Image Credit: Starissa
Horses have a variety of skills they can learn, depending upon their coat. They have a chance to randomly obtain 1 horse skill each time they level. Horse Skill Change coupons can help you obtain the skills you desire. Read more about how this works below.
The most important horse skills for speed are Sprint, Instant Acceleration, and Drift.
Horse Skills List
The table below lists the skills that horses have a chance to learn.
| Icon | Skill Name | Keyboard | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Caution | Auto-activates in fall zone | Prevents horse from running off a cliff (can still jump over it if timed right) | 4,350 |
 |
Charge | Q (Champron required) | Horse charges enemies | 1,530,000 |
 |
Drift | ← or → + ↓ while Running | Drift resets the cooldown on Instant Accel | 2,320,500 |
 |
Fore Chop | F | frontal attack | 4,350 |
 |
High Jump | SPACE while running fast | jump higher while running | 86,400 |
 |
Hind Kick | ↓ + F | backward AOE attack | 4,350 |
 |
Instant Accel | While Running F | Horse temporarily runs faster | 2,320,500 |
 |
Quick Back | ↓ | Horse steps backward faster | 79,200 |
 |
Quick Ride | Auto-activates while riding | you can mount the horse faster | 86,625 |
 |
Quick Stop | While Riding ↓ | you can stop the horse faster | 105,600 |
 |
Roar | SPACE (Stirrups required) | regenerate HP and Stamina for 30 seconds | 264,000 |
 |
Sideways | ← or → | horse can strafe right or left, T5+ Horses only | 3,836,250 |
 |
Sprint | ↑+Shift (Saddle required) | horse can temporarily run faster | 3,315,000 |
 |
Start Accel | Lift front leg with SPACE, then ↑ | horse starts immediately running | 4,350 |
 |
Streak Leap | Jumps immediately after a jump | horse can jump repeatedly without stopping | 1144,000 |
 |
Two-seater | Guild or Party member R | allows another player to ride with you, T6-T8 and Doom Horse only | 4,972,500 |
 |
S: Fore Chop | AP Up with Fore Chop | stronger Fore Chop skill (Horse does a frontal AOE attack), T8+ Horses only | 226,800 |
 |
S: Hind Kick | AP Up in Hind Kick | stronger Hind Kick skill (Horse does a backward AOE attack), T8+ Horses only | 226,800 |
 |
S: Instant Accel | F during Instant Accel | stronger Instant Accel skill (Horse temporarily runs faster), T8+ Horses only | 10,687,500 |
 |
S: Sideways | Speed Up in Sideways | faster Sideways skill (horse can strafe right or left), T8+ Horses only | 10,687,500 |
Dream Horse Only Skills
All T9 Dream Horses start with 3 skills. One unique Doom/Arduanatt/Dine skill, plus Courser’s Spirit, and Double Jump. Other desirable skills have to be learned as the horse levels.
| Icon | Skill Name | Keyboard | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
S: Charge | Q while Charging | Charge +damage & +range. Horse can use Charge twice, consecutively. T9 Dream Horse only. (20% Chance to learn.) | 12,150,000 |
 |
Courser’s Spirit | Auto-activated while unmounted | Horse regenerates its HP and Stamina when it’s parked. T9 Dream Horse only. (100% Chance to learn.) | 9,562,500 |
 |
Double Jump | SpaceBar while Jumping | Jump a second time in the air. Must have Steak Leap & High Jump. T9 Dream Horse only. (100% Chance to learn.) | 13,162,500 |
 |
Wings of Freedom | Wings of Wind ← or → also during descent after using Leap S to quickly descend |
Allows Arduanatt to turn sideways while using Wings of the Wind, T9 Arduanatt Dream Horse skill only. (10% Chance to learn.) | 21,937,500 |
 |
Wings of Wind | E while Double Jump also during descent after using Leap S to quickly descend |
Glide after Double Jump/Leap. Reduces fall damage by 100% when Arduanatt uses Double Jump. T9 Arduanatt Dream Horse skill only. (100% Chance to learn.) | 21,375,000 |
 |
Earth of Life | E also during movement and while using Sprint or Instant Accel |
Heals Dine and 10 friendly targets for 300 HP and 300 MP/WP/SP every 3 seconds for 30 seconds Cooldown: 3 minutes. T9 Diné Dream Horse only skill. (100% Chance to learn.) | 21,375,000 |
 |
Earth of Protection | Auto activates while using Earth of Life | All DP, Evasion, AP +10 for you and up to 10 party members for 30 seconds. T9 Diné Dream Horse only skill. (10% Chance to learn.) | 21,937,500 |
 |
Dark Flame Steps | E | AOE fire damage, based on % HP. T9 Doom Dream Horse skill only. (100% Chance to learn.) | 21,375,000 |
 |
Dark Sprint | F during S: Instant Accel or F during S: Charge | Press the key again for an additional IA or Charge. T9 Doom Dream Horse skill only. (10% Chance to learn.) | 21,937,500 |
Mythical Arduanatt Skills
Mythical Arduanatt has 3 unique skills that are learned upon birth.
 |
Mighty Leap | E during Instant Accel |
Swiftly ride the winds to leap mightily into the air. Not available when weapon is unsheathed. 400 Stamina. 100% Chance. T10 Arduanatt only.
|
 |
Wings of Swiftness | Press F during Wings of Freedom |
Having learned the ways to read the wind currents, the Mythical Arduanatt pierces through the winds during Wings of Freedom to descend at even faster speeds. T10 Arduanatt only.
|
 |
Flight | ↑ (W) + E while idle or E after raising forelegs with Space |
After floating into the air with elegant movement, spend some time floating mid-air. Not available when weapon is unsheathed. 400 Stamina continuously. T10 Arduanatt only. Lasts as long as you have Stamina.
|
BDO Horse Skills, Coats, & Tiers Tool
For the BDO Horse Skill Tool, click the button below to gallop there. 🙂 The tool has a more complex horse skill list that shows which horses can learn which skills. Includes filterable horse coat data like HP, Stamina, LT, Speed, Acceleration, Turn, Brake, Experience per Level, Color Theory values of Red/White/Black, etc.
Horse Skill Gain Chance For Dream Horses
| Arduanatt (Female) | Arduanatt (Male) | Dine (Female) | Dine (Male) | Doom (Female) | Doom (Male) | |
| Hind Kick | 8.10% | 10.20% | 8.10% | 12.30% | 16.50% | 16.50% |
| Fore Chop | 8.10% | 10.20% | 8.10% | 12.30% | 16.50% | 16.50% |
| Drift | 4.38% | 4.17% | 4.38% | 3.96% | 2.70% | 3.12% |
| Sprint | 2.06% | 1.99% | 2.06% | 1.92% | 1.50% | 1.64% |
| Start Accel | 6% | 6.70% | 6% | 6% | 6% | 6% |
| High Jump | 4.20% | 4.62% | 4.20% | 4.20% | 4.20% | 4.20% |
| Quick Stop | 4.20% | 5.04% | 4.20% | 5.88% | 7.56% | 7.56% |
| Instant Accel | 2.06% | 1.99% | 2.06% | 1.92% | 1.50% | 1.64% |
| Charge | 2.70% | 3.12% | 2.70% | 3.54% | 4.38% | 4.38% |
| Sideways | 1.01% | 1.01% | 1.01% | 1.01% | 1.01% | 1.01% |
| Quick Back | 8.10% | 9.15% | 8.10% | 8.10% | 8.10% | 8.10% |
| Streak Leap | 6% | 6.70% | 6% | 6% | 6% | 6% |
| Roar | 4.20% | 5.04% | 4.20% | 5.88% | 7.56% | 7.56% |
| Caution | 4.20% | 4.62% | 4.20% | 4.20% | 4.20% | 4.20% |
| Quick Ride | 6% | 6.70% | 6% | 6% | 6% | 6% |
| Two Seater | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | ?% | ?% |
| S:Hind Kick | 4.05% | 5.10% | 4.05% | 6.15% | 8.25% | 8.25% |
| S:Fore Chop | 4.05% | 5.10% | 4.05% | 6.15% | 8.25% | 8.25% |
| S:Instant Accel | 1.03% | 1.00% | 1.03% | 0.96% | 0.75% | 0.82% |
| S:Sideways | 0.51% | 0.51% | 0.51% | 0.51% | 0.51% | 0.51% |
| Courser’s Spirit | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Double Jump | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| S:Charge | 20% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 20% |
| Earth of Life | 0% | 0% | 100% | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Earth of Protection | 0% | 0% | 10% | 10% | 0% | 0% |
| Wings of Wind | 100% | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Wings of Freedom | 10% | 10% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Dark Flame Steps | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Dark Sprint | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 10% | 10% |
Horse Skill Gain Chance for T8
Thank you to bdocodex.com for the data values.
Also big thanks for a spreadsheet posted by Wolfy in Discord: view source spreadsheet
How Horse Skill Gain Likely Works by Cappuccino
Thank you to Cappuccino for the following Horse Skill theory. Quoted from a forum post.
NOTE: This post is an extension of conversations taking place in the Breeder’s Discord, but because of its length could not be easily posted there.
What does it mean when my horse levels up and I get the message “chances of learning a skill has increased”? Why do horses learn skills early on but not many (if any) in their 20’s? Do costumes, branding stones, and the appearance change coupons work and how?
Skills: The Hidden XP Bar
When your horse is running, it gains xp towards its next level-up based on distance. This is an xp bar you can see and use to predict how long you will need to ride your horse before it levels.
Every time your horse levels, more xp is needed in order to level up again. By the time the horse level 28, you might have to autoloop an entire night on a high tier horse in order to hit level 30 as opposed to spending one night to get from level 1 to level 15.
Skills seem to work in a similar fashion.
Your horse is gaining skill xp every time it levels up, but this is an xp bar that we cannot see.
Every time your horse learns a skill, the next skill requires more xp in order to learn, just like how the horse levels. But because your horse is likely learning a set amount of skill xp on each level up, eventually the gap widens and it takes several level ups to learn a skill.
This is why early on your horse will learn many skills, then slow down in its teens, and then maybe only learn a couple skills in its 20s.
Why are some horses smart and some horses.. not?
The RNG comes into play when the horse is born. (Horses born pre-nerf will learn skills at a rate consistent with old skill gain rates. Early data is indicating that horses coming out of racing seal boxes may not be effected by the nerf either.)
Skill gain RNG is effecting one of two things, either of which would result in the patterns we see.
a) The set amount of Skill XP the horse gets on level up is determined at birth. A low roll means the horse will not be able to meet as many Skill XP thresholds, resulting in a lower number of skills learned.
b) The Skill XP thresholds that must be met in order to learn a new skill may be higher on certain horses, resulting in a lower number of skills learned.
In either case, costumes, branding stones, and change coupons will still have the same effect. The nerf probably made the amount of skill xp the horse learns on level up lower than before.
How do Costumes and other items that effect horse skills work?
Branding, costumes and appearance coupons likely work by boosting the total amount of skill xp your horse has.
Appearance coupons are unique in that even if your horse is level 30, if it was close enough to a Skill Threshold, and the coupon pushes your horse over that threshold, the horse is awarded with a skill.
Branding stones don’t seem to make much difference in skill gain, so the skill xp award is probably low.
Horse costumes seemed to be bugged for much of the early game, but certain ones are finally causing skill gains on horses. Confirmed with testing are the Lahr Arcien and the Karlstein. (Also, unequipping and re-equipping the costume on the same horse may be negating the bonus. It could be a bug.)
There is a lot more data related to this section, such as ideal times to equip a costume or use a coupon, but I feel more testing is needed before publishing.
Mount Brand Spell Stone
Do Brand Stones Help Gain Skills?
There is a Pearl item called Mount Brand Spell Stone that promises to increase Skill gain chance, but several players report it doesn’t work like expected. Pehaps it’s a very small amount. What has your experience been with this? Does it seem to help?
Benefits of Mount Brand Spell Stone
- “chance to learn skills increases” (debatable?)
- recovery and revival 30% cheaper
- 50% mount gear durability consumption decrease
Horse Skill Gain via Training Skill
Horse Skill Gain chance is improved with your character’s Training Skill.
This can get as high as 100% of the base learn chance at Training level Guru 20. To see all the details, please view our Horse Training Guide, which also has a list of items that will make a happy trainer. 🙂
Hello, there is an error on this guide, as pointed out by the horse community.
Not all stats have caps/breakpoints, the only stat with a breakpoint/cap is brake. The cap for brake is 150.1 and nothing after that matters. You will have the same brake at 140.1 as 150%.
Every % in other stats matter. 161% Speed will be faster than 160.9% speed.
The whole section “How Horse Skill Gain Likely Works by Cappuccino” seems like a silly made-up theory, as a lot of stuff floating around the internet about horse training is.The only thing I can sort of agree with is that some horses may be born with better RNG but even that is debatable. The whole “hidden exp bar for skills” spiel seems just so unlikely, I mean anyone that trained a lot of horses will have had a bunch of horses that still learned a skill at 21, then again at 22, etc… while couponing out forechop, so in my… Read more »