Your mount in RDO is literally a life saver; unlike in the story mode, you can call any of your horses from (almost) anywhere. As long as you're in an accessible location. There are some areas of the map that your horse can't be called to with your whistle, such as the mountains up at the north end of the map, or the train tracks in a canyon or tunnel.

You can own up to 10 horses and saddles at any given time; but specific breeds, coats and tack will be level locked so you are limited as a new player.

Your first horse, stall, saddle and your Scrawny Nag will be free, but any upgrades from there will cost you a pretty penny. This guide will explain character-horse dynamics, provide helpful tips, and hopefully act as a well rounded reference for any questions you may have about RDO horses.

TLDR:

• You can call your horse from anywhere remotely near a road

• To swap to a different horse you can go to the stable option in your player menu

• If your horse dies, you can heal it from that same menu

• To fill cores, feed it

• To bond with it, pet it and feed it

• Speed doesn't matter, acceleration and handling do

• With the right tack you wont need to worry about stamina

• Buy whatever you want, it doesn't matter.

Cores vs Bars

Every horse has 2 cores: a health core and a stamina core. Cores can be fortified but not improved and they will drain over time. Just like with your character, you must feed the horse to re-fill their core.

• The health core is a representation of the horse's baseline HP, it will empty over time and is the same for every horse. It can be fortified with special items like Horse Meal that will prevent it from draining for a short amount of time.

  • Though this core will drain on it's own over time, it's quickened by serious injury and by the level of dirt and grime on your horse. You can counter-act this by consistently feeding your horse and brushing it.

• The stamina core, just like the health core, is a representation of the horse's baseline energy level. Just like the health core, it empties over time and is the same for every horse. It can be fortified with special items like Horse Ointment that will prevent it from draining for a short amount of time.

  • Though the core will drain on it's own over time, it's quickened by serious injury or exhaustion. You can counter-act this by consistently feeding your horse. This core is also effected by fear; if your horse is in a dangerous situation which makes it agitated or afraid, the stamina core will begin to drain more quickly.

Each core is surrounded by a bar/ring that represents their unique health or stamina level. These bars can be fortified by items and improved by bonding. Unlike the cores, bars will refill on their own with rest and time. Some items will re-fill them but they will not drain without external factors like sprinting or damage taken.

• The health bar surrounding the core is a representation of the unique health stat which that horse has, it is also effected by bonding level and can be fortified by Horse Medicine. For example, the Kentucky Saddler (one of the starter horse options) has a health bar of 33%. This means that, out of the 100 possible health points available for a horse, the Kentucky Saddler has a baseline of 33 points in their health bar. That baseline statistic is the same for every horse of that breed and coat- however, if it's a horse you own, that statistic will rise as you bond with it. Though our testing for each horse isn't complete, we estimate the bond level raises the horse's health and stamina bars approximately 8-10 points per bond level.

• The stamina bar surrounding the core is a representation of the unique energy stat which that horse has, like the health bare, it is also effected by bonding level. For example, the Kentucky Saddler has a stamina bar of 33%. This means that, out of the 100 possible energy points available for a horse, the Kentucky Saddler has a baseline of 33 points in their stamina bar. And just like the health bar, it can be improved through bonding and fortified with Horse Stimulants.

Healing and Reviving

There are 2 items you can use to heal and refill your horse's bars (not cores):

1. Horse Stimulant

   • These will refill and fortify your horse's stamina bars, the amount depends on what strength you use (either regular, potent or special)

2. Horse Medicine

   • These will refill and fortify your horse's health bars, the amount depends on what strength you use (either regular, potent or special)

There are also 3 items you can use to heal and refill your horse's cores (not bars):

1. Horse Meal

   • This will fill and fortify your horses health and stamina cores. You cannot buy these but you can purchase the pamphlet from the fence and craft them, or get the same effect by having your horse treated at the stable.

2. Special Horse Reviver

   • In addition to bringing your horse back from a critically injured state, it will also fortify it's health core and refill it's health bar. You cannot buy these but you can purchase the pamphlet and craft them.

3. Horse Ointment

   • This will fill and fortify your horse's stamina core only. You cannot buy this but you can purchase the pamphlet from the fence and craft it.

"Bonding level" represents your horse's connection with your character. As you ride it, feed it and care for it, the level of bonding will rise. Bonding in general has multiple benefits which are detailed below. There are 4 bonding levels that you can reach with your horse:

Bonding Level I

• • This is the base bonding level for you and your horse. You reach this level automatically after purchasing a new horse.

  • It doesn't unlock any special maneuvers.

Bonding Level II

• • Unlocks the stationary Rear ability

  • Improved stamina and health

  • Improved radar blip

  • Faster pathfinding when called

  • Improved loyalty

Bonding Level III

• • Unlocks the Skid abilities (skid turn and skid stop)

  • Improved stamina and health

  • Improved radar blip

  • Faster pathfinding when called

  • Improved loyalty

Bonding Level IV

• • This is the highest bonding level; the horse's stamina and health bars, as well as all other bonding improvements, are now at their maximum possible level.

  • Unlocks various complex maneuvers centered on the new ability to Piaffe and side-step.

    • This will also help you make more intricate moves with your horse like pathing around trees while running through the woods; if you hold down the Piaffe ability button, your horse is more likely to side-step a tree instead of barreling right into it.

  • Maximum stamina and health

  • Maximum radar blip

  • Maximum pathfinding

  • Maximum loyalty

How to bond with your horse:

There are a number of ways to increase the bonding level, some more significant than others. the basic foundation of bonding is this: the more time and care you put into your horse, the more your bonding will improve.

Bonding and caring for your horse go hand-in-hand. You can bond with you horse by doing the following things:

• Calming your horse when it's scared or agitated

• Reassuring your horse when it gets tired (petting it while sprinting, as bonding goes up this will refill it's stamina bar)

• Hitching your horse

• Brushing/grooming your horse when it's dirty

• Riding, leading, and swimming with your horse as long as it's bars aren't empty

• Feeding your horse when it's hungry (when the cores aren't full)

Feeding your horse:

Different foods do different things for your horse and bonding level as some foods are considered more nutritious than others.

Nutritious Foods (significant core and bonding impact):

• Horse Meal (fortifies cores, greatly impacts bonding)

• Oat Cakes

• Apples

• Hay

• Carrots

Treats (little core impact, medium bonding impact):

• Sugar Cubes

• Peppermints

• English Mace

• Common Bulrush

You can feed your horse most produce and ingredients items, but only the ones listed above are considered "horse provisions".

Grooming your horse:

As you ride your horse, it will get dirty, this will impact your horse's stamina and appearance. To counteract this, you must purchase a Horse Brush from the stable.

At the bottom of the 'All' menu in the stable, the brush is listed as the very last item. It will cost you $3.50 and is a one-time purchase. It will for for all your horses and you can access it from your saddle.

Stable Fees

Just like the Camp Up Keep fee, there is an automatic charge to your character each in-game day called the Stable Fee.

The fee is based on how many horses you have (not how many stalls you have); you are charged 75 cents per horse, so if you have a full stable, you will be charged $7.50 per in-game day.

Vet Bills

When your owned horse is "critically injured" (dies), it's recalled back to the stables and is healed by the vet. This results in you having to pay a $4 vet bill before you can call your horse again. While your horse is down, the next available horse in your stable will be called to take it's place; if you don't have another horse, Scrawny Nag will be called.

To do this, access the stable through your player menu and go to "owned horses"; from there you can select your injured horse and pay the bill. You can also do this from the stable themselves by selecting "manage owned horses" from the menu once inside.

Horse Insurance

If you've purchased horse insurance, your horse will be automatically healed after a time, allowing you to skip having to heal it yourself. If your horse was injured by another player, the veterinary fee will be deducted from their account instead of yours and the horse will be recalled to the stable to be automatically healed after a time.

While in the stable, you can also access a feature called the "Horse Care Package"; this will heal, groom, and fortify your horse for $7.50

There's a lot to consider when buying a horse in RDO, especially at a low level. You want to get the biggest bang for your buck and the question I get asked the most is "what's the best horse/saddle/stirrup?".

The TLDR answer is this:

• The best overall stats for horses are the superior and multi class horses; any horse from those classes will work well for you.

• The best overall stats for saddles are the role saddles, special saddles, and the Nacogdoches saddle.

• The best overall stats for stirrups are the hooded stirrups.

• *For new players: the multi-class and superior class horses have low level options and so do the special saddles.

The longer answer is that there is more to consider than just min/maxing. The beauty of RDO is that you can make anything work for you; you can be just as dangerous with a Cattleman Revolver and a Morgan as you can be with a Volcanic Pistol and a Black Arabian. So when I say "buy whatever you like the most", I mean it.

When it comes to horses in RDO, remember that top speed doesn't matter. I've done a lot of testing on this; I've run from Valentine to Rhodes on the same path with the same saddle and same stirrups on many different horses and when I compared the times, I got nearly the same number every time. Top speed is nerfed in online.

Acceleration and handling, however, do make a difference. I've tested speeds around obstacles and those are the stats that actually have an effect on your riding. So if speed is really your goal, look for handling and high acceleration, that is where you will see a difference.

• Acceleration: how quickly your horse is able to speed up from stationary to their top speed, as well as recovery from jumping and stopping.

• Handling: how quickly you can turn and maneuver, i.e. how much speed you lose when you turn

That being said, I win or place top 3 in nearly every race I run, and I do it on an Ardennes (or if I feel like making min/maxers angry, I ride a Shire). With the right saddle and stirrups, you will never need to worry about stamina drain. So, I've said it before and I'll say it again because this is the hill I will die on: If you like it, buy it. Stop min/maxing and have fun.

We have a complete list of every horse, saddle, stirrup, their price, rank unlock and stats listed here - if you want pictures, we have that too here

I will say this only once. These are my findings from hours of testing and months of trying to decipher the temperament system. All I have to offer is my experience. I'm not a data miner and I don't work for Rockstar, so I can't tell you anything with 100% certainty. This is just the results of hours and hours of tests.

Of all the testing and research I've done in RDO, this is the topic I have spent the most time and effort on, and it's also the topic I have the least information on.

There's been a LOT of debate online about how horse temperament is determined, or if it even exists at all. I can't tell you anything definitively, and nothing has been confirmed by Rockstar, but I can tell you what my many hours of research, testing and spreadsheets have told me (just take it with a grain of salt and remember that this is based off my own research, not confirmed information).

What is temperament?

A horse's temperament in RDO (or at least as far as this guide is concerned) is how brave your horse is. To put it simply, a brave horse will keep you mounted longer than a coward horse will.

To test this, a level 1 bonded horse is taken into the swamp and tested near alligators. A "brave" horse will keep you on it's back with alligators near and a cowardly horse will usually buck you almost immediately. The general rule is this: if a level 1 bonded horse is brave to alligators, it will only get better. If it's a coward to gators (and you want a brave horse), you can either bond with it and see if it gets better, or you can buy it again. Just remember to soothe your horse, even a brave horse will buck you immediately if you don't soothe it.

Here's the basics of what I've learned:

1. Temperament is random

   • Trust me on this one. There is no real rhyme or reason to how a horse's temperament is assigned. You'd think that the War Horses would be braver and the Riding horses would be cowards, but the truth is, the only changes between classes are the stats. I've bought, discarded, rebought horses over and over to test this. It's infuriating, but that's the way it is.

2. Horses get slightly braver as you bond with them

   • This does not mean that a coward horse will become brave.

   • This only means that horses wont buck you off quite as fast at level 4 bonding as they did at level 1

3. There is no way to guarantee that your horse will be brave

   • There's no special trinket you can buy; no saddle or tonics, not even horses that cost gold are guaranteed to be brave (which is ridiculous).

4. Slow and Steady

   • The S&S ability card will make your horse much less likely to buck you, regardless of it's temperament, however, this only works while the card is equipped and Dead Eye is active. This is especially useful for hunting and Naturalist missions so you can stay mounted.

I hope you find this helpful, and I'm sorry I don't have more definitive answers for you.