Horses and mounts have always been a part of the Zelda series, and this is still the case with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. While you could go through the whole game without using a horse, if you want to get around the huge open world of Hyrule, you will want to get a mount as soon as you can. Getting a mount makes traveling and exploring Hyrule a lot more fun. In fact, mounts sometimes add a bit of their own flavor to the exploration.
Each horse that you encounter will give you a specific set of stats, including its speed, strength, and bond level. Some of them are better than others, and there are some that are better served as a temporary ride until you find something better. And if you want to know which of the special mounts are the best, this guide can help you choose which one you want to go after.
Updated by Shane Black on June 12th, 2023: There are plenty of special mounts in Tears of the Kingdom. This list was updated with more entries to show all the special mounts that can be found in the game.
8 Spot
Spot comes in as the bottom option on this list because what makes Spot special is really just that he is named only. Other than that, Spot is a pretty typical horse that has fairly standard stats with him. You can find him by completing the Spotting Spot quest that you can find at Lookout Landing, and it's worth it just to get some easy quest rewards and have a new horse in your registry for any completionists out there. It's likely that you will easily find another mount that will take Spot's, well, spot as your trusted steed.
7 Stalhorse
So, this mount is a little different from others, as they come with their own stipulations and requirements. You can hear about these spectral mounts from an NPC near Sanidin Ruins, and you will learn that you can only find these guys out at night. You will be able to ride them by sneaking up to jump on them, but you won't be able to register them at any Stable.
This means that you probably won't be keeping one of these with you for long unless you try really hard to keep them around while you're dismounted. However, they're worth finding and riding around when you can just for the novel sight of Link riding around on a skeletal animal.
6 Mountain Buck
Mountain Bucks are a majestic sight to behold in the game, and it's even better when you realize that you can ride them. These creatures can be found among the other deer you come across and stick out thanks to their large antlers. Now, these animals are much harder to sneak up on than normal horses, and you will need either armor to buff your stealth, or some food or elixirs to help. You can also throw an apple to distract it and help yourself out. Other than that, you can tame it the same way you would any other steed, and like other entries on this list, you won't be able to register it at a Stable.
5 Bears
This entry is not about a specific animal or even a rare animal at that. Bears can be found all around the world of Hyrule, and in your likely reaction of running away, you may have missed the option that you can ride these large animals. And who wouldn't want to do that?
You can ride them in the same way you would any other mount: get up close to them until you get the prompt to jump on them, and soothe them until they're calm enough. Like the Skeletal Horse, you can't register these mounts at a Stable, but it's just too cool to pass up riding around Hyrule on a legitimate bear.
4 Giant White Stallion
If you're looking for what can only be described as Hyrule's closest thing to a tank, then the Giant White Stallion is the perfect mount to target. Found near the Lake of the Horse God, this massive beauty is going to require a lot of stamina in order to tame, but if you have enough, you will see that this horse will never tire. Sure, it's not the fastest one of the bunch, but its inability to run out of stamina is so incredible that you can't help but go after this specific mount.
3 Ganondorf's Horse
While it certainly sends a complicated message to the people of Hyrule, riding around on the villain's very own horse feels pretty cool, and looks ever cooler. This dark horse shares the same flame-colored hair as its former master and comes in a shockingly large size, again, to match its master. You can find the horse to the southeast of Hateno Village among a herd of other horses. It will take around two full stamina wheels to tame, but once you do, you can keep it by registering it at a Stable.
2 Golden Horse
After you have completed the first temple in the game, you will be able to start the hunt for this mythical horse. You will find the horse in the northern region of the map, in a place called Tabantha Tundra.
This area is found in the Hebra region, and once you have arrived, look around, and you will spot the horse. It's not hard to miss, thanks to its bright gold coat. You don't have to perform any unique maneuver to get hold of this mount; you can now tame it just like any other mount. Once it's calmed down and tame, take it to the nearest Stable and register it to keep it forever.
1 Epona
Epona is a classic, and while she has been around for a long time, she will always make the top of the list because of how important she is to the series. Sure, there may be mounts out there with better stats, but Epona has been around for decades now and really is a required mount to have for any Zelda fan. Having this mainstay alongside Link just feels right, and she can be found in two ways:
You can either scan a Link Amiibo into the game or find her at your first Stable, where you can ask the manager to borrow a horse. Epona will be among the horses you can take out. Both are simple and must be done to bring the canon to its peak as you adventure around Hyrule.