BOTW Rare Horses Guide

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Laura May Randell

Laura-May is a Lvl 30 gamer and writer, armed with a Bachelor of Arts and far too much gaming experience. A majority of her experience has come from The Legend of Zelda series, and it is her mission in life to discover every secret that Breath of the Wild has to offer. When she's not exploring Hyrule, you can often find her on Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, Kingdom Hearts, Hogwarts Legacy, or almost any other RPG.

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Finding and taming wild horses was one of the highlights of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for me. You know those times when you really want to play a video game, but you are too tired to put much effort into it? In those scenarios, games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons or Stardew Valley come in clutch.

But for me, I would still boot up Breath of the Wild. There is so much to do in the game that doesn’t require too much thought or effort, including finding and taming new wild horses. Striving to find the best combination of mane, coat color, and stats was my favorite past-time in the game.

But there are a few horses that stand out from the crowd. Two of which include their own side quest, and one of which is, of course, the legendary Epona herself. In this guide, I will walk you through finding and taming all of the rare horses, as well as teach you everything I know about getting your hands on the rarest and best wild mounts in the game.

Key Notes Up Front

There are two rare horses in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that have their own side quests. The Royal White Stallion, and the Giant Horse. The Royal White Stallion is rumored to be the descendant of a horse that once belonged to Princess Zelda, and the Giant Horse is rumored to be the descendant of Ganondorf’s horse. Both horses resemble the owners of their ancestors in some way.

You can also get Epona in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild if you have the Twilight Link Amiibo for Smash Brothers Ultimate. Epona does not include her own side quest and does not exist in the wild.

The Royal White Stallion Side Quest

• Strength: 4
  Speed: 3
  Stamina: 5

The Royal White Stallion has a pure white coat with a light blonde mane. While many of the wild horses in Breath of the Wild have white spots or white manes, this is the only horse with a white base color for its coat.

It is also rumored to be the descendant of the horse that Princess Zelda’s rode before the Calamity, so that makes it even cooler. If you want the Royal White Stallion as your loyal steed, and let’s be honest, you definitely do, here’s how.

To begin the quest, you must first head over to Outskirt Stable. There you will find a little old man named Toffa. Toffa tells you about the rumors of a pure white horse and how his Grandfather used to talk about the white horse Zelda had back in the day.

Toffa also gives you a clue as to where you might be able to find this mythical white horse. It has recently been sighted around Safula Hill in Hyrule Ridge, so that’s where we are going to head off to.

Since you are already right next to a stable, it makes sense to take out one of your horses to get to Safula Hill faster. It is pretty close by, so you don’t have to travel too far, but riding on a horse always makes every journey more fun.

Once you are atop your horse of choice, turn left at the stable and set off towards Safula Hill. Turn right at the fork, and you will eventually come across a monument with a statue of a horse.

That is right around where you want to be. The area is quite large, and the horse does move around, so its exact location will be different for every player. For me, the horse was pretty much right behind that statue on the grassy plain.

The horse isn’t part of a herd like most other wild horses, so look out for a lonely horse with a pure white coat. You really can’t miss it.

The White Stallion takes a lot more to tame than your average wild horse, taking a solid two wheels of stamina to soothe. So if you don’t have that much stamina yet, consider making a couple of Endura Elixirs to boost it.

You can make an Endura Elixir by combining a Tireless Frog with any Monster Part in a cooking pot. If you want to give the base recipe a little boost, you can also add Endura Carrots or Endura Shrooms to make your elixir even stronger.

The White Stallion also spooks easier than most other wild horses. If you have ample stamina to tame the horse, but you’re struggling to sneak up on it, donning any stealth armor set will help you become quieter. You can use the Phantom Ganon set if you have it, or you can purchase the Stealth set from Kakariko Village.

If you’re looking to boost your stealth even further, you can make a Sneaky Elixir out of a Sunset Firefly and any Monster Part. Combining it with Blue Nightshade, Silent Princess Flowers, or Silent Shrooms can make boost it even more. Another fun fact about Sneaky Elixirs is that they will be stronger if you brew them before midnight on the night of the Blood Moon.

Once you are sufficiently sneaky and armed with your two wheels of stamina, crouch by pressing the left joystick down and start to slowly sneak up on the horse.

If it’s raining, that will help drown out the sound of your movements even further. When you get close enough, you will be prompted to press A to mount the horse. Once you’re on, start mashing the L button until the horse calms down.

Once the White Horse stops bucking, you are free to ride it back to the stable and register the horse there. You can only have five horses registered at once, so it’s up to you if you want to set one of your other horses free or not, but I strongly recommend you do. The White Stallion is a great horse, and you can’t complete the side quest until it’s boarded.

Once the horse is yours, give it an awesome name ( I called mine Willow because, sadly, I had already called another horse Luna) and show it to Toffa. You can talk to an NPC while riding a horse by pressing the ZL button and locking in on them before pressing A to engage in conversation.

When you board the White Stallion, it will have a regular saddle and bridle, but after speaking to Toffa and completing the side quest, he will give you a special Royal Saddle and Bridle, which suit your majestic new horse perfectly.

Hunt For The Giant Horse Side Quest

• Strength: 5
  Speed: 2
  Stamina: 0

The next rare horse quest awaits you around Highland Stable. Fast travel to the Ka’o Makagh Shrine, take out your favorite horse from the Stable, and turn left to head off down the road. Turn left again at the fork and keep riding over the land bridge that crosses Menoat River. Just after you cross the land bridge, you will come to the Mounted Archery Camp.

Beside a tree near the entrance of the Archery Camp, you will find two NPCs, one of which has a quest for you. An NPC named Straia has heard rumors of a giant horse roaming the Taobob Grasslands, and he wants you to find it. Well, that’s exactly what we’re gonna do.

If you turn to the West of Straia’s campfire, you will see an empty clearing with a herd of wild horses. Set off in that direction toward the Taobob Grasslands. Turn right once you pass the Nautelle Wetlands and travel right up through the Oseira Plains.

There are a couple of Lynels that roam this area, as well as herds of Bokoblin Riders, so make sure you avoid them. They can be really annoying, though, so if they are causing you a lot of trouble you might prefer to take them on. The choice is yours. Once you start seeing the unique Dragonsblood trees of the Taobob Grasslands, you will know you are in the right place.

The Giant Horse is not hard to spot. It is over twice the size of any other horse in the area and is black in color with a bright orange mane. Unlike the White Stallion, the Giant Horse does live among other horses, which makes the process of taming it a little harder.

When one horse spooks, they all do. So you have to really be quiet when you’re approaching the Giant Horse. Equip any Stealth-Up set you may have, as well as any stamina or stealth-boosting elixirs you’ve prepared for the task, and crouch down to the ground.

You really want to walk as slowly as possible, so this mission definitely requires a good amount of patience. The Giant Horse takes around two and a half wheels of stamina, so once you press A to mount it, start mashing the L button as quickly as possible and take any elixirs necessary to replenish your stamina wheel until it calms down.

The road back to Highland Stable is a long and dangerous journey as you have to sneak past the two Lynels and hordes of Bokoblin Riders, but you will get there eventually. The horse might even be completely tamed by the time you reach the stable if you continuously soothe it with the L button until you get there.

Now all that’s left to do is think of another suitably awesome name for your horse and board it at the stable (I went with Deku because the Giant Horse is almost as big as the Deku tree). Once you board your beast of a horse, you will automatically receive its unique bridle and saddle set. I guess none of the regular ones fit.

Once the horse is yours, ride it back to the Mounted Archery Camp and show it to Straia to complete the side quest and collect your Silver Rupee as a reward.

The Giant Horse has some pretty unique stats. It has max strength and can easily run down enemies due to its bulldozer-like size. Because it is so big, though, it only has 2 speed and 0 stamina. 2 speed for the Giant Horse feels more like 3 or 4 speed for a normal horse, though, because of the length of its strides.

Taming And Boarding Epona

• Strength: 4
  Speed: 4
  Stamina: 4

Epona is an absolutely legendary mount in The Legend of Zelda series, but she does come at a cost in Breath of the Wild. Unlike the other legendary horses that have their own side quests, Epona must be purchased with real-world currency.

In order to unlock her, you must use the Twilight Link Amiibo for Smash Brothers Ultimate. If you already have this Amiibo, then you are one lucky gamer. But if you just really want Epona as I did, you will have to purchase the Amiibo figure.

There are some preparations you should put in place before using the Amiibo and getting a saddle on Epona. The first time you use the Amiibo, you are guaranteed to get Epona. But every subsequent time after that, you only have a small chance of spawning this legendary horse. And trust me when I say it is a very small chance.

You can also only use the Amiibo once per day, but you can load up a past save to try again as many times as you want. That process will take you a very long time, though, so you really want to board her on the first day to prevent having to wait.

So before you use the Amiibo for the first time, make sure you are near a stable so you can board her immediately. Epona doesn’t require any taming and has a dark brown coat with a blonde mane, tail, and blonde socks. Epona also has the most balanced stats out of all the horses in Breath of the Wild.

Special Mentions

While Epona, the White Stallion, and the Giant Horse are the only rare mounts that you can board at a stable, there are several other rare creatures you can mount in Breath of the Wild. We all know about being able to mount deer and bears already, and they are cool, but there are several other creatures you can mount that are even more special.

Although you can’t keep these awesome creatures in a stable to call whenever you need them, they are undoubtedly epic and can serve as your loyal steed for a time, anyway.

The Lord of the Mountain

The Lord of the Mountain is undoubtedly the coolest and most epic mount you will ever lay eyes on in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It spawns randomly and very occasionally on the peak of Satori Mountain, at the location of one of the only Sakura trees in the whole game.

The Lord of the Mountain glows with a mythical blue color and has an almost bug-like face featuring four eyes and some adorable antennae. It almost looks like a grown-up version of those little glowing bunny rabbits you first see around the Great Fairy Fountain in Kakariko Village. It doesn’t give you any Rupees, though.

The Lord of the Mountain is incredibly hard to mount and tame since it only spawns in a small pond of water on top of Mount Satori. That means it will almost always hear you coming, so plenty of Sneaky Elixirs and a Stealth-Up set bonus are extremely helpful when taming this mount.

It is by far the fastest mount in the game, too. The Lord of the Mountain has 5 stamina spurs which is the maximum amount, but they instantly replenish, giving this mount infinite stamina. If you haven’t tamed the Lord of the Mountain on Mount Satori before, I can’t recommend it enough. It is definitely one of the coolest parts of the game.

Mount Satori is also a tribute to the late Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata, who sadly passed away during the development of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Stalhorse

You know Bokoblin Riders? If you’ve played the game, you definitely would have come across them before. And you possibly also would have come across their undead cousins, the Stalkoblin Riders.

Stalhorses often get a bad rap because they are usually only seen being used as weapons of destruction by their wayward riders, but Stalhorses themselves are actually gentle creatures that are also rideable.

In some ways, they are actually even nicer than the regular wild horses in Breath of the Wild because they come pre-tamed. Possibly due to the fact that their bones may disconnect if they tried to buck you off too hard, but I prefer to think it’s because they are really nice guys.

You can knock Stalkoblins off their mounts and steal their Stalhorses that way, but there are two riderless Stalhorses in the Faron region that you can mount and ride around without the threat of death as an imminent possibility.

Unfortunately, you can’t get too attached to your Stalhorse mounts, as they are destined to die at 5.00 am every morning when the sun rises. It is an unfortunate inevitability, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

Lynel

You have to have a death wish or something to attempt this stunt, but it is possible to mount a Lynel. Of course, they cannot be boarded at any stable due to their murderous intentions, but mounting a Lynel is something you have to do at least once.

I had never personally tried to mount and ride a Lynel before writing this because I actually value my life, in-game or otherwise, but I simply couldn’t write about it without giving it a go, so I did it for you guys.

After trying to approach it and mount it from the ground, I realized that it was impossible. So I decided the best method was to climb the mountains around Taobob Glasslands and glide down to land on the Lynel. And just as I thought, it was absolutely terrifying.

You can mount a Lynel, but you cannot tame or ride it. No matter how many Stealth Elixirs you have. The Lynel also killed my horse which was absolutely devastating. So if we could all have a moment of silence for Ryuk the horse, that would be greatly appreciated. 

The Master Cycle Zero

The Master Cycle Zero is the reward you get for completing The Master Trials part of the EX Champion’s Ballad DLC. It is essentially a totally badass motorcycle shaped like a unicorn that becomes part of your Sheikah Slate.

You can command the Master Cycle Zero almost anywhere. You can even take it off-roading over mountains and other places horses usually refuse to go.

All you have to do to get the Master Cycle Zero is complete four more trials, defeat each Blight Ganon once again with limited weapons and food, complete a whole new Divine Beast underneath the Shrine of Resurrection, and defeat the Great Monk Maz Koshia…

Okay, when you put it that way, it does sound like quite the mission. But it’s worth it for this incredible mount in Breath of the Wild.

What do You Get For Taming And Boarding The Rare Horses In The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild?

For taming and boarding the rare horses, you get to knock two side quests off your to-do list. You get the Royal Saddle and Bridle for completing The Royal White Stallion quest, you get a Silver Rupee for completing The Hunt For The Giant Horse quest, and last but not least, you get two epic horses to add to your own herd.

The White Stallion may just be more or less a white horse, which is awesome. But the Giant Horse is particularly useful because of its unmatched strength.

FAQs

BOTW Rare Horses Guide: Conclusion

Any horse is going to be a perfect ally to you throughout your adventure, but the rare ones do spice it up a bit. The White Stallion is just as beautiful as Zelda, and the Giant Horse’s power is second to none, so completing the two side quests to tame them is well worth your time and effort.

Hopefully, this guide has helped you out on your adventure to tame the rarest horses Hyrule has to offer. I do hope none of your horses met the same demise mine did, though, that was not part of the tutorial.