TL;DR

Wild horses are found near rivers and open fields away from settlements. Best early spots: east of Hernand Town (between two streams) and south of the river below Howling Hill cliffs.
You do not need to unlock anything to tame a horse — it’s available from the moment you find one. The game formally teaches it in Chapter 5, but you can do it much earlier.
Approach from behind or use food bait (Hay, Carrots, Sugar Cubes from the Saddlery) to get close without spooking them.
Taming minigame: mount the horse with Interact (E / X / Square), then push your movement input toward the horse’s rear until the yellow meter fills completely.
Best trick: Keep your camera locked directly behind the horse and hold the backward input (S / left stick down). Rotate the camera to stay on the tail as the horse spins. This is far more reliable than tracking individual directional prompts.
If thrown off, the horse won’t run far immediately — remount and continue where you left off.
Always register the horse after taming. If you just ride it without registering, it’s temporary and can’t be summoned later.
Level up your horse by riding it and petting it regularly (CTRL+R / LB then R to pet).

Wild horse taming in Crimson Desert is a mechanic the game half-explains and then leaves you to figure out. The taming minigame in particular confuses almost everyone the first time — the game tells you to push toward the horse’s tail, but tracking that direction as the horse bucks and spins in every direction is far harder than it sounds. This guide covers every wild horse location across the map, the exact approach method, and the reliable camera trick that makes the taming minigame nearly trivial once you understand it.

For everything else about horses — gear, breeds, levelling, and legendary mounts — see our full horse guide and best horse and horse gear guide. Our Crimson Desert Guide Hub has everything else.

Table of Contents

Do You Need to Unlock Anything First?

No. You can tame a wild horse the moment you find one, regardless of chapter or story progress. The game formally introduces the mechanic during Chapter 5 as part of the main story — specifically when you have to re-tame Damiane’s Brianto horse in the Guest Unbidden quest. But the mechanic itself is available from the start. The in-game tutorial for taming is also not entirely accurate, so this guide will give you the correct method.

The only requirement is enough Stamina to survive the minigame. If you’re struggling to stay on long enough to fill the bar, invest in your Stamina stat — higher Stamina gives you a longer window before being thrown off. See our guide on how to get max stamina for the fastest way to build it up.

Where to Find Wild Horses in Crimson Desert

Wild horses prefer open areas near fresh water and away from settlements. They don’t roam in large herds — small groups of two to four horses are the norm. They’re not marked on the main map, so exploration near rivers and open plains is the key.

where to find wild horses early in crimson desert

Hernand Region — Best Early-Game Spots

East of Hernand Town — A patch of open land between two streams east of the city. Small herds gather here regularly and this is the most reliable early-game spawn. Check the grassy areas by the rivers and near the cliffs across the water.
South of the river below Howling Hill cliffs — The open fields south of the main river, below the cliffs leading up to Howling Hill. Horses spawn in the flat ground here in small groups.
Northeast Hernand near the Hills of No Return — East of Saddlewind Ranch and directly south of Drakesfall Gorge, wild horses roam the open fields in this area. This is another reliable location once you’ve pushed further into Hernand.
Near Sunset Valley (southern Hernand) — The grassy open areas around and south of the Mountain of Frozen Souls. If you’re in the area for the Salvatore bounty or the Harmonious Hooves 4 challenge, check the fields around here too.

Demeniss Region

Wild horses appear in the open fields and river plains throughout central and northern Demeniss. Check open flat ground near waterways — the same spawn rule applies: fresh water nearby, away from towns.

Pailune and Crimson Desert Regions

Wild horses appear in open grassland and plains throughout these regions. Higher-tier wild horses are more likely to spawn here as you progress into the mid-to-late game. Check open terrain near rivers when passing through.

General rule: If you see a river, check the banks and the open fields nearby. Wild horses almost always spawn close to water sources and away from settlement activity. They appear as orange or tan icons on the minimap when you’re close enough to spot them.

How to Approach Without Spooking the Horse

Horses in Crimson Desert spook easily if they spot you approaching head-on. If one bolts before you can mount it, chase it down on foot — horses won’t outrun you immediately at the start of a bolt, so sprint after it and mount before it reaches full gallop speed. But avoiding the spook altogether is faster and less frustrating. Two reliable approaches:

approaching wild horses early in crimson desert

Method 1: Approach from Behind

Stay out of the horse’s line of sight by coming in from the side or rear. A horse looking away from you gives you the most approach time before it reacts. Walk (don’t sprint) until you’re within a few metres, then sprint the last stretch and hit the mount button before it can react to you running.

Method 2: Food Bait (Easiest Method)

Carry Hay, Carrots, Sugar Beets, or Sugar Cubes — all sold at any Saddlery shop. Open your inventory, select the food, and use the “Take Out” option to hold it out in front of Kliff. Drop it near the horse and it will come to eat rather than flee. Walk up while it’s distracted and mount it. This is the most reliable approach, especially for horses that have already been spooked once.

See our guide on all stable locations to find the nearest Saddlery for bait food.

How the Taming Minigame Works

Once you mount a wild horse by pressing Interact (E on PC / X on Xbox / Square on PlayStation), a circular taming meter appears on screen. Your objective is to fill it completely yellow before either being thrown off or running out of Stamina.

What the Game Tells You (and Why It’s Confusing)

The game tells you to push your movement input toward the horse’s rear — in the opposite direction of where the horse’s head is pointing. This sounds simple but becomes disorienting almost immediately: the horse bucks and spins constantly, meaning “toward the rear” changes direction every second. Tracking individual directional prompts while on a bucking horse, especially on controller, leads to confusion and failure.

The Camera Trick — The Reliable Method

Here is the method that makes the minigame far more consistent:

As soon as you mount the horse, rotate your camera to lock it directly behind the horse — looking at the horse’s back end with its tail in the center of your view.
Hold the backward input (S on PC / left stick pulled straight down on controller) and keep it held.
As the horse bucks and spins, rotate your camera to follow the tail — keep the horse’s rear end always in the center of your view.
With the camera always behind the horse, “backward” always means toward the rear. The meter fills consistently without you having to figure out which direction is “toward the tail” after every spin.

Additional tip: Zoom the camera out as far as possible before mounting. A wider view makes it much easier to track the horse’s body position as it moves, giving you more reaction time to keep the camera centered on the tail. On controller, adjusting only the right stick to keep the camera behind the horse while holding the left stick down is all you need to do.

What Happens If You’re Thrown Off

If your Stamina runs out before the meter fills, the horse throws you off. This is not a full reset. The horse usually pauses for a moment after throwing you rather than immediately fleeing. Sprint back to it and press Interact to remount. The taming meter does reset, but the horse is still tameable — you just need to start the minigame again. React quickly after being thrown and you’ll be back on within seconds.

If the horse does flee and you can’t catch it on foot, try herding it into a corner or against terrain (a fence, cliff, or building wall) so it can’t outpace you. You can also follow on another horse if you have one nearby.

Stamina Management During Taming

Your Stamina drains throughout the minigame. The more stable your input — the less you jerk the stick around correcting mistakes — the slower your Stamina drains. The camera trick naturally reduces unnecessary corrections because “hold backward and rotate camera” is simpler than “track individual directions,” leading to smoother input and slower Stamina drain.

For legendary horses (Royler, Rokade, Camora), the minigame lasts significantly longer and the horse bucks harder. Having Stamina Level 6 or higher makes a meaningful difference. Level 10 Stamina makes even legendary taming very manageable. For standard wild horses, your starting Stamina is sufficient if you use the camera trick correctly.

After Taming — What to Do Next

When the yellow meter fills completely, you’ve tamed the horse. A menu appears with three options:

Register and ride — Register the horse to your account and continue riding it immediately. This is usually the best choice.
Register and send to stable — Register it and send it to your nearest stable for storage. Choose this if you already have a mount you prefer but want to keep the new horse for later.
Ride without saving — Ride the horse temporarily. Do NOT choose this if you want to keep it. An unregistered horse cannot be summoned, does not appear in your stable, and will be lost when you dismount or change mounts.

Always register. Even if you’re not sure you want the horse, registering it costs nothing and lets you check its stats through the inventory or stable. You can always sell it to the Horse Fence later if the stats are poor.

Checking Your New Horse’s Stats

After registering, view the horse’s stats through your inventory’s Mount tab or at any stable. The key stats to evaluate:

Speed — How fast the horse gallops and sprints.
Stamina — How long it can maintain sprint before slowing to a trot.
Defence — How much damage the horse can absorb before being knocked out.
Attack — Relevant for mounted combat.

Different horse breeds have different base stat distributions. For the best breeds for specific purposes (long-distance riding vs mounted combat), see our best horse and horse gear guide.

Equip Horse Gear Immediately

Once your horse is registered, equip it with gear from your inventory’s Mount tab. Saddles, horseshoes, stirrups, champron, and barding all improve your horse’s stats. Basic gear is available from Saddlery shops in major towns. Rarer barding can be purchased from contribution vendors using your faction Contribution points. Our guide on Steelheart Horse Shoes and Horse Plate Armor covers some of the best gear options available.

How to Level Up Your Horse

Horses level up from Level 1 to Level 5. Higher levels improve speed, stamina, defence, and unlock new horse skills. Three main ways to build bond and level your horse:

Ride it regularly. Simply being on your horse builds bond over time. Long rides like the Harmonious Hooves 4 challenge route (Sunset Valley to Varnia) double as efficient bond-building sessions. See our Harmonious Hooves 4 walkthrough for the fastest long-ride route.
Pet your horse. With your horse summoned, hold CTRL / LB to focus on it, then press R to pet it. There appears to be a daily limit on how much trust you can build this way, but doing it consistently every time you’re near your horse adds up quickly.
Feed it. Hay, Carrots, and Sugar Cubes can be fed to your horse. Each feeding adds a small amount of bond. Buy feed from any Saddlery.

Bond Level 5 is required before the Harmonious Hooves 4 challenge for the best performance, and it also significantly improves your horse’s behaviour in combat situations, mounted hunting, and general traversal.

Wild Taming vs Buying vs Stealing

You have three ways to get a horse in Crimson Desert:

Taming wild horses: Free, and the horse registers immediately to your account the moment you tame it. No crime risk, no silver cost. The breed and coat color are random — you get what you find. Best for players who want variety and aren’t chasing a specific breed.
Buying from stables: Costs Silver, but you know exactly what breed and stats you’re getting. Limited selection per stable. Good for players who want a specific horse without hunting the map. See our all stable locations guide to find the nearest vendor.
Stealing from NPCs: Jump on any NPC’s horse to take it. Generates a wanted level if witnessed. Stolen horses must be taken to a stable and registered before you can summon them — unlike tamed horses which register automatically. You can also sell stolen horses to the Horse Fence. Our bounty removal guide covers how to clear the wanted level after stealing.

For most players, taming wild horses is the best option early on — it’s free, the horse is immediately yours, and it gives you access to breeds you won’t find in stables. Buying becomes more attractive when you need a specific breed for a challenge or want guaranteed stats.

Legendary Horses — Taming Overview

The three legendary horses in Crimson Desert — Royler, Rokade, and Camora — are tamed using the same minigame, but with important differences:

Royler (Legendary White Horse) — Found near a small pond by the Snowgrass Hearth campsite in the Silverwolf Mountains, Pailune region. The spawn point is directly under the “P” in Pailune on the map. The biggest challenge here is the environment: the Silverwolf Mountains have freezing temperatures that drain your health and Stamina during the taming attempt. Bring ice resistance gear or warming food. Royler has the best Speed and Stamina of the three legendaries and is the best choice for long rides like Harmonious Hooves 4. See our Silver Fang legendary mount guide and all legendary horse locations for full detail.
Rokade — Found in the Hernand region. The easiest legendary to tame — mild Hernand climate means no environmental penalties during the minigame. Has an extremely high base HP (600), making it ideal for absorbing road combat without being knocked out.
Camora — Found in the Redtree Forest in the Tashkalp region. Has the highest base Attack and Defence of the three. Important: herd Camora into an open clearing before mounting — taming against trees causes the camera to clip into geometry, making the minigame nearly impossible. Walk slowly toward her to drive her to open ground before pressing mount.

For legendary horses, Stamina Level 6 is the minimum recommended before attempting. Level 10 Stamina makes all three significantly easier. Use the same camera trick — lock behind the horse’s rear and hold backward while rotating the camera to follow the tail — and it works just as well on legendaries as on standard wild horses. The minigame just takes longer to fill.

Horse Taming and the Harmonious Hooves Challenges

The Harmonious Hooves challenge series includes challenges specifically tied to horse taming. Harmonious Hooves 2 requires taming 2 wild horses, and the artifact for it is located in Demeniss. Pick up that artifact as early as possible so any wild horse you tame naturally during exploration counts toward it.

The taming mechanic also carries over to other rideable creatures in Pywel — bears, wolves, warthogs, and other mounts all use the same core minigame (mount the creature, hold toward the rear, fill the meter). Getting comfortable with horses now makes every future taming encounter easier. See our guides on other mounts: how to get the lion mount, how to get the bear mount, Rock Tusk Warthog mount, and Icicle Edge Alpine Ibex.

For the full horse challenge series, also check how to get Marni’s Mechahorse and our guide on every unlockable mount and vehicle in the game.

Where to Get Crimson Desert

Available on all major platforms:

Final Thoughts

Wild horse taming in Crimson Desert is genuinely easy once you understand the one mechanic the game fails to explain clearly: lock your camera behind the horse’s rear and hold backward. You never need to track which direction the horse is facing again — the camera does the tracking for you. Every spin the horse does just means rotating the camera to follow the tail, and holding backward fills the meter.

Pick up wild horses whenever you spot them near rivers and open fields — they’re free, they register automatically, and you can always sell poor-stat horses to the Horse Fence later. Build Bond Level 5 through regular riding and petting, equip the best gear you have access to, and your horse will become a genuine asset rather than just a mode of transport. For the full horse system with detailed breed stats and gear recommendations, our complete horse guide has everything else you need.

How to Find & Tame Wild Horses in Crimson Desert

Do You Need to Unlock Anything First?