A Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 horse will make so much more of the game manageable, as horses grant greater speed, traversal, combat options and inventory space. However, when you start KDC2, Henry has his horse, Pebbles, taken away from him in the tutorial's bandit attack, and getting a new one is one of the game's many side quests.
Below we'll show you how to get a horse for yourself, including where to get a horse for free, where you can buy horses from traders, and even how to steal them with zero consequences. After all, the free horses you get in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 aren't great, and a better model will make a big difference to the way you play the game.
Where to get horses in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
There are three ways to get horses in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, all of which we've outlined below.
- Progress through the main story to get certain horses for free.
- Buy a horse from a horse trader for a high price.
- Steal a horse and register it with a Horse Handler.
Each of these has its ups and downs, but getting a horse is definitely something you'll want to do at the earliest opportunity. The big reasons why are speed of travel and increased inventory, both of which vary depending on the horse you have.
Keep in mind that you cannot have more than one horse at a time. However you acquire the new one, it always gets rid of the old horse. This means you want to be assured that you're trading up and getting a steed with better stats.
Getting a horse for free
Certain quests and locations in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 allow the player to obtain horses for free early on, though their stats aren't great. Here are their locations:
- Pebbles: By pursuing the blacksmith path for the Kingdom Come 2 Wedding Crashers quest, you can find Henry’s starting horse at a horse trader in Semine, who the bandits sold her to. Semine is southwest from the starting village of Troskowitz, and if you succeed on a dialogue check, you can convince the trader that you're the horse's legitimate owner. Pebbles is cute, though has the worst stats in the game.
- Herring: Continue the main story until you complete the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 For Whom the Bell Tolls quest, which will be anywhere from five to twenty hours in the story, depending on your progress. Afters you'll start a quest called Back in the Saddle, where you'll be given the option by an ally at Trosky Castle to trade your horse in for a new one called Herring. Herring also doesn't have great stats, but nonetheless is better than Pebbles. What horse isn't?
Where to buy horses and Horse Trader locations
If you're looking for an upgrade and to buy a better horse, you need to find a Horse Trader merchant (marked on the map with the image of a white horse's head). Here are four options for where to find them.
- Trosky Region
- Semine Castle (Southwest of Troskowitz)
- Kuttenberg Region
- Kuttenberg City (Just South from the Western Gate, within the city walls)
- Grund (East from Devil's Den)
- Horse farm West of Maleshov (Southernmost point of the map, down from Bylany)
When you go to a horse trader, do the following:
- Go to each horse in the attached paddock and examine it with the Triangle/Y button.
- Find one with the stats that meet your needs.
- Go to the trader and tell them you want to buy a horse, then say the name of the horse you want.
- At this point you'll be given a price, and the chance to haggle. This price also includes any money you get back from selling the horse you already own.
- Close the deal to obtain the new horse and sell your old one.
Horses tend to be pretty darn expensive, so buying one will usually be a significant investment and not something that you do often. It's good to examine the stock of a Horse Trader when you first encounter them and commit any really good horses to memory. Then you can start saving up money to buy it later - if you need help with that, we've got a guide to the best possible Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 money farm here.
How to steal horses in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
To steal a horse in KCD2, you need to do the following:
- Find a horse you want to steal by examining it.
- Wait to steal it until a moment where you're not being watched (I suggest doing this after dark).
- Press the mount button to steal it.
- Ride it to a horse handler (or fast travel while mounted on it) and pay the fee to register it as your own.
- This will remove your previous horse and make this the new one.
Horse theft is a serious crime, so you definitely want to do this without getting caught. I recommend stealing from a Horse Trader - they have the best stock, after all, and the large paddocks and fields mean that there's often large sections of the field that aren't being watched, especially at night.
Registering your horse with a handler isn't cheap, but it is certainly better priced then buying one. A horse worth 5k at the trader dropped to 2.1k when I took it to a handler, a massive discount. And if you can do it without being spotted, there are no consequences to deal with, either reputationally or legally.
There are two Horse Handlers that we know of, though there may be more in undiscovered regions of the map. They are marked with the same horsehead icon as the Traders.
- Trosky Region
- Mikolai / Nomad's Camp (West of Bohzena's Home)
- Kuttenberg Region
- Stoia / Unnamed lodgings.(West of Kuttenberg City and South of Old Kutna)
It seems as though if you can make it from the scene of the crime to the Handler without being caught by the law, you'll be in the clear. For example, I managed to steal a horse from Grund stables without being caught, then made it to Handler Stoia under cover of darkness and registered it immediately. At that point I could go back to Grund on my stolen horse, even take it to the Trader to get its coat cleaned, and nobody was any the wiser. On a technical level, once you register it, it IS yours.
Want to learn more fundamental mechanics and systems in KCD2? We can show you how to master the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 stealth kill here, or find out how to brew your own Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 healing potions!
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