Skyrim Horses: Locations and How to Buy, Steal, or Find One

Skyrim! A land of vicious dragons, stately elk, imposing architecture, proud people, and...

Shaggy wee horses! Stocky, hardy, and able to scale impossibly steep mountain sides, horses in Skyrim are the best means of transportation and no good adventure should be without one. You can't engage in combat from a horse's back, but when dismounted they will fight alongside you and offer the option of a hasty retreat. So, how do you acquire one? The game gives you several options, the easiest of which is to buy one from the various stables in Skyrim.

Your first opportunity to buy a horse will likely be in Whiterun, which is North of both Riverwood and the starting city of Helgen. The stables are marked on your map and radar by a horseshoe. There you will find a man willing to sell you a mare for 1000 gold. That may or may not be feasible depending on how much you've played and looted since starting the game, but will not take you too long to accrue.

I will add other stable locations and prices as I find them below.

Paying money? For an animal? Are you serious? We're like, all one man. Who says we have a right to own any of these spirited, furry beasts? Spare your wallet and, um, liberate, your very own horse today. Stealing can be risky, and getting caught will add 50 gold to the bounty on your head. But, it's not particularly difficult. Simply wait until you are alone with the horse, then crouch down behind it like so:

Note that the horse itself can report you for stealing it, so stay out of its vision range as well. If your cursor is an eye, it means someone can see you and you need to move further out of sight. Once you're in the clear, hit the activation button and ride away victorious! A couple of things to note:

• Dismounting a stolen horse will cause it to walk back toward its home stable
• Attempting to mount a horse you've stolen previously is still considered stealing

Sometimes you will come across horses with dead riders, wandering the land aimlessly. These horses are fair game (but make sure it doesn't say 'steal' before you mount!) For example, not too far from Whiterun I ran into this little fellow:

You may also find 'free' horses in camps, where they haven't been assigned an owner. For example, the Stormcloak camp South of the Ritual Stone near Whiterun had two draft horses that could be ridden, not stolen (This appears to only be true for the PC version.) I purloined a dapple grey and took off without a care.

There has been some confusion on this so I should note that horses you simply find and ride away with will not be your horse. They fast travel with you, fight alongside you, and you will not be punished for riding them. However, they will not show you any particular loyalty and if left to their own devices will begin walking back to where they came from.

So, that's about all there is to horses in Skyrim. They grow on you after a while, with their silly drunken weaving and fat, shaggy butts. Are horses an essential part of your adventure? No, but they make the long roads between towns much more enjoyable.