Riding a Horse

Traveling long distances over land can be slow going for adventurers in DnD. When marching on foot, the general rule is that the players can accomplish 20 miles a day without suffering exhaustion. Using a horse more than doubles that distance to 48 miles per day.

Riding a horse in combat is a different story. A mounted horse takes its turn on the rider’s Initiative. In addition to moving up to its speed, a typical mount can take one of three actions on its turn: Dash (doubling its speed), Disengage (exiting combat without Opportunity attacks), or Dodge (attack attempts are at Disadvantage).

While riding a trained horse requires no skill checks, the difficulty of more complex feats like jumping obstacles is up to the Game Master. Breaking through a line of menacing bandits might be a WISDOM (Animal Handling) skill check of 12 or higher. And crashing through the wall of a burning barn could be a WISDOM (Animal Handling) skill check of 16 or higher.