I absolutely love The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It’s a huge departure from the formula of past Legend of Zelda games, with a slew of new mechanics, items, abilities, and even a tutorial area that brilliantly transitions from the more classic traditions of the series into the open-world game it truly is.
As you explore the world of Breath of the Wild, you’ll come across lots of different mounts that you can ride — and there are multiple customization options (saddles and bridles) for these mounts that you can use to tailor them to your tastes. Saddles and bridles are purely cosmetic gear for your horses, and you’ll get no varying benefits whether you use the Royal Saddle or the Knight’s Saddle.
However, some fans speculated that the Monster Saddle might be different. The secretive nature of how you obtain this saddle and the strange description that accompanies it made players think it might give them the ability to tame and register exotic mounts like Stahlhorses or the Lord of the Mountain.
But unfortunately, this isn’t the case. The Monster Saddle in Breath of the Wild is purely cosmetic, like any other saddle. (I know, I was disappointed too.)
Even if this is just a cosmetic item, though, you may still want to pick it up for yourself. Here’s everything you need to do to get the Monster Saddle, even if it’s simply a cosmetic item (and not a super-cool secret item that can let you register special Breath of the Wild mounts like it should be).
How to Get the Monster Saddle in Breath of the Wild
Step 1: Tame a Horse
First off, Breath of the Wild doesn’t hold your hand much when it comes to new mechanics. I vaguely remember the shortest of tooltips when it came to finding a horse and taming it, but I mostly got my first horse Quincy by feel (and hitting the wrong button until it threw me off).
If you need some extra help taming horses, you can check out our Breath of the Wild horse taming guide for everything you need to know. Just make sure that once you’ve tamed your mount, you ride it back to the nearest stable and register it. That way, you can name it and the stable can get it back to you if you leave the poor fella somewhere.
Now that you’ve got your horse and given it a proper name – my daughter insists that Lily is the best name to give a horse, although Mix and Ocean are also up there, depending on the horse’s colors – ride it around! Whenever it seems like it wants to wander off, soothe it again – with (L) – and eventually you’ll build up a bond with your horse. This is key for later steps.
Step 2: Visit Kilton and the Fang and Bone
If you look at your map of Hyrule, way up north and just east of Death Mountain, you’ll see a lake shaped like a skull. Visit the island that makes up the left eye of that skull at night, and you’ll find a…peculiar man named Kilton who’s trying to set up his own traveling shop. You can’t actually buy anything from him when you first meet him, but he’ll announce that he’s opening Fang and Bone, his monster parts shop, and shows up at night near one of the villages in Hyrule.
I managed to find him and his patchwork balloon hanging out on the plateau above Kakariko Village. Talk to Kilton at one of his village-adjacent locations and he’ll tell you he only sells things for Mon — his very own monster-parts currency, which you’ll need to trade (you guessed it) monster parts for.
HE LOVES MONSTERS MORE THAN YOU DO!
Once you’ve traded some monster parts for Mon, Kilton will show you his inventory. He’s how you can get the Dark Link outfit, as well as monster masks, which disguise you as a Bokoblin, Moblin, Lizalfos, or Lynel. But we’re after the Monster Bridle and Monster Saddle, which are relatively cheap if you’ve collected enough monster teeth.
Step 3: Customize Your Horse
Once you have your horse up to the maximum bond, you can take your trusted companion to either the Highland Stable or Foothill Stable and talk to the person out front feeding the horses there. They’ll give you the option to change your horse’s mane, bridle, or saddle to something new and different.
My horse Quincy now sports a cool mohawk mane, to go with his wild temperament. My daughter’s horse Ocean has the stylish Long Blue Mane — because yes, it does look like a wave, kiddo.
This customization doesn’t work with some horses, though. Tiny, my Giant Horse, won’t let me change his mane, saddle, or bridle, even though we’ve got the max bond. This is because some unique horses can only wear unique gear, so trying to put a regular ol’ saddle on them won’t go well.
And since you can’t build up a bond with other creatures (deer, bears, hogs, elk, Stalhorses, and the Lord of the Mountain), the people feeding horses next to the Highland and Foothill Stables won’t let you change their appearance — even though I’m sure that Stalhorse would have trusted me if he survived once the sun came up.
Believe me, I tried.
No, Skelehorse! Don’t go into the light!
Put It All Together…
…and you get an interesting-looking customization for your regular horse — but nothing that lets you, say, keep a Stalhorse around during the day, or scare Bokoblins or literally anything cool. I’ve poured a ton of hours into Breath of the Wild, but I was hoping for something more than a saddle that looks like Kilton’s patchwork monster balloon.
Got a wishlist for things you’d like Breath of the Wild DLC to introduce, or an idea of something I never tried with the saddle or exotic mounts? Let us know in the comments. And be sure to check out the rest of our Breath of the Wild guides for even more tips:
- Breath of the Wild Guide: Great Fairy Locations
- Breath of the Wild Guide: How to Find the Master Sword
- Breath of the Wild Guide: Where to Find All 13 Captured Memory Locations
- Breath of the Wild Cheat: How to Hold More Than 3 Fairies at Once
- Breath of the Wild Guide: All Master Trials DLC Items and Where to Find Them
