Horse equipment is essential for survival and combat in Crimson Desert. This guide covers all five equipment slots, every known saddlery location, the craftable Well's Warhorse Tack set, and a recommended upgrade path from early game to endgame.
EQUIPMENT SLOTS & STATS
Every horse has five gear slots. Each slot boosts a different stat, and certain horse skills require the corresponding gear to be equipped.
- Saddle: Increases max HP (+25 to +200)
- Stirrups: Passive HP regeneration (+0.4 to +0.6 HP/sec)
- Horseshoes: Attack power (+1 to +5) and Stamina regen (+1 to +4/sec)
- Champron: Head armor, increases attack (+5 to +10)
- Barding: Full body armor, increases defense (+5 to +20)
Equipment comes in quality tiers from T2 to T5. Higher tiers have significantly better stats.
EARLY GAME: ANNABELLA'S SADDLERY
Location: Northeast of Hernand City — View on Map
This is the first saddlery most players encounter. It sells basic gear that is enough for early exploration:
- Delmar Saddle: HP +50 (386 Copper)
- Silver Iron Horseshoes: Attack +2, Stamina regen +2/sec
Tip: Visit Annabella immediately after taming your first horse. The cost is low but the stat boost is significant. When her trust reaches 100, she will sell a document called "Sightings of Rokade" that reveals a legendary horse location.
MID GAME: WELL'S WARHORSE TACK SET (CRAFTING)
This is the best mid-game equipment set. You need to find the blueprint first, then craft it at any Smithy.
Blueprint Location: Thornbriar Fortress (southeast Hernand, east of the Steel Mountains). Enter the fortress, climb the stairs to the large stone tower, descend the spiral staircase to the bottom floor, and pick up the blueprint from the wooden table.
The set includes four pieces:
- Well's Military Barding: Defense boost
- Well's Military Champron: Attack boost
- Well's Military Saddle: Max HP boost
- Well's Military Stirrups: HP regeneration boost
Crafting materials: Iron Ore, Copper Ore, and various Hides. Craft at any Smithy under the Horse Tack tab.
This set is extremely cost-effective — all materials are common resources, and the gear lasts well into mid-game.
MID-LATE GAME: HERNANDIAN SERIES
Hernandian Champron: Attack +7
- Location: Saddlery northwest of Hernand City. Requires completing the local fishing side quest to unlock.
Hernandian Barding: Defense +20 (one of the strongest in the game)
- Location: Hernand City Contribution Shop. Purchased with Contribution Points, not copper. Contribution Points are earned through regional quests, side quests, and NPC reputation.
LATE GAME: REGIONAL SADDLERIES
As you progress through the main story, higher-tier saddleries unlock in new regions:
Equinsher Saddlery — Hernand region, 13 items available including Delmar Saddle and Sighting of Rokade.
Pailune Saddlery (Eldred) — Pailune region, 15 items including Berkei Saddle and Sighting of Royler.
Delesyia Saddlery — Delesyia region, 16 items including Delesyian Champron (7167 Copper), Four-Leaf Horseshoes (5410 Copper), Delesyian Saddle (5020 Copper), and Delesyian Stirrups (1551 Copper). This is one of the best saddleries in the game.
Demeniss Saddlery (Fiona) — North of Demeniss Castle, carries the highest-stat equipment.
ALL SADDLERY LOCATIONS
There are 8 known saddleries across Pywel, each located next to a Stable:
- Equinsher Saddlery — Hernand (near Lioncrest Manor)
- Annabella's Saddlery — Northeast of Hernand City
- Hernand Saddlery — Central Hernand
- Calphade Saddlery — South of training field
- Pailune Saddlery (Eldred) — Pailune region
- Tommaso Saddlery — Town center
- Demeniss Saddlery (Fiona) — North of Demeniss Castle
- Delesyia Saddlery — Delesyia region
RECOMMENDED UPGRADE PATH
Phase 1 (Early): Tame your first horse, visit Annabella's Saddlery, buy Delmar Saddle + Silver Iron Horseshoes.
Phase 2 (Mid): Travel to Thornbriar Fortress for the Well's Warhorse Tack blueprint. Gather materials and craft the full set at any Smithy.
Phase 3 (Mid-Late): Complete the fishing side quest to unlock the Hernandian Champron (Attack +7). Start accumulating Contribution Points.
Phase 4 (Late): Exchange Contribution Points for the Hernandian Barding (Defense +20) at the Hernand Contribution Shop. Upgrade to Delesyia/Demeniss tier equipment as you unlock those regions.
TIPS
Legendary horses require double the affinity to level up, so tame them early. The three legendary horses are: Royler (white) near a lake in Pailune, Kamora (red) near the red tree in eastern Demeniss, and Rokade (black) near the Tower of the Eye in the far south.
Horse skills unlock as your horse levels up, but they require the corresponding gear piece to be equipped. Keep your equipment and horse level in sync.
Upgrade priority: Saddle > Stirrups > Horseshoes > Champron > Barding. Survivability first, then damage.
Every saddlery has different inventory, so check the local shop whenever you reach a new region.
Deluxe Edition owners receive the Exclaire golden horse tack set (all 5 pieces) as a bonus — equip it from the start to skip the early gear phase entirely.