Riding is terrible

[DarthSith]

Hi guys.
I recently reached the level to build a stable and bought my first horse. However I realized that riding has horrible mechanics, cornering is extremely slow and the horse is "jumping" when passing over a rock.
Is there any way to improve this? Skill, mod...

[Fel]

Getting used to it is mostly where it is at.
For turns, you want to slow down a bit and not touch the mouse when on the horse's back.

For rocks and the likes, staying on the road is usually your best bet.
Wolves tend to be away from roads as well which is nice since they will chase and possibly kill your horse.

To get used to how the horse handles, it can be helpful to start with a donkey instead.

[richardmgoldsmith]

I really enjoy it, particularly leaping over streams at a full gallop. I never got on with Horses in RL as they triggered my Asthma, so I effectively was denied that as a passtime/pursuit.
MD horseriding opens up a taste of what I must have missed all my life. ... And its nice to be able to outrun Wolves if you want to.

[cluecorner]

I just got the tech to build a stable, and bought a horse. Riding is AWFUL. The horse seems to turn much more slowly than it needs to and while turning it, you can't see which direction it's pointed unless you look straight down at the ground.

I press A or D to turn and *I* am pointed in the right direction, but the horse is not.

I didn't expect to have to look straight down at the dirt the entire time I was riding. You should be able to see the horse's head while sitting looking straight forward in the saddle.

[richardmgoldsmith]

Originally posted by cluecorner:

I just got the tech to build a stable, and bought a horse. Riding is AWFUL. The horse seems to turn much more slowly than it needs to and while turning it, you can't see which direction it's pointed unless you look straight down at the ground.

I press A or D to turn and *I* am pointed in the right direction, but the horse is not.

I didn't expect to have to look straight down at the dirt the entire time I was riding. You should be able to see the horse's head while sitting looking straight forward in the saddle.

It seems so natural and easy using a Game Controller.

[Werric]

Riding in the game is not the best but it just takes a little bit or retraining your brain and muscles to make it tolerable.

Mount your horse. Look down and you will see your horses' head. Now look up to where you want your view while riding to be. Do not turn your view from straight ahead with the mouse. If you do repeat the look down look up bit. Now this is the important bit:

TAKE YOUR HAND OFF YOUR MOUSE AND LEAVE IT OFF.

When you start riding your head is in line with the horses' and you will have the view you want. This is provided you haven't touched/moved the mouse.

[richardmgoldsmith]

Looking freely around while riding is not the way to go with this mechanic. Ride the horse in circles or just stop and get off to look around. always get your view above the horses head when stationary before riding off.

[Fel]

You can look around but go straight for a while without touching the mouse after that in order to reset the view.

[Philtre]

Originally posted by cluecorner:

I press A or D to turn and *I* am pointed in the right direction, but the horse is not.
[...]
You should be able to see the horse's head while sitting looking straight forward in the saddle.

As everyone said, once you are on the horse, don't touch the mouse, because it will rotate your POV relative to the horse. If you only steer with WASD, you can easily keep track of your direction of movement because it will match your direction of vision.

[leequiring]

Horses are a good money maker, though geese and other animals turn a profit swifter.

Horses for transport seems like it should be a good option, but I prefer off-road travel in this game. The fun stuff is all off the path.