After playing about 20 levels without a horse since my 1st one died by something... i just ran into
a dead Thief-marauder's horse in the mountains, and when i highlighted it, it didn't give me
the option to steal it, only to ride it.

But whenever i dismount, it starts to set of in a complete random direction.

So my question is, can you "break" a horse in at stables, if it isn't stolen?.

I'm currently sitting on about 40k gold, but i am too cheap to spend 1k gold
on a new horse if i can get one for free.

(Yes i know the Dark Brotherhood gives a mount, but i cut of Astrid's head).

I've encountered that too, and during the Civil War I wiped out a camp and there was a horse available without the steal tag. I believe when you get off of them they start wandering back to the spot you found them.

I'm not sure if there's anything you can do to fix this.

It should be in the code that when you kill the owner of a horse, the horse gets the "steal" tag.
But if you come across a horse who's owner is already dead, you should be able to claim
the horse either on the spot, or at stables by "branding" for a small fee.. makes sense.

I've had this happen only twice so far and I had a very enjoyable ride both times. It really makes me want a horse...maybe that's the idea, to get a taste of it if we don't own one? Until my next game, which won't be vanilla, I'll keep walking and using carriages though. Next game, mod to make a horse essential. ...can't stand it when they die.

Me neither. I'm not a crazy PETA member, but it does surely infuriate me when bandits/dragons start on my horse. What did that poor beast ever do except be a loyal steed with those beautifull big loving eyes??

It's probably one of mine. I swear I've had two 'disappear'. I usually 'park' them away from fights because they will join in. <.< Well, on 2 separate occasions I couldn't find the horses or their corpses.

Yes, please...or at least make them avoid fights...or allow us to make barding based on our Smithing skill (that would be cool as hell ).

I always reload when I'm sure they've died.

It's allways scary to contemplate jumping back on a steed who you've just observed kicking several shades of [censored] out of a troll. I'm not sure if they're fearless or just really really stupid.

Sometimes the horses wander back to the stables. The problem is, they don't always go back to the stable you bought them from. I was riding a Solitude horse and it disappeared. I went to Solitude and it wasn't there. So I went my own way, and a while later I came to Riften and there was my horse, at the Riften stables for some reason. No idea why.

I took the opportunity to ride one of the "not stealing" horses. I really had no intention of getting a horse "permanently". But every time I fast travel somewhere, the horse shows up too. It starts to walk off, but it shows up. Most of the time I just ignore it; I took it to a stable and left it, it isn't my problem if the foolish critter keeps following my character.....

Now when they've gone back to the stables did it say "_____'s Horse" or "Steal Horse"? I've noticed that the Whiterun horse is back (haven't been to RIften since I lost my 2nd one (Clydesdale-looking horse was from Riften, I think)), but it gives me "Steal Horse"...of course that may have been after I bought the Clydesdale one. :\

FWIW I have one of the pinto-looking ones (Markarth) now so hopefully I'll be able to see it by it's markings better.

Darn horses. Mine tried to take on a frost troll and got in the way of my fireball spell. Poor thing probably flew ten feet down the mountain.

It still was labeled as my horse.

There are mods for this right now. I haven't tested them because I'm playing my first game all vanilla and there are going to be patches coming that might make the mod not work. The Creation Kit is coming and the talented modders will create and improve their mods. Then I'll be ready too. Can't wait...I'm thinking a palomino or a black horse. I love how they shake their manes at you when you're looking at them. Yes, yes, I know you're beautiful.

Was this after you had purchased another? ...becasue I'm assuming we can only own one at a time.

I'm on PS3 so no mods for me.

There are palamino-looking horses at one of the stables (Windhelm, maybe?). I thought about getting one of those when my 2nd one disappeard, but figured I wouldn't be able to find it in the snow areas so I went with the pinto-looking one. All of the horses in the game are basically draft horses, but they make them look like 'normal' horses (except for the Clydesdale ones ); I'm guessing the mod will make them normal-horse like. I like the looks of the Appaloosa-like ones I've seen in some of the camps (Stormcloak, I think), too.

I stole a horse from an imperial camp I raided. It now fast travels with me and mostly acts normal. However whenever I'm not riding it thee horse immediately starts walking back towards the camp I took it from. It's kind if humorous.

Hmmm, maybe that's a way I can keep them from fighting for me.

I came across a battle between a peddler and members of the Forsworn. After the peddler was killed, and i had defeated the Forsworn, I came across the peddler's horse which had a "steal" tag. I took a risk by riding the horse to the Markarth Stable. Interestingly, I wasn't charged with stealing the horse and didn't have to pay a fine.

The Palominos are at the Solitude stable and I just stopped there to look at them again. Neither of them were labeled with the "steal" tag so I went for a ride. So fun. I had Argis wait at the stable so he wouldn't have to run behind me though. Too bad the companions can't sit behind you. This "no steal" tag on them might be fixed in the next patch or it might be because I'm Thane or something but check it out and give those horses some exercise.

@buckom are you on pc there is a mod you can get so horses dont fight thingshttp://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1522

and here is another mod to make them unkillable http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1248

Wow. I found a bug. The Palomino I rode seems to be mine now. I took a carriage ride from Solitude to Winterhold and the horse came with us. It immediately started heading back to Solitude. Then I got worried the horse would be killed on the trip back home so I fast-traveled and it did too so I fast-traveled back to Solitude. Now I have to get the mod or set the horse essential and I don't know the command to do that so I guess it's the mod. Thanks for that link, shadow. A free horse...see, not all bugs are bad. I really wasn't prepared for this but I'll just have to make the adjustment. It's a beautiful horse too.

Edit: I'm guessing that when you dismount a horse out in the woods and you actually bought it, it doesn't head for the stable. This one does but at least now it's essential and I don't have to worry about it being killed. I haven't even thought of a name for it. What a game.

Nah, PS3. It's probably a good thing I'm not on PC because I would get lazy/frustrated and become the Daedric Prince of F This and start bending the game to my will.

How mine behave:
For the most part they stay where I leave them...except:
1) If they're close enough to a fight I'm in they'll come join in.
2) If a dragon attacks from the air they will move slightly from where I've left them; presumably to avoid the breath weapon.
3) Anytime I fast travel they're right next to me in the wilderness or in the stables if I travel to a city.
4) If I fast travel to Mage's College it's on one of the narrow bridges just outside. FWIW I've only done that when I was already on it's back so it might push one of us off if I initiated fast travel while on foot. :\

Speaking of naming them: the guy at the stable in Whiterun mentioned I could change it's name. Can that be done on a console version or was he just 'talking'?

Which reminds me: if I destroyed the DB, is there any chance to get Shadowmere? Can I find him somewhere, or does Astrid creates him out of dust or takes him out of her pocket/hood.

Thanks! Ok, so whatever has stuck the horse to me for fast-travel/carriage ride isn't like owning a horse. I'm going to try and disassociate the horse if I can find the right console command to do it. I have to be careful so I don't make the horse disappear from the game. I know a teensy bit about this but not enough to do all kinds of things. I added an apothecary satchel to an alchemy table but have no idea how to position it so it just looks like an ugly pouch. haha. It works though. Someday I'll know - looking forward to the CK and tutorials. Horse name: I'm guessing the guy just means you can rename the horse in your mind but not in the actual game? Just a selling line maybe.

If you help out the dude in Riften who is getting hassled by Sapphire then the horses (or maybe just one) stabled there lose their 'steal' tags. Once you mount them once, they're kinda yours I guess. They will fast travel when you do, but whenever you're not riding them they immediately walk off.

I don't really use horses as they really just annoy me when you have to dismount every 2 seconds to fight a skeever or wolf but I think it's cooler to get a horse this way as you can choose one without tack and saddle so you ride bareback like a pro. And everyone knows bareback is always the best option..

You have 40k gold but don't want to spend 2% of that amount for a horse? How on earth did you spend $60 on this game in real life??? lol