Best Horses in Red Dead Redemption
The fastest horse in Red Dead Redemption's story is the American Standardbred, a $1,500 deed once you have broken one in West Elizabeth. In Undead Nightmare the best horse is Death, whose touch makes undead heads explode. All four horses of the Apocalypse have unlimited stamina.
Red Dead Redemption shows no horse stats on screen. What the game does give is the text on each deed, Slow, Normal or Fast, and a one to three star tier at the store, so the ranking follows those to separate the fast horses.
Best Horses in Red Dead Redemption
| # | Horse | Speed (deed text) | Deed price | How to get it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | American Standardbred | Fast fastest horse in the base game | $1,500 | Wild in West Elizabeth; the deed goes on sale at general stores once you have broken one |
| 2 | War Horse | Fast «faster and stronger than normal» | · | Pre-order bonus, then free to all with the Compliments of the House update |
| 3 | Hungarian Half-bred | Fast 3 stars | $1,500 | Wild in Nuevo Paraiso, around El Matadero and Torquemada; deed after breaking one |
| 3 | Kentucky Saddler | Fast 3 stars | $1,500 | Broken in the mission Wild Horses, Tamed Passions; wild in New Austin; deed afterwards |
| 5 | 2-star horses | Normal | $500 | Ardennais, Cleveland Bay, Dutch Warmblood, Highland Chestnut, Lusitano, Painted Quarter Horse, Painted Standardbred, Quarter Horse, Standardbred Pinto, Tersk, Tobiano Pinto, Turkmen, Welsh Mountain. Deeds on sale from the start |
| 6 | 1-star horses | Slow | $100 | Infested Ardennais, Jaded Tersk, Lusitano Nag. Deeds on sale from the start |
The three regional 3-star horses tie on everything the game shows; the American Standardbred is ranked first because it is the one usually named the fastest. A deed is never used up: buy it once and it calls that horse forever.
The Four Horses of the Apocalypse
Undead Nightmare hides four mythical horses, each marked by a blue area on the minimap when you are close. Their blood pact text reads the same for all four, extremely tough and fast, and all have unlimited stamina, so what separates them is their power.
| # | Horse | Power | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Death | Undead heads explode on contact | Appears once War, Famine and Pestilence are broken; given to you at the end of the story |
| 2 | War | Sets whatever it touches on fire | Wild in New Austin, mostly around Gaptooth Ridge |
| 3 | Pestilence | Takes far more damage than any other horse | Wild in West Elizabeth, Tall Trees, between Manzanita Post and Aurora Basin |
| 4 | Famine | No power beyond unlimited stamina | Wild in Mexico, around Chuparosa |
Taming them is the Four Horses of the Apocalypse challenge: the first four ranks are finding and breaking each horse, the fifth is killing each kind of undead while riding Death, and it rewards the blood pacts that let you call them. The Unicorn, near Torquemada after the Chupacabra and the four horses, does not show a blue area, and no advantage for it is confirmed, so it is not ranked.
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