Navigating the vast and perilous landscapes of Rust, where the island is teeming with player bases, monuments, animals, and other countless dangers, can be a daunting task. Surviving in such a hostile environment, where everything is out to get you, often feels overwhelming.
But what if you didn’t have to traverse the entire map on foot? Believe it or not, there’s a more efficient way to get around in Rust. In this guide, we’ll show you everything you need to know about horse riding in Rust and how to acquire a horse of your own. In Rust, a horse can be a valuable asset for any player. Horses offer speed and mobility, allowing you to traverse the map quickly, engage in mounted combat, and use their dung as fertilizer for farming. This guide will walk you through how to get a horse in Rust, including taming, buying, feeding, and healing your horse.
What Can You Do With a Horse in Rust?
Horses in Rust have a wide variety of use cases that can help you on your journies. Here are a few things you can do with a horse in Rust:
Horse Riding
Horses in Rust are primarily used for traversing the map quickly, giving you a significant advantage over other players when hunting for resources. Despite needing some upkeep, the benefits far outweigh the effort. With a horse, you can cross the map at a much faster pace and become nearly impossible to kill with a melee weapon by any on-foot player. Additionally, riding a horse makes you a more elusive target at range, making your travels not only more efficient but also safer.
Using The Horse Dung as Fertilizer
Just like in real life, horse excrement in Rust can be used as fertilizer. While it might sound unappealing, it's actually quite valuable. The fertilizer produced from horse dung can be used for farming and can also be traded at the bandit camp, making it a lucrative resource. How often do horses poop in Rust? Typically, horses defecate every 10 to 15 minutes in-game. If you are able to effectively turn your stables into a compost factory, you can make a fair amount of scrap trading fertilizer.
Fighting with Other Players
Fighting on horseback in Rust is hard, but possible. While aiming can be challenging, a skilled rider becomes a formidable force. With enough practice to master the slight control differences, you can easily get the drop on roamers. Horses excel at chasing down opponents and are invaluable during raids, enabling quick escapes after a successful attack. For anyone keen on Rust PvP, a single horse can be a powerful upgrade.
Method 1: Taming a Wild Horse
In Rust, horses are neutral mobs that can be found wandering across the map. They spawn naturally, with the highest concentrations in the Temperate and Desert biomes. If you're struggling to find horses in your current area, head to one of these biomes, and you're likely to encounter one. Conversely, horses do not appear in the Arctic biomes. While useful, obtaining a horse in an Arctic biome means a long trip on foot.
Once you find a wild horse, you can examine it to check its stats, including health and speed, before mounting it. After taming a wild horse, ensure you bring it to an enclosed area to prevent other players from stealing it.
To claim a wild horse in Rust, approach it slowly and interact with it by pressing the action button. This will allow you to tame the horse and make it your own. To ride a horse in Rust, you can mount the horse by pressing the action button, this is usually E on most people's keyboards.
Do Horses Despawn in Rust?
Yes, horses can despawn if left unattended for too long. It's crucial to regularly interact with your horse and keep it fed to prevent it from despawning. Make sure you also keep your horse in an enclosed area as well to ensure that other players do not steal your horse when you are away.
Method 2: Buying a Horse
Another way to obtain horses in Rust is by acquiring a saddle from Large Barn or Ranch monuments. These monuments spawn randomly across the map, making their locations unpredictable. However, once you find a monument that sells horses, you can speak to the stable shopkeeper to buy a saddle. There are two different saddle variants to choose from, allowing for some customization in your horseback adventures:
- Single Saddle: This item is 75 scrap, when mounted on the horse it will create a seat for 1 person.
- Double Saddle: This item is 90 scrap, when mounted on the horse it will create two seats for you and a friend to ride the horse.
Once you have purchased the saddle, you can walk over to any of the horses inside of the barn to mount your saddle. Take a look at each individual horses' attributes (health, stamina, etc.) to determine which one you want to take with you.
How to Put a Saddle on a Horse in Rust
To equip a saddle on your horse in Rust, simply approach the horse, hold E on it, and click the "Equip Saddle" button in the circle menu. This will equip the saddle, allowing you to ride the horse.
How to Feed a Horse in Rust
In Rust, feeding your horse is essential to ensure that your horse does not despawn. Feeding your horse not only keeps it from disappearing, but keeps it's health and stamina up depending on what you feed it. There are a few ways to feed a horse in Rust:
- Craft a Trough: A trough costs 200 wood to craft and can be placed on the ground. Place the trough in front of your horse and fill it with food to ensure that they do not despawn from hunger when you go offline.
- Drop the Food Next to It: If you are on the go, you can just drop the food in your inventory on the floor next to your horse. They will eat it on their own!
What do horses eat in Rust?
Horses in Rust can eat a variety of foods, including corn, pumpkins, and horse feed. Make sure to regularly feed your horse to keep it in good condition. Below is a table of all of the food that is worth feeding to your horse.
| Food Type | Stamina Added | Health Added |
|---|---|---|
| Super Serum | 25.5 | - |
| Potato | 8.0 | 12 |
| Can of Beans | 6.4 | 8 |
| Chocolate Bar | 6.4 | 4 |
| Cooked Bear Meat | 6.4 | 10 |
| Pumpkin | 6.4 | 20 |
| Corn | 4.8 | 12 |
| Cooked Fish | 3.8 | 10 |
| Granola Bar | 3.8 | 10 |
| Cooked Wolf Meat | 3.8 | 10 |
| Cooked Pork | 3.8 | 10 |
| Raw Pork | 3.8 | - |
| Can of Tuna | 3.2 | 4 |
| Pickles | 3.2 | 10 |
| Cooked Horse Meat | 2.9 | 16 |
| Black Raspberries | 2.6 | 20 |
| Cooked Chicken | 2.6 | 20 |
| Cooked Deer Meat | 2.6 | 20 |
| Apple | 1.9 | 4 |
| Blueberries | 1.9 | 20 |
| Cooked Human Meat | 1.9 | 4 |
| Burnt Bear Meat | 1.6 | 2 |
| Raw Chicken Breast | 1.3 | - |
| Raw Deer Meat | 1.3 | - |
| Raw Horse Meat | 1.3 | - |
| Raw Wolf Meat | 1.3 | - |
| Rotten Apple | 1.0 | 4 |
| Burnt Wolf Meat | 1.0 | 2 |
| Burnt Pork | 1.0 | 2 |
| Mushroom | 1.0 | 6 |
While your horse can eat anything, these are the foods that are the most efficent for health and stamina. By far, the best food to feed horses in Rust is the Potato. This is because of it's ease to get, the stamina it adds, and the low cost to produce it.
How to Heal a Horse in Rust
To heal a horse in Rust, pick a food with a high amount of healing. These foods are:
- Black Raspberries
- Blueberries
- Cooked Deer Meat
- Pumpkins
- Cooked Chicken
Pick one of these foods to feed your horse, and it will be feeling better in no time!
By following this guide on how to get a horse in Rust, you can enhance your gameplay experience, making exploration, combat, and farming more efficient and enjoyable. Happy riding!