Guide to Horses in Red Dead Redemption

In Red Dead Redemption your horse is your only form of go-anywhere transportation. Without your horse you're stuck walking, which is slow and boring, not to mention deadly in many situations. Chasing opponents and being chased by opponents on horseback is a common part of Red Dead Redemption, so you'll want to make sure you have a good horse.

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You'll find that the American Standardbred is the fastest. It is completely black, which makes it a very easy breed to pick out if you don't have your own horse nearby and you need to horse-jack a different animal. The Kentucky Saddler is a pearl color, while the Hungarian Halfbred is white with a darkened face. These two breeds are not quite as fast as the American Standardbred, but still very speedy.

Another great horse is the War Horse. The War Horse is very fast and strong and has great stamina. However, you can only gain access to this horse if you purchase the limited edition or you pre-ordered the game from select retailers.

Identifying a horse breed by eye is, of course, most useful when you're out on the range and need to grab a horse immediately. You can also buy a horse from a general store.

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  Ardennais - This is a typical horse with a brown coat. Normal speed, normal price.
• Cleveland Bay - Unlocked in high level multiplayer, but not very special, with normal speed and stamina.
• Dutch Warmblood - A black and brown horse with normal speed and stamina.
• Highland Chestnut - Above-average stamina, average speed. Has dark hind legs and a lightly colored body.
• Jaded Tersk - Gray in color and looks puny. Not a fast horse, but inexpensive to buy.
• Lusitano - A fairly basic horse, red, average speed and stamina.
• Lusitano Nag - A sickly horse unlocked in multi-player. Not worth riding under any circumstances.
• Standardbred Pinto - White and brown horse with normal speed and stamina.
• Tersk - Champagne colored horse with normal speed and stamina.
• Tobianto Pinto - Same as the Standardbred, but with white on its face.
• Turkmen - Unlocked in multi-player. Not that amazing of a horse, actually. Just a bit above average in all regards.
• Quarter Horse - A variant of the Chestnut breed. Has a white face, average speed and stamina.
• Welsh Mountain - An average brown horse with white legs and face.

As you can see, there are a lot of horses in the game which are very average overall. However, all horses in the game of the same breed are not equally good or bad. You will notice that some horses simply look stronger, with a larger and more muscular stance, while others will look sickly and thin. This is the game's way of telling you that a horse is stronger or weaker than normal.