Video games transport us to experiences that are impossible to live without these technologies. In addition, they are an increasingly large and important industry at the economic and job levels. And since our passion is horses we invite you to know The best horse video games, and games with horses.

In video games we can find a variety of approaches about horses. From games about learning to ride a horse, equestrian sports or where the horse is our means of transport. That’s why we separate our article into two main parts, one where horses are the center of the game and another where horses are an important component of the action and plot, but they are not the center of the game.

As in video games, horses have played a major role in some human activities, and in other cases have been a means to achieve certain ends. The horse has fulfilled different functions throughout history, as in the video game to take roles according to need. Therefore, today we will know more about the best horse video games, and games with horses.

But let’s start with a bit of history.

Why video games with horses?

Horse video games are a popular category of video games, these offer a wide variety of exciting and challenging experiences.

In horse video games we can find from exciting races to epic adventures.

Games with horses have been an important part of video game culture since its early decades. It can even be considered that the first video game with horses is also the first video game in history, as we will see later.

With the evolution of technology, horse games have become more sophisticated and realistic. These video games offer an immersive and authentic experience for players.

In this article, we’ll explore some of the best horse video games available today. We will show you here from historical classics to novel modern adventures.

The first horse video games…

We could say that the first video game in history that included horse is EVR Race, a video game developed by Nintendo. This game was Nintendo’s first arcade game of machines. Because yes, before developing home video game consoles, Nintendo developed some of the most famous arcade machines of the time.

EVR Race was launched in 1975 and was a machine that allowed you to place bets on pre-recorded horse races. Players bet on their respective horses and could watch the horse race recorded to find out who the winner was. The tape was chosen at random, but players could see each horse’s stats before betting.

Something interesting is that this same game could be executed with horse races or car races, depending on the tapes that were mounted when using the game.

EVR Race was one of the first fusions between film and video games, it was also one of the first video games where a horse was the protagonist. This was a breakthrough in the world of video games that gave the horse the place it deserved, as did some successors.

The video games that came later…

In 1980 and with similar characteristics, but already in a home console, “Horse Racing” is launched in Intelivision. The Intelivision was a home console that competed with the Atari 2600 for its greater power. In this video game, the player has an initial budget and bets are placed on the horses according to their characteristics, terrain and statistics. With this the player can win or lose and increases his budget. A kind of monopoly for horse racing.

Another game that caused a revolution in home consoles in 1981 was “Stampede”. It is a video game developed in 1981 by Activision for the Atari 2600 console. A very fun game in which we took the place of a cowboy catching cows and preventing them from escaping us.

As we see the role of the horse is as diverse in video games as in real life.

Next, let’s discover the best horse video games of today.

What were some important horse racing simulation video games in history?

It is difficult to determine with certainty which were the first video games with horses, since it depends on how “video games with horses” are defined. However, some of the early video games that included horses or riding games include:

• Family Jockey (1987) Horse racing simulation video game for the NES. The game is a horse betting simulation.
• Gallop Racer (1996) First horse racing video game in the Gallop Racer series that to date has released 13 video games. A highly valued saga in Japan.
• Winning Post (1993) First horse racing video game in the Winning Post series, even more important and prolific than Gallop Racer. They have 9 major releases and at least 39 different versions that they update by year and platforms.

These are just some of the most important horse racing simulation games in video game history. These games have generated their own culture in video games.

What are the best video games with horses throughout history?

Some of the best horse video games today are:

• Red Dead Redemption (2010) – Open World Adventure
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018) – Open World Adventure
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) – Action RPG
• Shadow of the Colossus (2005)
• Star Stable or Star Stable Online (2007) – Massively multiplayer online RPG. Available on browsers, IOS, Android and PC
• Horse Haven World Adventures (2015) – Horse and adventure simulation available for IOS and Android
• Equilinox (2018) – World simulator to create ecosystem – Available for PC
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011): An action RPG. Available for Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Amazon Alexa
• Mount & Blade (2008) the first game in the Mount & Blade series. Medieval Role – Available for PC (Windows, Linux and Mac OS)

These are just some of the best horse video games, a selection that we will detail and increase.

The best horse video games

As our passion is about horses, horses as protagonists will be these video games… And there are numerous horse games, both free and paid.

When we do the search for horses on Steam (the main digital video game store) we find that the first video game with better reviews from gamers is “Mount & Blade: Warband”. This game has extremely positive ratings. These are medieval battles where you form your group of brave knights or outlaws, depending on how you see it, and you must fight battles on foot or horseback.

Mount & Blade: Warband is one of the games that shows us that the horse was one of the most important war technologies of antiquity. Without great technical requirements, this game has become one of the best rated, surpassing The Witcher III. But this game is not entirely dedicated to horses. That is why we will leave it for later and start with those games where the horse is at the center of the gameplay, as we will see below.

Riding Club Championships

One of the most interesting things about Riding Club Championships is that it is a Free to Play game. Free to Play games are free games where you can spend real money to advance faster, for cosmetic upgrades, or customize some aspect of the game.

In Riding Club Championships, we choose the gender and color of our rider and our horse and we name our equine. Then we must start from scratch… We will learn to use the controls, to improve our horse and to take care of it.

Riding Club Championships is one of those horse video games that makes you understand everything that involves the discipline of equestrian jumping. We will have to interact with our horse, train it and win different tests. In addition, it is a horse video game that allows you to compete online with other players and climb the ranking of riders.

One of the horse video games that we highly recommend for lovers of equestrian jumping, horses and sports.

The best video games with horses

In addition to horse video games, we have video games that incorporate horses as an important part of the gameplay or plot. Among them we have the aforementioned Mount & Blade: Warband of which we already talked a little.

But there are also cult games that have the horse as much of their charm and gameplay. Below, we will present some of the most important games in this category.

The Witcher 3

This video game is part of the trilogy of video games of The Witcher, developed by the Polish studio CD Projekt. They are video games based on the literary universe and characters imagined by the Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski.

The most interesting thing is that in the last chapter of The Witcher trilogy, the horse was incorporated as an important component of the video game. The horse allows us to fight in an agile way, escape or move long distances.

This action RPG video game takes us to a medieval fantasy world where magic and war are the order of the day. The Witcher gets rid of monsters roaming the world for a standard fee. His abilities allow him to be hired to protect a person or to take down threats from monsters.

The horse permanently takes us from one place to another and allows us to fight on its back, or go down to solve the fights with greater ease. It is a demonstration of the place of the horse in medieval times where it was an indispensable means of transport.

In addition, The Witcher’s horse is also his friend. Called Sardinilla, he is part of the friends of the protagonist, who by the way does not have many for his pacifism and cynicism in the middle of a world full of battles, evil and ignorance.

Later we will know many more games that provide great knowledge about the role of the horse in society.