It's very easy to get side-tracked in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Not only does the game actively encourage players to explore every nook and cranny of post-Calamity Hyrule, but it also gives players a variety of game mechanics that lend themselves to outside-the-box gameplay. Speedrunners are known for blasting Link through the air with his own bombs, and partaking in wacky BOTW challenge runs. Breath of the Wild's mechanics also lend themselves to more mundane, yet still odd gameplay moments, including letting Link ride wild animals.
Breath of the Wild heavily promotes players' use of horses for traversing the vast landscape. Wild horses roam many areas, waiting to be tamed and registered at the many stables positioned along common travel routes. Horses are typically the fastest method of getting around (aside from the aforementioned Windbomb technique), and the game makes it abundantly clear that horses are useful. What it doesn't overtly teach the player, though, is that the same mechanics for taming a horse can be used on other wild animals.
Unfortunately, bringing anything other than a horse to a stable is a lost cause. The stable proprietors will not allow Link to register wild animals other than horses (though they do allow Breath of the Wild's giant horse, which probably can't even fit in a stall), but trying will still trigger a unique and humorous line of dialogue. This makes all of Link's unconventional mounts only temporary, with them wandering off, disappearing, or dying shortly after Link dismounts.
Breath Of The Wild's Ridable Wild Animals
Every ridable animal in Breath of the Wild is as follows:
- Deer (Mountain Buck and Mountain Doe)
- Bears (Honeyvore Bear and Grizzlemaw Bear)
- Stalhorse
- Lynel
- Lord of the Mountain
- Sand Seal
Deer and bears are the most mundane of wild animals Link can ride. Players just have to sneak up on them and use the soothe button much like they would a horse. Stalhorses are mounted the same way, but a skeletal horse is anything but mundane, and bringing it to a stable will give the owner a shock. Lynels in BOTW can't really be tamed, but they are mountable during combat. Stunning a Lynel, which are not normally known for their stealth, with a well-placed arrow to the face will allow Link to jump on its back and land a succession of blows on the beast. The Lord of the Mountain is the final one that is conventionally ridable on the list. He can be found at the peak of Satori Mountain when an ominous glow is in the air but will disappear soon after Link dismounts.
Sand Seals are technically not mounts, but Link can still use them as a beast of burden. Sneaking up on a Sand Seal in order to shield surf behind it in BOTW is the same basic principle as mounting other creatures, but Link uses them like one might a horse for a chariot. Sidon, the dashing Zora Prince, isn't a wild animal, yet he can still be ridden by Link before entering the Divine Beast Vah Ruta. Breath of the Wild's Hyrule has a prominent horse culture, but that doesn't restrict Link to riding only horses.