Oblivion:Horses

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Horses

Oblivion features horses to assist the eager adventurer in exploring the wide and varied lands of Cyrodiil by improving the speed of both regular and fast travel.

1 Acquiring a Horse
- 1.1 Stealing Horses
2 Horse Abilities
- 2.1 Chivalric Combat in Cyrodiil
3 Care and Feeding of Horses
4 Useful Spells
5 Notes
6 Bugs
7 Complete List of Horses

[edit] Acquiring a Horse

Horses can be purchased from stables across Cyrodiil (you cannot buy one at the stables in the Imperial City) and can be stolen. Horses start at 500 Gold. Each stable has several types of horses, but only sells one. The price is fixed, you can't haggle, and your Mercantile skills have no effect. After you purchase one, it will be found waiting with the stablehand just outside of the corral. This table lists the varieties of horse that are available (in order from cheapest to most expensive). A comprehensive listing of every horse in the game is provided under Complete List of Horses.

Horse Name	Price	Where to find		Speed	Attack	Health	Arm. Health
Old Nag¹	N/A	Snak gra-Bura at Chestnut Handy Stables	Imperial City	23	5	N/A	250
Paint Horse²	N/A	Weynon Priory	Near Chorrol	23	10	300	600
Weynon Priory Horse³	N/A		Cloud Ruler Temple	23	10	200	N/A
Paint Horse	500	Petrine at Wildeye Stables	Bruma	23	10	300	600
Paint Horse	500	Cat-Face at Five Riders Stables⁴	Leyawiin	23	10	300	600
Bay Horse	1000	Isabeau Bienne at Bay Roan Stables	Bravil	26	10	250	500
Bay Horse	1000	Ugak gra-Mogakh at Grateful Pass Stables	Skingrad	26	10	250	500
Chestnut Horse	2500	Bongond at North Country Stables	Chorrol	29	10	200	400
White Horse	4000	Clesa at Horse Whisperer Stables	Anvil	29	12	400	750
Black Horse	5000	Tovas Selvani at Black Waterside Stables	Cheydinhal	33	15	325	650
Shadowmere	N/A	Stands outside of Fort Farragut	Near Cheydinhal	33	20	500	750
Unicorn	N/A		Harcane Grove	29	45	300	N/A
Wild Chestnut Horse⁵	N/A	Fields by Fort Homestead and Fort Alessia	Southern Coast Lake Rumare	29	10	200	N/A

¹ Available with the Horse Armor Pack plugin.

² Paint horse (Prior Maborel's Paint Horse) is free if you ask him for assistance during the Deliver the Amulet quest. Prior Maborel's Paint Horse is not included in the "Horses Owned" statistic on the stats page in game.

³ The Chestnut Weynon Priory Horse is identified as Jauffre's horse. However, if the player joins the Blades, then the player is free to use this horse. It is not included in the "Horses Owned" statistic on the stats page. Note that there is a second Weynon Priory Horse, namely a bay horse owned by Martin; riding this second horse is always considered stealing.

⁴ The Five Riders Stable owner claims that this is his last horse. You cannot buy a second horse from him right after you have bought the first, but since this is the same with every other horse merchant, you might be able to buy a new horse from him when your old one dies.

⁵ Wild Chestnut Horses can be found between Fort Alessia and Fort Homestead, near the coast. The small lowland field directly north of Alessia is the most frequent spot. Usually in packs of three or more, they are very quick and untamed. Sneaking is the only way to keep them all from running off but since any one of the horses can see you and they are all roaming about together looking in different directions, it becomes tediously difficult to get close enough. However these horses are not rideable.

[edit] Stealing Horses

Stealing a horse is simple; attempt to mount one that does not belong to you. Stealing a horse without receiving a bounty for theft is only slightly more tricky. You may not be seen mounting a horse that is not yours. Activating the horse to mount it cancels invisibility, but sneak and chameleon both help to remain undetected. However, the cancellation of invisibility will not incur a bounty on your head, because you were invisible at the moment you mounted the horse. If you do not have a stealth-oriented character, you can also push the horse a safe distance away from NPCs and other horses before mounting it.

Stolen horses are generally only good for one-way transportation, because it will start walking back to its home stable after you dismount (however often the bay horses or imperial horses will stay). Remounting a previously stolen horse will incur another bounty if you are seen; it is best to dismount a stolen horse in a location out of view of others to improve your chances of being able to safely remount.

Horses themselves can witness your theft and report you to the authorities, just like a regular NPC. If you want to steal one of a group of horses but they can see each other, you can rotate the others so that they all face away from you. Always steal a horse by approaching it from the rear in sneak mode to limit your chances of being detected. You can be alone with the horse in the middle of the wilderness, but if the horse sees you climb on, you will receive a bounty. If you successfully mount a horse without being detected, you will not incur a bounty, no matter what you do afterwards. You can parade a stolen horse in front of its owner, and you still will remain without a bounty.

If you are caught stealing a guild horse, you will be kicked out of that guild in the same manner as if you had stolen an object. As usual, the horse can catch you stealing, and can instantly kick you out of whatever guild it belongs to.

[edit] Horse Abilities

Horses are incredible when it comes to climbing steep slopes. They can run up slopes you'd never climb on foot. Horses can also jump, although poorly (and not while stationary). While descending slopes, it is easily possible to hurt your horse; a "whinnying" sound announces that the horse is taking damage. To avoid damage, switch run off and walk down steep slopes very slowly. You can also increase your speed slowly while avoiding any rocks or ledges on the way down.

Horses can swim, but do so very slowly. If you watch carefully, you'll spot a few fords around the Imperial City (one of them on the southern end of the cape with Arcane University) which can be crossed quickly. If you have trouble leaving water after swimming on horseback, press jump a few times to catch traction.

It is possible to go underwater with your horse, but be warned, horses, like humans, don't have gills and tend to end up in a watery grave. This can be avoided but it is tricky to get a horse back above the water.

[edit] Chivalric Combat in Cyrodiil

Without mods, it is impossible to fight from horseback in Oblivion. Would-be knights must dismount to fight on foot although their horses will do their best to defend themselves against attackers if their rider decides to pursue enemies into the undergrowth. It is not recommended that horses be actively used in combat, as even the most hardy is easy prey for monsters as they lack strong armor.

If you have purchased the Horse Armor Pack the armor rating of your horse is not affected by buying horse armor. Instead, your horse's health is increased, as shown in the tables of horse statistics.

Many enemies can simply be outrun, especially if you have a fast horse. If you stick to the main roads, you should eventually pass one of the Imperial Legion Soldiers, who will kindly help get any hostiles off your tail. In a mountainous area, you can try riding your horse along a cliff, parallel to it (be careful not to fall, though). Usually, the hostiles will slide down the slope and be unable to reach you, or even plummet down and die. Getting back up may be tricky, but horses are better at climbing up slopes than you are.

Steer clear of wolves whenever possible: if you see one in the distance, it is often best to get off your horse ahead of time, run up and kill the wolf, then continue. Unlike most creatures, they can keep up with most horses, and will pursue you relentlessly. In addition, they often prefer to attack your horse, rather than you, and they will do so by hiding underneath their legs so that it is nearly impossible to fight them without accidentally hitting your horse several times in the process. The biggest problem is that this can result in a bounty on your head. If you happen to hit your horse enough times to make it fight back, yield to it (Block + Activate) to calm it down.

A summoned creature is an effective distraction if you need to escape from combat. This way, you can remove your horse from danger before dismounting and engaging your enemies.

[edit] Care and Feeding of Horses

Horses in Oblivion do not require food and do not seem to become fatigued regardless of how hard they are pushed. They can, however, be mauled by bandits, monsters and wild animals - as well as by their owner's errant blows. They can also take damage from jumping down too steep distances. Horses will heal slowly over time (resting or waiting for an hour will always heal your horse). You can heal your horse more quickly with Restore Health effects.

[edit] Useful Spells

The Convalescence spells available for purchase are relatively inefficient and wasteful (instant, on target, lots of magicka, low healing value), and too weak (15 points of healing) to be helpful with horses, whose health ranges from 200 to 500. Therefore, using the Spell Making altar to make a custom spell is highly recommended: make the custom Restore Health spell be on touch (1/3 cheaper), and distributed over time (8 points for 8 seconds or 1 point over 64 seconds are both cheaper than 64 points instantly). Alternatively, you can also take advantage of the Mara's Mercy Greater Power, obtained by activating the Ritual Stone, which offers 150 points of healing, on target, daily. In the Knights of the Nine plugin, one can obtain the spell Merciful Touch, which has the effect of Restore Health 50 points on touch. This spell has a base cost of 25 magicka, making it quite efficient in keeping one's horse alive.

Horses have an incredible speed multiplier - their speed between 23 and 33 is the equivalent of about 70-100 speed for the player. Therefore even a relatively weak Fortify Speed spell (e.g., 15 points for 30 seconds) is highly effective and significantly shortens travel times, even if you need to get off the horse's back to cast it. Also, wayshrine blessings can be applied to horses, in particular Akatosh's +10 Speed for 600 seconds blessing can be very effective, although risky (see below). To apply a blessing to a horse, you need to get your horse to stand on top of the wayshrine's altar, i.e., by riding the horse up onto the altar, then dismounting when his rear legs are still on top of the altar. Activate the altar to receive the blessing, and you should see the spell animation envelop your horse. Be careful when utilizing the speed blessing in particular, as the horse's speed will increase dramatically and it may become difficult to control fall damage.

If you cast a 100 point Fortify Acrobatics spell on your horse, it will be able to perform the water jump acrobatics perk. The horse will bounce on the water at the same speed it took off, so taking off on land and then bouncing on the water will make your horse bounce at the same speed it normally runs, however, taking off from underwater will make your horse bounce slowly, since all horses are slow swimmers. This takes quite a bit of practice to master, but it sure beats swimming.

Some other useful spells to consider for your horse are:

Command Creature: All horses are level 1 except Shadowmere (level 10) and the Unicorn (level 15), so even very weak ("up to level 2") spells will make most horses fight by your side. A ranged spell has the additional advantage of summoning the horse from a distance.
Water Walking works nicely instead of swimming.
Invisibility allows you to ride your horse undetected. You need to first cast an invisibility spell on your horse, and then cast one on yourself, and quickly mount the horse. Mounting an invisible horse does not make it visible again.

NOTE: Mounting your horse will cancel out your own invisibility spell(your horse's will remain active). There is a glitch however, that causes you to become invisible along with your horse, although creatures/NPCs will still detect you. If you are not on your horse when its invisibility expires, you will be stuck in this state.

[edit] Notes

Your Athletics and Acrobatics skills will not increase while on horseback. If you want to improve these skills, you will need to travel on foot.
You can still talk to characters, pick up objects and pick plants while on a horse.
You can't mount a horse while over-encumbered. If you become over-encumbered while riding a horse due to a Feather/Fortify Strength effect wearing off, you can continue to ride it, but it won't be able to jump and you can't fast travel.
If your horse wanders off, it usually makes its way back to the stables where you bought it or where it was given to you. A horse that dies along the way will disappear from your Horses Owned stats listing.
Your horse lands at your destination of fast travel. If you travel to a city, the horse will be found outside the city gate closest to your previous location, not necessarily the one with the stables near it.
You cannot enter a city or dungeon while riding your horse.
If you are on the PC version you can give a name to your horse, by opening the Console, clicking on your horse, and typing: setactorfullname "thenameyouwant". The name may have spaces in it.
You can only own one horse from each stable. If you already own a horse from a given stable, inquiring about another will produce the message "You bought our last horse". You can only buy another horse from the same stable if your previous one dies.
Your horse is in danger of attack even when you are not around, so when entering a dungeon it is a good idea to check the local area for hostile creatures before leaving your horse behind.
If you own two or more horses, the one you rode last is "active", meaning it will be the one that appears by your side when you fast travel. Your other horse(s) can still be found in the place you bought or acquired them.
- Stealing a horse replaces your previous horse as your "current" horse.
If you place a horse under a high cliff or building, you can jump off of that cliff or building and mount your horse just before you hit the ground. This results in no damage to you, so long as you time it right.

[edit] Bugs

This bug has been fixed in the official patch version 1.2, as well as the Unofficial Patch mod. Attacking your horse is considered a crime, specifically a theft of 0.5 gold from yourself. If any NPCs with a responsibility of 50 or more (this includes Conjurers) witness this, it will be reported. (But because the bounty is only 0.5, it will usually show as 0 in your stats page.) This can get you arrested if you speak to a guard, and can also get you kicked out of some guilds (because you "stole" from a member of that guild (yourself)).

[edit] Complete List of Horses

IDs in parentheses refer to the horse with Elven or Steel armor provided by the Horse Armor Pack official plugin. "xx" depends on the order you have your mods loaded in. Health values in parentheses are horses' health with armor. All of the horses are also listed in the category Oblivion-Creatures-Horses.

[edit] Bay Horses

Creature		Speed	Attacks	Soul	Notes
Bay Horse 0001F11D	250	26	10pts	Lesser	Chestnut Handy Stables in the Imperial City (x4) Grateful Pass Stables in Skingrad (x2) Bay Roan Stables in Bravil (x2)
My Bay Horse 0004DE8E (xx00210F/xx000CE5)	250 (500)	26	10pts	Lesser	Bay Roan Stables in Bravil
My Bay Horse 0004E28B (xx002110/xx001BAE)	250 (500)	26	10pts	Lesser	Grateful Pass Stables in Skingrad
Horses that cannot be Purchased
Bay Horse 000A55ED	250	26	10pts	Lesser	Five Riders Stable in Leyawiin
Bay Horse 0000CF22	250	26	10pts	Lesser	Roxey Inn (owned by Claude Maric)
Weynon Priory Horse 000C01AC	250	26	10pts	Lesser	Weynon Priory (Martin's Horse). After the Weynon Priory quest, this horse is found in the stables at Cloud Ruler Temple. There is a chestnut Weynon Priory Horse, too, which is listed separately.
Wild Bay Horse 00015B90	250	26	10pts	Lesser	This horse cannot be ridden.
Imperial Legion Horses
Imperial Legion Horse 000700D5	400	26	10pts	Lesser	Aleswell
Imperial Legion Horse 000700D1	400	26	10pts	Lesser	Horse Whisperer Stables in Anvil
Imperial Legion Horse 0018BA8B	400	26	10pts	Lesser	Black Waterside Stables in Cheydinhal
Imperial Legion Horse 0018BA8A	400	26	10pts	Lesser	North Country Stables in Chorrol
Imperial Legion Horse 000700D4	400	26	10pts	Lesser	Near Kvatch
Imperial Legion Horse 000700D7	400	26	10pts	Lesser	On the Orange Road near Chorrol
Imperial Legion Horse 000700D8	400	26	10pts	Lesser	Near Kvatch
Imperial Legion Horse 0018BA8C	400	26	10pts	Lesser	Five Riders Stable in Leyawiin
Imperial Legion Horse 000700D6	400	26	10pts	Lesser	Near Fort Nikel
Imperial Legion Horse 000700CE	400	26	10pts	Lesser	South of Bruma
Imperial Legion Horse 000700DB	400	26	10pts	Lesser	On the Gold Road east of Skingrad
Imperial Legion Horse 000700D0	400	26	10pts	Lesser	Roxey Inn
Imperial Legion Horse 000700CF	400	26	10pts	Lesser	On the Orange Road near Bruma
Imperial Legion Horse 000700D2	400	26	10pts	Lesser	Near Sardavar Leed
Imperial Legion Horse 000700D9	400	26	10pts	Lesser	Near the Shrine of Clavicus Vile
Imperial Legion Horse 000700DA	400	26	10pts	Lesser	Near Wellspring Cave
Imperial Legion Horse 000700D3	400	26	10pts	Lesser	Near Wellspring Cave

[edit] Black Horses

Creature		Speed	Attacks	Soul	Notes
Black Horse 0001F11A	325	33	15pts	Lesser	Chestnut Handy Stables in the Imperial City Black Waterside Stables in Cheydinhal (x2) Brindle Home (x2)
My Black Horse 0004DE8F (xx002111/xx000CE7)	325 (650)	33	15pts	Lesser	Black Waterside Stables in Cheydinhal
Shadowmere 00032BF4 (xx002116/xx000CE6)	500 (750)	33	20pts	Greater	Fort Farragut
Horses that cannot be Purchased
Black Horse 000BE331	400	33	15pts	Lesser	Black Horse Courier #1
Black Horse 000BE547	400	33	15pts	Lesser	Black Horse Courier #2
Black Horse 000BE54F	400	33	15pts	Lesser	Black Horse Courier #3
Black Horse 000BE556	400	33	15pts	Lesser	Black Horse Courier #4
Black Horse 0018D4CD	0			none	Already dead. Far north of Anvil

[edit] Chestnut Horses

Creature		Speed	Attacks	Soul	Notes
Chestnut Horse 00015B92	200	29	10pts	Lesser	Chestnut Handy Stables in the Imperial City Brina Cross Inn North Country Stables in Chorrol (x2)
My Chestnut Horse 0004DE90 (xx002112/xx0000CE8)	200 (400)	29	10pts	Lesser	North Country Stables in Chorrol
Horses that cannot be Purchased
Weynon Priory Horse 000C01AD	200	23	10pts	Lesser	Weynon Priory (Jauffre's horse), After the Weynon Priory quest, this horse is found in the stables at Cloud Ruler Temple. The horse is owned by the Blades. Therefore if the player chooses to join the Blades, this horse becomes freely available to the player. There is a bay Weynon Priory Horse, too, which is listed separately.
Wild Chestnut Horse 0001F11C	200	29	10pts	Lesser	Between Fort Homestead and Fort Alessia. This horse cannot be ridden.

[edit] Paint Horses

Creature		Speed	Attacks	Soul	Notes
Paint Horse 0001F11E	300	23	10pts	Lesser	Chestnut Handy Stables in the Imperial City Brindle Home (x2) Black Waterside Stables in Cheydinhal (x2) Wildeye Stables in Bruma (x2) Five Riders Stable in Leyawiin (x2)
My Paint Horse 0004DE91 (xx002113/xx000CE9)	300 (600)	23	10pts	Lesser	Wildeye Stables in Bruma
My Paint Horse 0005322D (xx002114/xx001BAF)	300 (600)	23	10pts	Lesser	Five Riders Stable in Leyawiin
Prior Maborel's Paint Horse 0005DCC9 (xx002115/xx0000CEB)	300 (600)	23	10pts	Lesser	Weynon Priory
Old Nag (xx0034CC/xx0034CA)	(250)	23	5pts	Lesser	Chestnut Handy Stables in the Imperial City. (requires Horse Armor Pack official plugin)
Horses that cannot be Purchased
Blossom 0007B78E	200	26	10pts	Lesser	Hackdirt
Wild Paint Horse 00015B93	300	23	2pts	Lesser	This horse cannot be ridden
Paint Horse 0018AD8A	0			none	Already dead. Near or in Oblivion Gates (x2)

[edit] White Horses

Creature		Speed	Attacks	Soul	Notes
White Horse 0001F11B	400	29	12pts	Lesser	Horse Whisperer Stables in Anvil (x2) Chestnut Handy Stables in the Imperial City
My White Horse 0004DE8D (xx002117/xx000CEA)	400 (750)	29	12pts	Lesser	Horse Whisperer Stables in Anvil
Unicorn 0001EC58	350	29	45pts	Greater	Found in Harcane Grove protected by three Minotaurs of the Grove; part of Hircine's Daedric quest. The unicorn has the following abilities: 100% Resist Normal Weapon (immune to normal weapon damage) 100% Resist Poison (immune to poison) 100% Resist Paralysis (immune to paralysis) 50% Resist Magic 20% Reflect Damage
Horses that cannot be Purchased
White Horse 00115E38	400	29	12pts	Lesser	Five Riders Stable in Leyawiin