[RDO] First "real" horse purchase tips

[Arson]

I'm presently level 25 in RDO and I haven't upgraded my horse since the start. I ended up with a rather tiny scrawny nag to start with (I named him Snuffles) and just haven't really seen a need to upgrade my horse.

I've got some extra money, and I'm looking to buy a new horse, but I'm disappointed at the level of improvement I'm seeing on available horses.

Can anyone recommend a good "real first horse"?

[InstableMonster]

The 250$ arabian(i think) is a nice improvement.

[QUANTUM MECHANICS c000021a]

Turkoman and Arabian are probably best horses in RDR2

[Jim Jam Banana Slam]

I think your horse stats still level up in RDO so you might not see an improvement because you're comparing your levelled up one to one that is actually better but not levelled yet, not sure though.

[Jim Jam Banana Slam]

Originally posted by InstableMonster:

The 250$ arabian(i think) is a nice improvement.

I think it's the chestnut Arabian. That's what I bought and I don't get why it's so cheap lol

[Erynar]

Remember that a horse's stats improve as you bond with them, so their initial stats might not seem as good as they'll really be. You can look through the stats of the various horses here:

https://www.gtabase.com/red-dead-redemption-2/horses/#sort=attr.ct3.frontend_value&sortdir=desc&attr.ct5.value=all%2Creddead-online%2Cultimate-edition%2Cspecial-edition&page=1

I got a black chestnut thoroughbred for "free" as part of the ultimate edition, so I switched to that pretty quickly, and it was _significant_ improvement over the scrawny nag as well as the Kentucky saddler that I got as part of the intro mission. I haven't upgrade yet, since the really good horses aren't available until later, and I don't want to keep shelling out cash or gold for horses.

BTW, are you sure that you're using a scrawny nag and not the horse you stole during the intro mission? AFAIK, you can't own or name scrawny nags.

[Arson]

Originally posted by Erynar:

Remember that a horse's stats improve as you bond with them, so their initial stats might not seem as good as they'll really be. You can look through the stats of the various horses here:

https://www.gtabase.com/red-dead-redemption-2/horses/#sort=attr.ct3.frontend_value&sortdir=desc&attr.ct5.value=all%2Creddead-online%2Cultimate-edition%2Cspecial-edition&page=1

I got a black chestnut thoroughbred for "free" as part of the ultimate edition, so I switched to that pretty quickly, and it was _significant_ improvement over the scrawny nag as well as the Kentucky saddler that I got as part of the intro mission. I haven't upgrade yet, since the really good horses aren't available until later, and I don't want to keep shelling out cash or gold for horses.

BTW, are you sure that you're using a scrawny nag and not the horse you stole during the intro mission? AFAIK, you can't own or name scrawny nags.

It's not actually a scrawny nag, I believe it's a Morgan, but it was a trash horse that's very small.

[Duffvader]

250 $ for the arabian is really cheap.

[jamesc70]

Originally posted by Jim Jam Banana Slam:

Originally posted by InstableMonster:

The 250$ arabian(i think) is a nice improvement.

I think it's the chestnut Arabian. That's what I bought and I don't get why it's so cheap lol

This.

Best stats for the price and level.

Only thing is, I swear this horse complains more than the starter horse. I'm constantly having to soothe it with G.

[Jim Jam Banana Slam]

Originally posted by jamesc70:

Originally posted by Jim Jam Banana Slam:

I think it's the chestnut Arabian. That's what I bought and I don't get why it's so cheap lol

This.

Best stats for the price and level.

Only thing is, I swear this horse complains more than the starter horse. I'm constantly having to soothe it with G.

I did kinda notice that as well actually, the Kentucky Saddler I had before was also pretty skittish though so I wasn't sure if it was just an online thing or because of the breed.

[Erynar]

Originally posted by jamesc70:

Originally posted by Jim Jam Banana Slam:

I think it's the chestnut Arabian. That's what I bought and I don't get why it's so cheap lol

This.

Best stats for the price and level.

Only thing is, I swear this horse complains more than the starter horse. I'm constantly having to soothe it with G.

Based on what the folks on reddit have to say about the horses, each horse apparently has a courage level, and the arabian's is poor, which is why they seem to think that other horses are better (in particular, the Missouri Fox Trotter and Turkoman). A lot of of it depends on what you're looking for though. Either way, I wish that all of the stats were out in the open when comparing the horses in the game.

https://www.reddit.com/r/RedDeadOnline/comments/casnif/red_dead_online_player_guide_horse/

[McKnuckles]

The next one to buy would likely be the Arabian for the stats on it for the price, but you would likely want to eventually replace it. At least for me that horse breed seems to like to trip and fall over everything.

[Æɴɪsᴏ]

Best horse imo in terms of speed is the Missouri Foxtrotter, he's faster than the arabian. Arabians in rdo are overrated.

[Arson]

Originally posted by Moon ☾:

Best horse imo in terms of speed is the Missouri Foxtrotter, he's faster than the arabian. Arabians in rdo are overrated.

Unfortunately, the recommendations for the Foxtrotter or the Turkoman are far beyond my level 25. The earliest I could hope to get one is level 56, so I don't think either of these are good suggestions for first good horse purchases.

Any suggestions for good first horses other than the Arabian that meet level 25?

[Erynar]

Originally posted by Arson:

Originally posted by Moon ☾:

Best horse imo in terms of speed is the Missouri Foxtrotter, he's faster than the arabian. Arabians in rdo are overrated.

Unfortunately, the recommendations for the Foxtrotter or the Turkoman are far beyond my level 25. The earliest I could hope to get one is level 56, so I don't think either of these are good suggestions for first good horse purchases.

Any suggestions for good first horses other than the Arabian that meet level 25?

No, those horses are definitely ones you'd pick up later. Restricting it so that it only shows horses unlocked by level 25, going by this page:

https://www.gtabase.com/red-dead-redemption-2/horses/#sort=attr.ct3.frontend_value&sortdir=desc&attr.ct5.value=reddead-online&attr.ct56.value=0%2C25&page=1

it looks like the best rated horse which isn't locked behind role ranks is the red chestnut arabian:

https://www.gtabase.com/red-dead-redemption-2/horses/red-chestnut-arabian-horse

The black chestnut thorougbred (which I've been using) is comparable, but it looks like it's an exclusive to the ultimate edition rather than just being free in-game with it (which is what I thought it was). I don't intend to upgrade until I have access to the top-tier horses, but I'd say that it would probably well worth it for you to get the red chestnut arabian (and then get something better when you have about double the rank you have now).

[Arson]

Originally posted by Erynar:

Originally posted by Arson:

Unfortunately, the recommendations for the Foxtrotter or the Turkoman are far beyond my level 25. The earliest I could hope to get one is level 56, so I don't think either of these are good suggestions for first good horse purchases.

Any suggestions for good first horses other than the Arabian that meet level 25?

No, those horses are definitely ones you'd pick up later. Restricting it so that it only shows horses unlocked by level 25, going by this page:

https://www.gtabase.com/red-dead-redemption-2/horses/#sort=attr.ct3.frontend_value&sortdir=desc&attr.ct5.value=reddead-online&attr.ct56.value=0%2C25&page=1

it looks like the best rated horse which isn't locked behind role ranks is the red chestnut arabian:

https://www.gtabase.com/red-dead-redemption-2/horses/red-chestnut-arabian-horse

The black chestnut thorougbred (which I've been using) is comparable, but it looks like it's an exclusive to the ultimate edition rather than just being free in-game with it (which is what I thought it was). I don't intend to upgrade until I have access to the top-tier horses, but I'd say that it would probably well worth it for you to get the red chestnut arabian (and then get something better when you have about double the rank you have now).

Thanks for the info!

I've also read that the Trader reward horses are decent horses for the level. I appreciate the effort you put into this reply.

Thanks everyone.