Having your own horse or goat can really speed up your LOTRO adventuring. As soon as you finish the Introduction, you can be riding a temporary horse and working toward getting your first permanent mount. Want to know how to get your first LOTRO horse? How about setting up your UI to mount and dismount quickly? Let's saddle up and ride!

Horses for Rent!

Rental horses are temporary mounts. All new characters get a Wrapped Horse Whistle in the level 5 Gift Pack, so you get a chance to experience LOTRO's wonderfully realistic horseback-riding animations. Once unwrapped you have use of the mount for 24 hours (tracked in real-time), so you may want to wait until you have a block of time to play. Additional temporary horses can be purchased from the LOTRO store.

Horses for Keeps!

The formula for any mount in LOTRO is Mount = Riding Skill + Mount Skill. There are some exceptions, but let's start here.

Getting the Riding Skill

Before you can own a permanent mount, you’ll need to get the Riding Skill. Anyone can purchase the Riding Skill from the LOTRO Store for 95 Turbine Points as soon as you finish the Introduction (get your map and the passive “Novice” trait).

Alternatively, VIPs can save their Turbine Points and earn the Riding Skill via a level 20 quest at Hengstacer’s Farm. No more horse deliveries to other zones about Middle-earth - the quest has been simplified to just the race portion at the horse farm!

There is one exception to the riding skill requirement. VIPs can purchase the Bree-land Starter steed from Hengstacer’s Farm for 200 silver. This horse has a mount speed of "very slow" (+33%). This means it's faster than running on foot - about the same as a hunter or warden using their class run speed buffs. You’ll probably want to replace it with a regular horse (+62% mount speed) after you complete the riding skill quest at 20.

Getting Your First Mount Skill

Once you have the Riding Skill, just add mount! You are likely to get your first mount skill in one of two ways:

• Buy one from Hengstacer Farm in Bree-land with in-game coin (500 silver).
• Buy one from the LOTRO Store. Some special mounts will only be offered in the store.

During the seasonal festivals, there are a few more ways to get your first mount.

• Win a festival horse race (you'll need the Riding Skill to enter the race). Barter the token you win along with a “Document of Horse Ownership” (purchased from the festival horse vendor) for your new mount skill. Note: The cost is dropping dramatically in the November Update. The cost of a Document of Mount Ownership on Bullroarer (subject to change before going live) is 220 silver (88 silver if you already own a horse).
• Earn Kindred standing with the Inn League or Ale Association and barter for a mount skill. You'll need a Document of Mount Ownership for these as well.
• Win a special item, like the Aged Deed from the Haunted Burrow, that awards a mount skill. These are rare and require a healthy helping of luck to get.

Technically, you could get your first mount in a few more ways, but these are more expensive, or require a high level to get. See the Swifty & Hammo Steed Guide for a full list of LOTRO Mounts, including info on the new reputation mounts being added in the November Update.

Using Your Mount

When you acquire a new mount, it is added to your Mounts Panel. To see the Mounts Panel, open your Character Journal (C), click the Skills tab along the top, then the Mounts tab along the bottom. You can summon your mount by right-clicking it in this list, or you can drag the icon onto one of your hotbars and using it like any other skill.

Another approach is to set a key mapping for "Dismount / Remount" (Options > Key Mapping | Misc). Then summon whichever mount strikes your fancy directly from your Mounts tab and use your new key mapping to dismount and remount.

Related Articles

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How to Earn Turbine Points

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Swifty & Hammo Steed Guide - Full list of LOTRO Mounts