How to Get the White Arabian Horse in Red Dead Redemption 2 (Free, Early)

One of the best horses in the game is grazing in the snow at Lake Isabella. Here's how to find it, tame it and make it yours – as early as Chapter 2.

Most Red Dead Redemption 2 players spend hours on a perfectly decent horse before they realize one of the best mounts in the game has been waiting for them all along. The white Arabian costs nothing, needs no special mission, and can be claimed as soon as you're free to roam in Chapter 2. The only price is a cold ride north and a bit of patience.

Why this horse?

The Arabian is the breed with the best combination of speed and handling in the game, and the white variant at Lake Isabella is the only one you can get for free this early. It's a "Superior" class horse with what the game calls Elite handling – it turns sharply and responds instantly. For comparison, the same horse costs $1,200 in Red Dead Online, where it's also locked behind a high rank.

These numbers go up as you build your bond with the horse, so it only gets better the more you ride it. One thing to know: Arabians are skittish by nature. In a gunfight it can spook more easily than heavier breeds, but for travel, escapes and exploring it's very hard to beat.

Before you go

Lake Isabella sits in Grizzlies West, Ambarino, in the far north-western corner of the map. It's snowy, windy and freezing up there, so prepare a little:

• Dress Arthur warmly. Put on a winter coat or other cold-weather outfit, or the cold will drain his health.
• Save manually before you start. If the taming goes wrong and the horse bolts, it can take a while before it shows up again.
• Bring a Horse Reviver. This is the only wild white Arabian, and you don't want to lose it on the way home.
• Go during the day. A white horse in white snow is hard to spot, and daylight makes the job much easier.

How to find and tame it

1. Ride to Lake Isabella. Set a waypoint on the lake in Grizzlies West and head north-west. It's a long ride, so use it to bond with the horse you already have.
2. Search the west side of the lake. The horse usually grazes near the shore, but it can also stand a little way back among the trees.
3. Use Eagle Eye. Turn it on to pick out the horse and its tracks against the snow. If it runs, follow the hoofprints.
4. Dismount well away from it. Leave your own horse at a safe distance so it doesn't spook the Arabian.
5. Lock on to the horse. Hold L2 (PlayStation) or LT (Xbox) with nothing in your hands. A meter appears showing how agitated it is.
6. Walk slowly – never run. Creep or walk calmly towards it. If the meter starts rising, stand completely still until it settles.
7. Calm it down. Press Square (PlayStation) or X (Xbox) to soothe the horse when it gets nervous. It may rear up a couple of times; that's normal – just wait and keep going.
8. Pat it and mount up. Once you're right next to it, pat it and climb on.
9. Hold on while it bucks. The horse will try to throw you. Push the left stick in the opposite direction to the way the horse is leaning. If you fall off, simply try again just as calmly.

If you'd rather play it safe, you can also lasso the horse first and calm it while it's held in place, then walk up and mount.

Stay away from the water while you break it in. If the horse bucks you off near the shore it can bolt straight into the freezing lake – and you don't want your new Arabian to drown on day one.

Make it yours

A freshly tamed wild horse isn't truly yours until it has your saddle. Ride back to your old horse, take its saddle off and put it on the Arabian. It then becomes your main horse, with its name, gear and everything you had stored in the saddlebags.

Want to keep the old horse too? Ride to a stable and board it there. The white Arabian, on the other hand, should stay with you out in the world – that's where it builds its bond.

Build the bond fast

The bond level makes a big difference on an Arabian, because speed and acceleration increase with every level. This helps:

• Ride a lot, especially on roads and trails.
• Pat your horse after hard rides and whenever you stop.
• Brush it when it's dirty and feed it regularly.
• Lead it calmly rather than leaving it abandoned far away.

After a few hours together you'll notice it's both faster and calmer.

Common mistakes

• Running at the horse. It almost always scares it off. Patience is the whole trick.
• Forgetting warm clothes. The cold can drain your health while you search.
• Leaving your old horse too close. Other animals and movement nearby make the Arabian nervous.
• Taming it right by the lake. A bucking horse near open water is a recipe for disaster.
• Riding home without swapping saddles. The horse isn't permanently yours until it carries your saddle.

With the white Arabian under you, the huge map of Red Dead Redemption 2 suddenly feels a lot smaller – and it pays to grab it as early as you can.

This article was written by AI (Claude) and checked against the sources above. Games are updated regularly, so details may change.