To revive your horse in Red Dead Redemption 2, walk up to it while it lies injured on the ground and use a Horse Reviver from the prompt that appears. Revivers cost $9.50 at a stable and are also sold at general stores and doctors, so keep a few in your satchel at all times: once a horse has actually died, nothing short of reloading an older save brings it back in Story Mode.
Below we cover how a horse goes down, the revive steps, where to buy or craft a reviver, what to do if you are too late, how to stop it happening again, and how Red Dead Online handles a fallen horse.
Which Version This Covers
This guide covers Story Mode in Red Dead Redemption 2 on PS4, Xbox One and PC, with a section on Red Dead Online at the end. PS5 and Xbox Series X|S players run the PS4 and Xbox One versions through backward compatibility, so the steps are identical there.
How a Horse Goes Down
Your horse has its own health core, and when its health runs out, it collapses rather than dying on the spot. The usual causes are gunfire, predators such as bears and wolves, slamming into a tree or rock at full gallop, and falls from a height. A collapsed horse needs a reviver to get back on its feet, so treat it as an emergency.
Not every bad hit leaves that window. A severe enough impact can kill a horse outright, and then there is nothing left to revive.
Step by Step: Reviving a Downed Horse
- Make the area safe. Deal with whatever brought the horse down first, whether that is a gang, a bear or a pack of wolves. Reviving takes a moment, and you do not want to be shot or mauled halfway through.
- Get to the horse quickly. Do not leave a downed horse lying there while you loot or explore.
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Use the Horse Reviver. Stand next to the horse and the prompt to use a Horse Reviver appears, as long as you carry one. Arthur gives it the tonic and the horse gets back to its feet.
- Top up its health. A reviver brings the horse back with only part of its health restored. Give it Horse Medicine, which fully restores the health core, or feed it before you ride hard again. Our guide on how to feed your horse lists what each food and tonic restores and what it costs.
- Take it easy for a while. Ride somewhere safe, or to a stable, rather than straight back into the fight that floored it.
Our video at the end of this guide shows us reviving a horse on PS4. The screenshots above come from the same recording.
Where to Get Horse Revivers
| Item | Where | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Horse Reviver | Stables (under Horse Provisions), general stores, doctors | $9.50 at a stable |
| Special Horse Reviver | Crafted, once you have its recipe pamphlet | Ingredients only |
Revivers are cheap next to the cost of losing a well-bonded horse, so buy several the first time you visit a stable and restock whenever you pass one.
The Special Horse Reviver is the stronger, crafted version. Once you have found its recipe pamphlet, craft it from 2 ginseng (Alaskan or American), 2 wild carrots and 2 parasol mushrooms. All three ingredients can be picked in the wild, which makes it a good backup when you are far from a store.
If You Are Too Late: When Your Horse Dies
In Story Mode a horse that dies is gone for good. Its bond goes with it, so any new horse starts again from scratch. Your options:
- Reload a save. If you saved before the horse died, loading that save brings it back, at the cost of everything you did since.
- Keep your saddle. Your saddle and the gear on it are not lost with the horse. If another horse is close by, take the saddle off the body and put it on that one; otherwise head to a stable, and your saddle goes onto the horse you take from there.
- Use another horse you own. Switch to one of your stabled horses at any stable, or through the camp’s Horse Station upgrade if you have bought it.
- Get a new horse. Buy one at a stable, or catch and break a wild horse for free.
How to Keep Your Horse From Going Down
A few habits keep you from needing a reviver at all:
- Keep its cores full. A fed and healthy horse has more health to lose before it collapses.
- Build the bond. A higher bond brings small stat gains and a horse that holds its nerve better around gunfire and predators. Our guide on how to brush your horse covers every way to raise it.
- Leave it out of the gunfight. Dismount and leave your horse back from a shootout, then whistle for it when it is over. Our guide on how to call your horse covers the whistle and its range.
- Save before risky rides. A manual save before a big mission or a long ride through predator country is your insurance policy. Our guide on how to save your game shows how.
- Stable the horses you love. A horse kept at a stable is out of harm’s way until you take it out again.
Reviving Horses in Red Dead Online
Red Dead Online is more forgiving. A horse still collapses when its health runs out, and a Horse Reviver gets it back on its feet the same way. If it does die, a horse you own is not lost for good: it can be treated for a fee and comes back when you return to the stable. Rockstar’s getting started tips add that Horse Insurance lets a critically injured horse recover on its own over time, which saves you the trip and the fee.
The difference only covers horses you own. Stolen and wild horses are temporary in Red Dead Online and are not coming back.
For the rest of our coverage, browse the Red Dead guides hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you revive your horse in RDR2? Walk up to the downed horse and use a Horse Reviver from the prompt. You need one in your satchel, so buy them at a stable, general store or doctor.
How much is a Horse Reviver? A Horse Reviver costs $9.50 at a stable.
Can you revive a dead horse in RDR2? No. Once a horse has died in Story Mode, it is gone. Only reloading a save from before it died brings it back.
How long do you have to revive your horse? Not long. Treat a downed horse as an emergency and get to it as soon as the area is safe.
Can you craft a Horse Reviver? You can craft the stronger Special Horse Reviver from 2 ginseng, 2 wild carrots and 2 parasol mushrooms once you have its recipe pamphlet.
What happens if your horse dies in Red Dead Online? It is not lost. A horse you own comes back at the stable, and Horse Insurance lets it recover on its own over time.