Red Dead Redemption 2 - How To Brush Your Horse
By Jason Fanelli ·
Cleaning and brushing Arthur's horse in Red Dead Redemption 2 can make his journey much easier in the long run, and here's how you do it.
A lot of a player's success in Red Dead Redemption 2 will stem from his or her ability to practice proper hygiene. No, I don't mean personally (although that never hurts), I'm talking about keeping Arthur and his horses clean and fresh between missions. We've already talked about how to get Arthur to take a bath (and why it makes sense to do so), so now let's move over to his noble steed. Brushing Arthur's horse and keeping it clearn will not only help the horse out -- he can't do it himself, after all -- but it will strengthen the bond between the two and unlock several relationship-based perks. Simply put, you want to keep Arthur's horse happy, and here's how you can do it through grooming.
How to Obtain the Horse Brush
As in real life Arthur can't just walk up to his horse and starting brushing, he needs a proper tool. The Horse Brush is made available to our hero at “Exit Pursued by a Bruised Ego,” a mission in Chapter 2 just after the gang's camp is set up on Horseshoe Overlook. This mission is available in Chapter 2 after the gang pitches camp, play through it and the brush is yours. Quick side note: this mission is doubly valuable as it allows Arthur to take on and kill a legendary animal. Two tasks for the price of one, what a deal!
Cleaning Your Dirty Horse
Unlike Arthur, who has to walk into a bathhouse and book some time to get himself all cleaned up, cleaning the horse of its muck is far simpler. Find a body of water nearby, ride the horse into it, and like magic the horse is nice and clean. Make sure the water is deep enough though, it wouldn't do any good to splash around in hoof-level water if the horse is covered in mud up to its ears.
Exercising Proper Horse Hygiene
The second tenant of horsey hygiene is brushing it, and now that we have the Horse Brush we can make our steeds shine. Brushing a horse in Red Dead Redemption 2 is as easy as approaching the horse, pressing LT on Xbox One and L2 on PlayStation 4 to bring up the Interactions menu, and selecting Left on the Directional Pad. The brushing action begins and you can brush to your heart's content.
Keeping your horse clean will keep him on your side for the long haul, which will be a blessing (a loyal horse is an effective horse) and a curse (when the horse eventually kicks the bucket because you ran into a bridge post). Check out our other Red Dead Redemption 2 guides, including how to take photos and how to enter cheat codes for those times you just want to go wild.