Stable

Stables are locations in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. They are found all over Hyrule. Like the Sheikah Towers, there are fifteen stables throughout Hyrule. Link can register up to five horses at any stable. When registering a horse, Link obtains the default Stable Bridle and Saddle for it, except Epona and the Giant Horse who have their own special equipment. Certain stables allow Link to change his horse's saddle and bridle with new ones obtained, and to style his horse's mane.

Link can stay for a rest like for inns, and meet several dwellers or travelers such as the merchant Beedle from whom he can buy items. Beedle can be found around most stables and can always be found in any stable at night though he may wonder during the day though will generally be close by. Most Stables are close to a Shrine which can be used as fast travel points once they have been activated. Cooking Pots can be found outside all stables as well though most become unusable if it rains though the stable near Tabantha Bridges is sheltered and it never rains in Gerudo Canyon so its stable's cooking pot is always usable. All stables can be recognized by the large Horse God effigy on their roof which are presumably meant to honor and venerate Malanya, the patron deity of Horses who lives in Malanya Spring.

Functions & Services[]

All Stables function as Inns and rest stops for travelers in addition to its primary function as a horse stable. Stables have Cooking Pots travelers can use and travelling merchants occasionally visit Stables though Beedle does most of his business around stables and mysteriously can always be found around any stable Link visits. Stables also tend to have useful items lying around and some have Hylian Retrievers who will lead Link to treasure if he feeds them. Some Stables raise livestock other than horses such as Cuccos, Goats, and Sheep. In addition to Horses they also apparently board Donkey as well. Stables are incredibly safe as monsters will actually avoid the area around stables presumably because they either have divine protection from Malanya or Malanya's effigy wards off evil. Stable folk are generally quite knowledgeable of the local area where they are found and some provide directions, information, or even side quests. Some travelers may choose to stay at particular stables or visit certain stables frequently or may even travel between stables providing information to fellow travelers. Certain stables are run by families with even the children assist in caring for the animals and forging. While most stables have fair climates the stable in Tabantha Tundra is cold even indoors requiring travelers to wear warm clothing, food that grants cold resistance, equip fire elemental weapons, or even make a Campfire. Stables essentially act as minor settlements that provide room and board to travelers and their horses. A hundred years after the Great Calamity, Stables play an important part in Hyrule's economy and are an essential part of horse ownership. Certain stables feature Rumor Mill or Super Rumor Mill volumes by Traysi. Most stables feature recipe posters which provide Link with different recipes he can try provided he has the necessary ingredients though some such as Dueling Peaks Stable lack them. Rarely Goron, Gerudo, Rito, and Sheikah travelers may visit stables to rest or mingle with other travelers. According to Quince, Zora Prince Sidon visited the Wetland Stable during his search for a Hylian to assist him in combating Vah Ruta showing even Zora royalty may visit stables on rare occasions though Zora tend to travel by waterways such as rivers and most rarely leave Zora's Domain. Koroks may be found hiding around some stables but generally do not mingle with other races as it is implied only certain individuals can see them though they apparently observe Hylians and other races visiting from their hiding spots out of curiosity. According to young Hylian child Ena, a male Fairy once visited the stable near Tabantha Bridge where she lives and befriended her indicating Fairies occasionally visit Stables either voluntarily or after flying off after being used to heal or providing their Fairy Dust for Cooking.

East Akkala Stable is the only stable in Hyrule that serves food to travelers as Khini sells a local delicacy Akkala Buns a special type of bread with an "Enduring" effect though they must be eaten immediately after purchase and Khini feeds them to customers though sometimes their "Enduring" effect fails to overfill Link's stamina which Khini simply notes is an odd occurrence. Khini states Akkala buns are made with fresh ingredients and spoil quickly. Link never actually sees one as Khini has him close his eyes while feeding one to him. However other stables permit patrons to use their cooking pot though most become unusable when it rains unless sheltered or in locations where rain does not occur. The Dueling Peaks Stable leaves free Apples for travelers which Sagessa reveals are gathered by the children. Other Stables may also leave free raw foods lying around for travelers though its first come first serve. The Highland Stable has a Swift Carrot growing behind the hay trope's horse stall.

Stable Beds[]

Speaking to the Stable Manager indoors allows Link to sleep in the Stable. Stables offer standard beds and soft beds though soft beds cost more however they grant Link a single temporary extra yellow heart container. Arriving at or sleeping at a stable generally triggers an autosave. The Rito Cecili at the Swallow's Roost, however claims Rito-down beds are so comfortable she warns her customers that they may never want to sleep in a stable bed again indicating even Soft Stable beds are not as comfortable as Rito-down beds though this may simply be a sales pitch as her inn has to compete for customers with the nearby Rito Stable. However their may be some truth to her claims as sleeping in a Rito-down bed grants three extra heart containers and an extra yellow stamina wheel.

Registration[]

Stable Managers can register and board up to five horses per person, though once someone has reached this limit they must let a registered horse go or wait until a registered Horse dies of unnatural causes to register a new horse. Upon taming a horse, Link can register it at a stable for 20 Rupees which allows him to name the horse which receives a Bridle and Saddle. Epona and the Giant Horse receives a special bridle and saddle upon registration that is unique to them and cannot be changed. Stable Managers also refuse to allow the legendary horse Epona be named anything other than Epona. In addition to outfitting registered horses with Bridles and Saddles, they also outfit the registered horse with horseshoes and care for Link's boarded horses keeping them feed and healthy. Once registered a horse will no longer wonder around when Link dismounts and will come when he Whistles unless he is too far away for them to hear or obstructions prevent them from coming to him though any horse equipped with the Ancient Saddle will teleport to his location unless Link is in areas inaccessible to horses such as the Great Plateau or Gerudo Desert. However unless fully bonded, registered horses will still disobey commands or become unruly at times forcing Link to correct their misbehavior. However once fully bonded they will become obedient though Wild Temperament horses will still buck him of he pushes them too hard when they have no Spurs. though Gentle Temperament horses like Epona will not as they will simply refuse to run.

Only one registered horse can be taken out at a time though any out will be automatically boarded regardless of where the horse. Horses are boarded through the stable system thus Link can take any of his registered horses at any stable even if he has never boarded a horse at said stable. It is unexplained how this is possible though presumably the stables run a network that allows horses to be transferred between stables. Whenever Link tames a horse, speaking to the stable manager from the outside window who will ask if he wants to register it. Once Malanya's power is restored with an offering of Rupees at Malanya Spring, Link can have the Horse God revive any registered horse that has died thus registration allows Link to hold onto special horses even if they die. As the Horse God Malanya has access to the stable system when reviving horses.

Interestingly, the stable can retrieve a registered horse left on Hylia Island, Tenoko Island or Eventide Island if Link manages to transport them there via Raft using the Horse on a raft trick. They can also retrieve Horses from Korok Forest despite the veteran local stable hand Ashe considering the Lost Woods too scary and potentially dangerous to penetrate having become lost their in his youth. However their ability to do this is likely due to game mechanics as part of the stable system as it is unexplained how they can retrieve horses from difficult to reach locations. They can even retrieve horses from places Link is unable to get his horses out himself either by riding or whistling though this is useful as the only alternative would be to kill it and have Malanya resurrect it which thanks to the stable system is unnecessary. Stable managers also provide customers with helpful tips regarding horses when taking out horses.

After taming a wild horse, mounting Epona, or a horse pre-tamed by Bokoblins, Link will ride the unregistered horse bareback and use its mane to control it as its lack of bridle means no reigns. Additionally unregistered horses lack horse shoes and tend to wonder around when dismounted. Thus registration allows Link to ride them move humanly and comfortably for both himself and the horse. However Link can use unregistered horses he tames as temporary mounts for travelling. Link can take out a registered horse and still tame others though once registered one will have to be boarded to ride the other. Unregistered horses will remain after a save or autosave is triggered thus reloading a previous save allows Link to hold onto an unregistered horse in order to register it. This is especially useful for holding onto unregistered special horses such as Epona, Giant, and White Horse.

During the "Good-Sized Horse", Link can sell one of his registered horses to Zyle for a Gold Rupee though Zyle takes up ownership thus it is suggested selling horses causes them to become registered to the buyer unless the buyer sells or releases the horse. However at the Outskirt Stable Zyle is implied to have partially scammed Link into selling him a horse to supposedly replace one he lost as he almost slips up and reveals he sold the horse Link sold to him despite putting on a charade that he still owns the horse. As a result Link should sell Zyle an easily acquired tamed wild horse or a Bokoblin tamed Horse. If he sells Zyle the White Horse from Safula Hill another wild one will appear at Safula Hill however Link will have to tame and/or register it again. Zyle will refuse to accept the Giant Horse, Stalhorse, or Lord of the Mountain.

Prohibitions[]

Though Link can tame and ride a variety of creatures besides Horses, the Stable Managers only allow Link to register horses. They refuse to allow Link to register Bears, Deer, or the Lord of the Mountain. While Stalhorse are technically a species of undead horse and are generally benign creatures despite having been reanimated by Ganon's magic, Stable Managers refuse to register them viewing them as monsters and fearing they may cannibalistically eat their living counterparts if boarded though this fear is unfounded as Stalhorses show no signs of cannibalism and get along with living horses and retain the diet they possessed in life despite their lack of a stomach. Additionally Stalhorses die at sunrise thus caring for them beyond a single night would be difficult if not impossible. Bears and Deer are too wild to be truly domesticated and Bears might kill horses and donkey if boarded with them and could threaten the lives of the stable staff. The Lord of the Mountain can't be registered as bringing it to a stable is a bad omen and stable managers fear they will all be cursed if the spirit is registered though it is unclear if the Lord of the Mountain would actually curse them as it may allow itself to be registered given Link's heroic status and connection to Hylia. However the stable managers are likely just superstitious and too frightened of the spirit.

As Donkeys are domestic animals used for transporting goods and baggage, Link is unable to tame or register one as wild donkey do not exist, though Stables do apparently board donkey as they are often used by Hylian merchants and can sometimes be found feeding from Stable hay trophs with horses. Presumably Stables accommodate merchants and other travelers donkey as they are a vital means of transporting cargo for trade thus play an important economic role. However Link himself has little use for a donkey as they are only used for carrying cargo and not for riding.

Grooming & Horse Gear[]

Phanna (BOTW) — Phanna at Highland Stable

Certain stables feature female stable hands who can groom his registered horse's mane or change its bridle and saddle with the exception of Epona and the Giant Horse. However Link must have bond completely with his horse to do so. Link can increase there bond by soothing his horse to reinforce good behavior and show he cares. However soothing to bond is a slow and tedious process. The quicker way is to feed his horse Apples, Swift Carrots, or Endura Carrots until they stop eating. Horses can be bonded with before or after registration. Once fully bonded the stable hand will check and then allow Link to style their mane or change its equipment. However Link can only equip Bridles and Saddle he has managed to acquire as Key Items and the default Stable Bridle and Stable Saddle received upon registration. Bridles and Saddles can be acquired primarily through certain side quests and as horse-related mini-game rewards. The "Traveler" set can be acquired through the Amiibo Rune while Kilton sells the "Monster" set at the Fang and Bone after at least two of Divine Beast have been freed. With the exception of the Ancient Bridle and Ancient Saddle, this equipment is purely cosmetic. The "Stable" set is always equipped to registered Horses and the White Horse upon registration though as it is the default set it only appears in the menu when changing gear and is not listed in Link's Key Items inventory. Styling a horse's mane is optional though it allows Link to customize its appearance. The stable hands note that Epona is a graceful lady who despite being gentle and having a max bond with Link automatically is fussy when it comes to her mane and equipment thus they refuse to even consider it out of respect for her. They also note the Giant Horse's Bridle and Saddle are the only equipment large enough to fit it and its large size and wild temperament would make it dangerous to try and style its mane which they note it wouldn't like. The White Horse however has no problem with them styling its mane or changing its equipment as Toffa can outfit it with the Royal Horse Gear during "The Royal White Stallion" side quest regardless of its bond with Link though this is a special case as Toffa the Outskirt Stable's veteran elderly stable hand likely had the female stable hand Canni assist him as the "Royal" gear was a gift for Link for taming and registering the White Horse whom Toffa believes to be the grandchild of Princess Zelda's royal White Stallion which is said to have escaped the Great Calamity and fled to Safula Hill where the wild White Horse is found a century later. These female stable hands can be found tending the hay trophs of certain stables and are all young women.