When embarking on your outlaw adventures in Red Dead Redemption 2’s story mode, your trusty steed is more than just a mode of transport; it’s a loyal companion. Equipping your horse with the best gear can significantly enhance its performance, making your journeys across the vast and dangerous territories of the American frontier smoother and more efficient. From specialized saddles that boost your horse’s stamina and health to the fastest stirrups and spurs that unlock its full speed potential, the right equipment can make all the difference. This guide delves into the top horse equipment available in RDR2 story mode, helping you choose the optimal upgrades for your equine partner.
Understanding Horse Stats and Equipment Benefits
Before diving into specific items, it’s crucial to understand how horse equipment impacts your horse’s core stats: Health, Stamina, and Speed. Each piece of equipment offers different stat boosts, and combining them strategically can lead to a formidable mount.
- Health: Affects how much damage your horse can withstand before it’s severely injured or killed.
- Stamina: Determines how long your horse can sprint before becoming exhausted. Stamina regeneration is also key here.
- Speed: Directly influences your horse’s top running speed.
Beyond these core stats, certain equipment can provide secondary benefits, such as reducing the drain on your own stamina while riding or improving your horse’s handling and responsiveness.
The Essential Horse Equipment Categories
Red Dead Redemption 2 offers a variety of horse equipment, primarily found in Saddleries across the game world. These items fall into several key categories:
Saddles
Saddles are arguably the most impactful equipment you can purchase for your horse. They offer significant boosts to both Health and Stamina, with some higher-tier saddles providing legendary bonuses.
- Rattlesnake Saddle: A good early-game option, offering decent Health and Stamina boosts.
- Nocogdoches Saddle: This is often considered the best all-around saddle for story mode. It provides the highest combined Health and Stamina boosts, significantly extending your horse’s endurance for long rides and pursuits.
- Special Saddles (e.g., Arthur’s Saddle, John’s Saddle): These unique saddles are tied to story progression and often offer balanced stats, but the Nocogdoches Saddle generally surpasses them in raw performance.
The Nocogdoches Saddle is particularly valuable as it provides a permanent boost to your horse’s core stats, meaning even if you switch to a different saddle, your horse retains some of the Nocogdoches’ benefits. To unlock the Nocogdoches Saddle, you’ll need to progress through the story until Chapter 3, where it becomes available in the shops.
Saddlebags
Saddlebags are primarily cosmetic but can also offer practical benefits by increasing the number of satchel items your horse can carry. While not directly boosting performance, increased carrying capacity is invaluable for an outlaw.
- Reinforced Saddlebags: These are the most advanced saddlebags available and provide the largest increase to your item carrying capacity. They are typically purchased alongside high-tier saddles.
Stirrups
Stirrups are crucial for maximizing your horse’s speed. Different stirrups offer varying levels of speed enhancement, with some providing a significant jump in how fast your horse can gallop.
- Military, UC, and Hoodoo Stirrups: These are mid-tier options that offer moderate speed increases.
- Ekans Stirrups: Provide a substantial boost to your horse’s speed.
- Special Stirrups (e.g., Arimber, Boyer, and Gerden Stirrups): These are the best stirrups in the game, offering the highest possible speed enhancements. To get the Arimber Stirrups, for example, you’ll need to complete the “The Ties That Bind Us” stranger mission and then find the item in a specific location. Purchasing these stirrups requires a significant amount of in-game currency but is well worth the investment for speed-focused players. The fastest horse in RDR2 story mode is significantly impacted by these upgrades.
Blankets
Blankets offer a small but useful boost to Stamina regeneration. While not as impactful as saddles or stirrups, they can help your horse recover stamina faster during prolonged rides, which is especially useful in critical moments like chases or escapes.
- High-Performance Blankets: These provide the best stamina regeneration rates among the available blanket options.
Spur
Spurs primarily affect your horse’s acceleration and responsiveness, making it quicker to react to your commands. While they don’t increase top speed, they can make your horse feel more agile and quicker off the mark.
- Deluxe, Deluxe Split-Toe, and Split-Toe Spurs: These offer progressively better responsiveness bonuses.
Where to Buy the Best Horse Equipment
You can purchase horse equipment from any General Store or Saddlery throughout the game. However, the selection available will depend on your story progression.
- Early Game (Chapters 1-2): You’ll have access to basic saddles, stirrups, and accessories.
- Mid Game (Chapters 3-4): Higher-tier equipment, including the Nocogdoches Saddle and better stirrups, begins to appear.
- Late Game (Chapters 5-6) and Epilogue: All equipment, including the absolute best options like the Arimber Stirrups and superior saddles, will be available.
It’s worth noting that some of the best stirrups, like the Arimber Stirrups, are not bought directly but are rewards for completing specific missions or can be found in hidden locations. This encourages exploration and engagement with the game’s various systems. To truly understand where to buy horse brush rdr2 story and other essentials, always check the Saddlery sections of larger towns like Valentine, Saint Denis, or Tumbleweed.
Optimizing Your Horse’s Loadout
The “best” equipment ultimately depends on your playstyle.
- For Speed Demons: Prioritize the best stirrups (Arimber, Boyer, Gerden) and pair them with the Nocogdoches Saddle for a balance of speed and survivability.
- For Endurance Riders/Collectors: Focus on the Nocogdoches Saddle and Reinforced Saddlebags. Stamina regeneration blankets can also be beneficial here.
- All-Around Performance: A balanced approach using the Nocogdoches Saddle, a good set of stirrups (like Ekans or Special Stirrups), and reinforced saddlebags will serve you well in most situations.
Remember that even the best equipment won’t compensate for a low-tier horse. While exploring different horse breeds is fun, investing in top-tier equipment for a high-stat horse, such as an Arabian or a Turkoman, will yield the most significant performance improvements. The question of best horse rdr2 story location often goes hand-in-hand with finding the best equipment to enhance that horse.
Can You Keep Horses You Steal in RDR2 Story?
Yes, you can keep horses you steal in RDR2 story mode, but with a caveat. If you steal a horse and want to keep it permanently, you must stable it. Once stabled, it becomes your personal horse, and you can then purchase equipment for it. This means that even if you acquire a horse through less-than-legal means, you can still invest in its gear and make it your own. This mechanic allows players to experiment with different horse breeds without necessarily having to purchase them outright.
Final Thoughts on Horse Gear
Investing in your horse’s equipment is a fundamental aspect of mastering Red Dead Redemption 2’s story mode. By understanding the benefits of saddles, stirrups, saddlebags, and other accessories, you can create a horse that is not only fast and enduring but also resilient enough to withstand the perils of the Wild West. Don’t neglect this crucial element of gameplay; your horse is your lifeline, and with the right gear, it will carry you through countless adventures. Happy trails!
