Key Takeaway
Approach a horse directly from behind while crouching and moving slowly. When you get close enough to see the “Mount” prompt, press the A button. That’s all there is to it—however, after mounting, you can press the L button to soothe the newly-tamed horse so that it doesn’t buck you.
While the game doesn’t do a great job of telling you how to tame horses, it’s not a big deal. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is all about experimentation and finding your own way. Also, taming horses is really easy if you use the right approach.
Table Of Contents
How to Tame Horses in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Video Guide
How to Approach a Horse
How to tame horses revolves around your approach. On that note, the correct approach is to sneak up on it directly from behind. If you’re even a little to the side of the horse, it’ll spot you and move away.
However, if you can get close enough for the “Mount” prompt to appear, you’re in the clear! When you see that prompt, press the A button to jump onto the horse’s back.
The horse takes off and may try to buck you. At this point, we recommend that you soothe your steed with the L button.
Reasons to Tame a Horse
The most obvious benefit of taming a horse is that you can move a lot faster while riding than on foot. Galloping across the open prairies of Hyrule is efficient and satisfying.
The other benefit is related to combat. You’re a lot harder to hit while you’re riding a horse. As such, you can make use of hit-and-run tactics to wear down strong foes, pick off crowds of enemies one at a time, and more. Either swinging your melee weapon or shooting your bow from horseback can be great combat tactics—even more so with fused arrows.
Tips for Riding Horses
Keep in mind that horses don’t have infinite stamina. When urging your steed to move faster, you’ll see spur icons at the bottom of the screen. When all spur icons are depleted, your horse runs out of stamina and needs time to recover before it can again move at high speeds.
You should also be wary of the terrain, as horses can get hurt from fall damage. What’s more, unlike you and your Paraglider, your poor horse doesn’t have a way of dealing with deadly ol’ gravity. Be kind to your equine and your equine will be kind to you!
