To use a mount in Lord of the Rings Online you need to train Riding skill which can be acquired a few ways depending on your preference and account type.
VIP Members (Monthly Subscribers) can complete a quest at level 20 in Bree-land to learn Riding skill for free. The quest is located at Hengstacers Farm north of Bree town. Speak with Éogar, son of Hadorgar to begin the quest Proving Your Quality.
Free to Play and Premium accounts must purchase the riding skill from the LOTRO store any time after you complete the Intro quest (around level 5 or so). The cost is 95 LP for each character. (LOTRO Points can be acquired with real money purchase from the LOTRO store or by completing Deeds in-game.)
Riding skill is trained per character unless you purchase the Journeyman Riding Trait, which is an Account Wide unlock of the riding skill and upgrade to +78% speed. The Journeyman Riding Skill can be purchased in the LOTRO Store for 2995 LP and it does NOT include a mount.
Learn Riding Skill at Hengstacer’s Farm
If you are a VIP and want to complete the quest to learn Riding, head to Hengstacer’s Farm in Bree-land. To get to Hengstacer’s Farm head North of Bree-town and you will find Hengstacer’s Farm. The quickest route is to head to your nearest Stable-master and take the Swift Travel to West Bree, then talk to Bill Rosewood at the West Bree gate to take a horse to Hengstacers Farm. Stable-masters that take you directly to West Bree are in Michel Delving, Celondim, and Thorin’s Gate.
You can also follow the path out the West Bree gate then head North and follow along the river past Thornley’s Worksite until you reach the road to the farm on the right.
How To Complete Proving Your Quality
Éogar near the stables offers the quest Proving Your Quality, when you start the quest a timer will begin and you want to run over to the Bay horse or pony in the small stable across from Éogar. Mount the Bay and head off to the South through the first gate, follow the path around and through each of the gates, there are 12 total. You will need to finish the quest in 2 minutes and 48 seconds, if you fail you can try again, just talk to Éogar.
How To Get Your First Mount
Upon completing the quest Proving Your Quality at Hengstacers Farm in Bree-land (or purchasing the Riding skill), you can then buy a horse/pony from Éogar with silver. The first purchase from Éogar costs 500 silver for steeds with a riding speed of 62% and 200 health. The Bree-land Starter Steed is 32% speed and 50 health at 200 silver.
After your first horse purchase you will receive a discount for all subsequent purchases, the cost will be reduced to 200 silver for 62% speed horses and 80 silver for 32%. Once you have reputation with the Men of Bree the cost is reduced additionally.
The horses available from Éogar are pictured below, the Bree-Starter Horse, Bloodbay, Blonde Sorrel, Bay, and Chestnut.
Horses vs. Ponies
If you are a Man or Elf your steeds will be horses, whereas if you are a Hobbit or Dwarf you will ride a pony. The horse or pony you choose will be the same color and have the same saddle, caparison, etc.
Both horses and ponies are of the same species (Equus caballus) the difference between horses and ponies is height. A horse is an equine that’s at least 14.2 hands or approximately four feet ten inches tall. A pony, is an equine less than 14.2 hands. Ponies stay small their whole life, maturing more quickly than horses.
Types of Mounts in LOTRO
There are more than 200 mounts to collect in the Lord of the Rings Online, from regular horses and ponies to gallant steeds dressed in battle armors, goats for traversing the far depths of the mountain, and majestic elks to wander across the forests of Egladil.
| Steeds are horses and ponies that come in many different styles, some wear a simple saddle while others wear festive caparisons or gallant battle armors. You can obtain steeds from many different sources including reputation, barter, festivals, LOTRO Store, and more. |
| Goats are the only mounts capable of traversing the dark tunnels of the Mines of Moria. They can also be ridden across the land and are obtainable from becoming Kindred with certain factions, festivals, and the LOTRO Store. |
| Elk mounts can be obtained in-game through bartering Figments of Splendour, from some festivals, or in the LOTRO Store. |
| Boar mounts were introduced with the War of the Three Peaks expansion and are included with a purchase of the Collector’s Edition or the Ultimate Fan Bundle. |
Mount Details
- When you learn a mount it’s skill is added to the Mounts tab in the Skills panel (press ‘K’), you can equip the skill into a slot on your action bar or cast it from the skills panel.
- Mounts are generally obtained by gaining Kindred reputation with a faction, completing certain quests/deeds, participating in holiday festivals, bartering special currency, and in the LOTRO Store.
- Gathering resource nodes, such as ore can be done while mounted.
- Casting a travel skill is possible while mounted, such as Return To Bree, etc.
- Most mounts are collected and bound per character.
- Account Wide mounts are in the LOTRO Store, these mounts are a one-time purchase and delivered to each current character and every new character you create.
- There are three animated mount emotes, they are /mountrearup, /mountbow, /mountkick
- If you hold down the space bar your horse will animate a gentle neigh.
- There are 44 different character emotes that can be animated while sitting upon your mount.
Renaming Your Steed
When you summon your mount a panel will appear with your steeds portrait, name, and health with a button to dismount. You can move this panel anywhere on the screen by using the CTRL and \ keys, then drag the panel and save by pressing CTRL \ again.
By default your steeds and mounts will have a name, this can be changed if desired by right-clicking the portrait and selecting Rename Mount.
Riding Skill Upgrades
Mounts obtained in the game are usually 62% speed, special deed and store bought mounts are 68% speed. There are speed upgrades for your mounts, they are obtainable in the LOTRO Store as noted:
Apprentice Riding Trait (Account Wide) for 1995 LP, upgrades all mount speeds on your account to 68% speed. This trait is also available as a single mount speed upgrade for 995 LP.
Journeyman Riding Trait (Account Wide) for 2995 LP, upgrades all mount speeds on your account to 78% speed. Journeyman riding also unlocks the Riding skill account-wide for all current and future characters. If you plan to have more than one character this is one of our recommended must-haves from the LOTRO Store.
It is worth noting that these riding trait skills do go on sale in the store from time to time. You do not first have to learn +68% Apprentice Riding in order to learn +78% Journeyman Riding, you can save up your LP to purchase Journeyman and skip the others.
War-steeds Made For Combat
War-steeds are descendants of the Mearas, a breed of wild horses from the north of Middle-earth. They surpass other horses in speed, intelligence, and strength. The expansion Riders of Rohan introduced War-steeds a type of mount that you can use in combat. You do not need to own the Riders of Rohan expansion to earn your war-steed.
Upon reaching level 71 your character will receive a quest “The Wold” from Dala and can head to Langhold, Rohan where you will complete a (level 75) series of 12 quests to learn your War-steed and mounted combat.
War-steeds are slightly larger than regular travel mounts and can be ridden over any landscape, though mounted combat is restricted to certain areas. The War-steed rides faster and turns wider than a regular mount (agility traits help with turn radius).
The War-steed you being with is a gray color, you can change the color of the hide, mane/tail, as well as cosmetic items that are equipped in an outfit slot. The war-steed has progression levels, a detailed specialization and combat system. You may also equip outfits on your War-steed and a Legendary Bridle.
There are three types of war-steeds that can be traited to your preferred play-style. They are:
War-steed: Light
The Courser is a lightly armored War-steed. Fast and agile, The Courser provides the greatest speed and maneuverability on the battlefield, trading Endurance and Armour to retain their nimbleness.
War-steed: Medium
The Rouncey is a moderately armored War-steed. The Rouncey provides balance and stability without sacrificing or favoring survivability or maneuverability.
War-steed: Heavy
The Destrier is a heavily armored War-steed. Stalwart and imposing, The Destrier is bred for battle. The least agile and slowest of the war-steeds trades speed and maneuverability.
Put Your Steeds on Display
If you own a Premium House in the Rohan neighborhoods of Kingstead Meadows or Eastfold Hills you can place your travel mounts on display with the use of a Hitching Post. A Steed Halter (stored in your Wallet) is a token used as payment to create a mount decoration.
A number of Steed Halters are provided when you purchase a Deluxe House (5) or Mead Hall (8), they can also be purchased with Mithril Coins or bartered with Figments of Splendour. Three halters are included with the Rohan Housing Set from the LOTRO store.
How to Make a Mount Decoration
- Turn on edit mode at your house.
- Right-click on the Hitching Post in your yard.
- A box will appear asking if you want to purchase a mount decoration. Confirm the purchase and pay for the decoration with the Steed halter or Mithril Coins.
- When you have purchased the mount decoration, open your Mounts tab (K) and drag your selected mount skill to the hitching post.
- A mount will appear at the post and your mount decoration will be created.
- Rotate the mount in the way you would like it to stand.
- Press Save.
You can remove the mount decoration at anytime and put it in your inventory, move it to another hook, or store it in the vault.
You can place 5 mounts in the Deluxe and 8 in the Mead Hall yards (only in the two Rohan neighborhoods as of this articles posting). You can rotate the mounts and place them in various locations, look for the hitching posts while in edit mode, usually near the stable. The mounts stand stationary with a little animation, they do not walk around.
More Mount Resources:
Thank you for taking a ride with me through all the details of owning a steed in Lord of the Rings Online, I hope you find the perfect mount to accompany you in your travels. 🐴
