Zelda BotW's horses do not work as in Skyrim or The Witcher 3. Here, you will have to capture your horse yourself, tame it and register it in one of Hyrule's many stables to make it yours once and for all. Each horse has its own statistics and an associated behavior (docile, fierce). For example, mottled horses will be more likely to be docile than plain-colored horses, against lower endurance and vigor. Those with the most power consume much more endurance and it is therefore possible that you will have difficulties if you have not increased this statistic enough.
Another important detail is that your horses are not equipped with bionic ultrasound like in other games: if you whistle but your steed is too far away, it simply won't come. Finally, a horse that is 100% affectionate will follow the paths set by itself and will be much more manageable (often press L or feed him whenever you have the opportunity).
Your first horse
You have just sweated from the prelude plains, you are heading towards Kakariko but, you find that the path is a little long on foot. No problem, you should find your first mount on the road, in the area north of the Gemini Mountains. However, beware, the plain before the herd of wild horses is full of guards!
Discretion is for noobs
The game will very quickly teach you that to capture a horse, you will have to advance behind it with muffled steps before jumping on it. This method works of course, but there is a simpler way to try to capture a mount easily: climb a height, dive into it in a paravoile and hurry to press the button to ride it, the latter will be too surprised to try to escape.
Increase the stamina of the horse
If it is possible to temporarily increase the number of Link hearts, the same applies to the stamina of horses. To do this, you will need a good stock of endura carrots: these will increase the maximum number of sprints until you use the extra, very practical when you go on very long trips.
Raising a horse from the dead
Did your favorite mount fall off a cliff? Don't worry, there is a way to bring them back to life, thanks to a rather special fairy living in the southern plains. To unlock it, you will still need 1000 rubies, after which it will appear and propose you to bring back one of your dead horses to life (see pictures for its exact position).
Special horses
Secondary quests will ask you to capture particular horses, such as a giant horse or Princess Zelda's mare. To get these exceptional mounts, you will need a lot of endurance given their power, though, they are really worth it, so feel free to try them as soon as possible (see pictures for quest locations).
Written by Bastien "Lloyd" Dubosq-Luyer. Translated from French by Millenium.us.org.
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