendors across the world and at stables. If your horse does not have a red icon next to it, then it is permanently dead.
If you do not want to get a tonic, simply exit the game and lose a little bit of progress but get your horse back by respawning into the world. Always remember to take note of your horses’ health so that it does not die in the first place.
Stopping Dead
If you want to stop your horse immediately, there is a way to do that. Normally, you can simply let go of the button that is used to move the horse and it eventually grinds to a halt after methodically slowing down.
However, you can press the RB button and it will come to a stop immediately. You can use this technique to avoid running into other people, avoid falls, and deal with enemies in your way.
Horse Stables Locations
At the stables, you can manage your own horses. You can own up to 4 different horses which can be accessed through the stables. You can also buy new horses which are available. Different stables will have different horses for you to buy.
All of the horse equipment is also available such as saddles, stirrups, and blankets among other things. Not only that, all of the food items required for your horse and the reviver is also sold at these stables.
How to Get the Best Horses
The best horses in the game can be bought from the stables of Saint Dennis or Blackwater. As you move on with the story, better horses will be available for you to buy.
Blackwater is an area that only becomes available towards the later stages of the game and thus, Saint Dennis will be your destination to buy some of the best horses.
There are 3 different types of horses. Standard Handling Horses have medium speed and stamina, Race Handling ones have low stamina but amazing speed, and Elite Handling great stamina but medium speed.
Elite horses are the most expensive and better than anybody else.
Perhaps the best horse in the game is the Arabian horse from Blackwater. The horse can be bought for $1,250 and has amazing starting stats for you to build on from.
It can accelerate well, spring well, and has the amazing stamina that goes along with a horse which possesses Elite Handling.
Horse Items
Here are all of the items that can be consumed by your horse. They range from food to medicine to performance enhancers. As mentioned earlier, there are a ton of items that you can give you to horse in order to increase its Stamina and HP Cores.
In addition to standard food items, you can also provide your horse with Medicine and Stimulants in order to increase its various attributes.
Food
| Item | Health Core | Stamina Core |
| Beets | 62 | 62 |
| Carrot | 62 | 62 |
| Hay Cube | 62 | 62 |
| Oat Cakes | 62 | 62 |
| Celery | 12 | 25 |
| Corn | 50 | 50 |
| Apple | 25 | 25 |
| Peach | 25 | 25 |
| Pear | 25 | 25 |
| Ginseng | 12 | 25 |
| Oregano | 25 | 12 |
| Wintergreen Berry | 25 | 12 |
| Bay Bolete | 25 | – |
| Chanterelles | 25 | – |
| Ram’s Head Mushroom | 25 | – |
| Wild Mint | 25 | – |
| Blackberry | 25 | – |
| Raspberry | 25 | – |
| Creeping Thyme | 25 | – |
| Sage | – | 25 |
| Currant | – | 25 |
| Wild Feverfew | – | 25 |
| Sugar Cube | – | 25 |
| Peppermint | – | 12 |
| English Mace | – | 12 |
| Common Bulrush | – | 12 |
Health Items
| Medicine | Health |
| Opened | 10 |
| Regular | 10 + 2 hour fortification |
| Potent | 10 + 4 hour fortification |
| Special | 10 + 10 hour fortification |
| Horse Reviver | 5 |
| Special Horse Power | 10 |
Stimulants
| Stimulant | Stamina |
| Opened | 10 |
| Regular | 10 + 2 hour fortification |
| Potent | 10 + 4 hour fortification |
| Special | 10 + 10 hour fortification |
How to Autopilot
Horses are more than just important in RDR2. They play a very huge role and you will need them most of the time to travel across the map.
You will need to put a waypoint to the location you want to go to and it’s the fastest way to travel to any destination. Here’s how to use autopilot step-by-step on PS4 or Xbox One.
Grab a horse and put a waypoint on the location where you want to go. Once done, just keep holding the X button on PS4 or A on Xbox One to start the ride.
Now hold on your touchpad on the PS4 controller or the view button on your Xbox One to initiate a cinematic view. With this cinematic view activate, take your fingers off the controller and the horse will travel to your destination automatically.
Now just make sure that you are on the road to initiate this autopilot feature. This feature will not work when you are not on the road.
Moreover, keep in mind that if you get attacked while riding the horse then you will be thrown off and that’s something you don’t want to happen in the world full of outlaws.
Therefore, just make sure to keep your eyes on the screen when you are using the autopilot feature and you’ll be ready to go wherever you want across the Wild West.
Best Horses
Although each horse breed is suited to different functions like some for labor-intensive work, while others purely for racing purposes, we couldn’t help but choose a top pick in each category.
In terms of overall performance including high speed, acceleration, and strength, the Arabian Horse excels due to their huge health and stamina pool.
As for horses that do well in the midst of action and combat, the Turkoman breed should be your top pick. It has good stability and can get out of tight spots thanks to its lean figure and good agility. They are also blessed with high durability.
Finally, the perfect riding horse, the one that can go long distances without tiring and hold much on them without showing a sign of lethargy, is the Missouri Fox Trotter species. Their tough build is ideal for a working horse class. Sadly, you can only purchase these horses from stables. They can’t be found and tamed in the wild.
The Nokota is a pretty good racing horse because of its speed. The different coats give it different boosts but you want to go for the Reverse Dapple Roan boasts since it offers the highest speed and acceleration. You can purchase it from a Stain Denis stable after Chapter 4.
Similarly, the Thoroughbreds are a great pick for their speed and acceleration. Pretty much all of their coats provide great acceleration but you should especially go for the Brindle coat that you can purchase from the Strawberry stables after Chapter 3
