Best Horse in RDR2: Arabians and Where to Get Them

The best horse in Red Dead Redemption 2 Story Mode is an Arabian. You can buy one at the Saint Denis stable in the later chapters for roughly $1,050 to $1,250, or tame a wild White Arabian for free at Lake Isabella in the snowy north as early as Chapter 2. This guide covers both routes, the other wild breeds worth catching, and how to make any horse better.

This guide is for Story Mode. Red Dead Online has its own horse list, rank unlocks and prices.

How horse stats work in RDR2

Every horse has four core stats, shown as bars when you buy or inspect it:

Stat	What it does
Health	How much damage the horse takes before it goes down
Stamina	How long it can gallop, jump and swim before tiring
Speed	Top speed
Acceleration	How quickly it reaches top speed

Horses also have a handling class: race, standard, heavy or elite. It's less about steering and more about the horse's overall type. Race horses are fast but tire quickly, and elite horses are the most expensive and generally the strongest all-rounders.

Two more things change the numbers you see:

Bonding raises a horse's Health and Stamina as the bond level goes up.
Tack (stirrups and saddles) can add Speed and Acceleration or reduce core drain.

So the "best horse" is the one with the best base stats, bonded to the maximum level and fitted with the right gear.

Option 1: Buy an Arabian in Saint Denis

Stables unlock in Chapter 2, after the mission "Exit, Pursued by a Bruised Ego", where you hunt a legendary bear with Hosea. From then on you can buy, store and swap horses at any stable.

Stable stock improves as the story goes on. The Saint Denis stable, in the south of the city, is the best place to shop during the main story, and that's where Arabians are sold in the later chapters. They're the most expensive horses you can buy, at roughly $1,050 to $1,250 depending on the coat.

Stable	Where	When it's useful
Valentine	North-west of town	From Chapter 2
Strawberry	South of town	From Chapter 2
Emerald Ranch	South of the ranch	From Chapter 2
Van Horn	North of the trading post	From Chapter 2
Saint Denis	South of the city	Best stock during the main story
Blackwater	South of town	Epilogue only
Tumbleweed	West of New Austin	Epilogue only

Blackwater and Tumbleweed only become reachable in the Epilogue, and Blackwater's stable then carries some of the best horses in the game.

Before you buy, compare the stat bars rather than the price tag alone. If you mostly ride long distances, favor Stamina. If you mostly flee the law or race, favor Speed and Acceleration.

Option 2: Tame the White Arabian at Lake Isabella

The free route is the wild White Arabian. It spawns on the western, snowy shore of Lake Isabella, in the far north-west of Ambarino. The area is reachable from the start of Chapter 2, so you can grab one of the best horses in the game long before you'd afford an Arabian at a stable.

It's one of the hardest tames in the game. Here's how to give yourself the best chance:

Dress for the cold. Wear a winter coat so Arthur's health and stamina cores don't drain while you search.
Save first. Make a manual save before you get close. If you spook the horse, reload instead of waiting around.
Leave your own horse behind. Dismount a good distance away so it doesn't scare the Arabian off.
Approach slowly. Crouch, use Eagle Eye to spot it in the snow, then hold the aim button to focus on the horse and keep using the Calm prompt as you move in.
Mount and break it. Once you're close enough to pat it, mount up. The horse will buck, so push the left stick against the direction it's pulling and keep calming it until the game tells you it's broken.
Move your saddle. Swap your saddle onto the new horse, then whistle so your old horse follows you out. Stable it so you have a backup.

The White Arabian's spawn rate is low. If it isn't there, try again later or after a reload.

The best wild horses to catch

Taming is also free for every other wild breed. Wild horses spawn at random, but these are the spots both rdr2.org and PowerPyx point to.

Breed	Best area to look	Access
White Arabian	Western shore of Lake Isabella, Ambarino	From Chapter 2
Tiger Striped Bay Mustang	Open ground west of Rio del Lobo Rock, New Austin	Epilogue
Mustang	The Heartlands, New Hanover	From Chapter 2
Tennessee Walker	The Heartlands, New Hanover	From Chapter 2
Appaloosa	Near Donner Falls, Ambarino	From Chapter 2
American Standardbred	North of Valley View, West Elizabeth	From Chapter 2
Morgan	Same area as the American Standardbred	From Chapter 2
Hungarian Halfbred	Around Blackwater, south-east of Fort Riggs	Avoid Blackwater town before the Epilogue
Kentucky Saddler	South-west of Blackwater, near Manzanita Post	Avoid Blackwater town before the Epilogue
Nokota	South of Armadillo, New Austin	Epilogue
American Paint	South of Tumbleweed, New Austin	Epilogue

Use your binoculars to study a horse before you catch it, because several breeds share the same spawn zones. Breaking the nine regular breeds (everything above except the two rare ones) also counts toward the Horseman 10 challenge.

How to make your horse better

Bond with it

There are four bonding levels. Each level raises the horse's Health and Stamina, extends the range you can whistle it from, and makes it less likely to throw you during a fight. New moves unlock along the way, such as rearing at level 2, skid turns at level 3, and the drift and piaffe at level 4.

You build bond by riding it, leading it, feeding it, brushing it when it's dirty, and calming it when it panics. You can check progress in the pause menu under Player, then Horse.

Fit better stirrups

Stirrups add Speed and Acceleration at the cost of faster core drain. The Hooded Stirrup adds +2 Speed and Acceleration but makes the cores drain much faster. Carry Horse Stimulants to top the horse back up on long rides.

Craft or buy a better saddle

Saddles reduce core drain and improve stamina regeneration. Trappers can also craft saddles from perfect pelts, such as the Bear Dakota Saddle from a perfect bear pelt.

Carry Horse Revivers

Stables sell Horse Revivers under Horse Provisions. If your horse goes down from gunfire or a fall, use one right away. Without it, you can lose the horse you've spent hours bonding with.

The cheat for a free Arabian

If you're playing with cheats, typing You want more than you have spawns a Superior horse, a Rose Grey Bay Arabian. Cheats disable saving and achievements while active, so use them on a separate save. Our RDR2 cheats list has every code.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best horse in RDR2?

The Arabian is the best horse in Story Mode. Buy one at the Saint Denis stable in the later chapters for roughly $1,050 to $1,250, or tame the wild White Arabian at Lake Isabella for free.

Where is the White Arabian in RDR2?

It spawns on the western, snowy shore of Lake Isabella in the far north-west of Ambarino. You can reach it from the start of Chapter 2, but its spawn rate is low and it's a difficult tame, so save first.

How much does an Arabian horse cost in RDR2?

Arabians at the Saint Denis stable cost roughly $1,050 to $1,250 depending on the coat. They're the most expensive horses on sale during the main story.

When do you unlock stables in RDR2?

Stables unlock in Chapter 2 after the mission "Exit, Pursued by a Bruised Ego". After that you can buy horses, change tack and store more than one horse.

How many bonding levels are there for horses?

There are four bonding levels. Each one raises Health and Stamina, extends your whistle range and unlocks a new riding move.

What happens if your horse dies in RDR2?

If your horse goes down, use a Horse Reviver straight away. Stables sell them, and keeping a few on hand is the easiest way to avoid losing a well-bonded horse for good.