A small herd’s-worth of horses await you in the stable, each eager and friendly to meet their potential new rider. Simply select one from this dropdown. You can switch between horses at any time, and care for them here in the stable. They'll need care and upkeep at least once a day, and their mood will fluctuate naturally as you explore and play minigames, so please visit frequently to keep your horse happy, clean, and well fed! Additionally, you can read below to learn more about your horse’s personality and breed.
If the horse selection doesn't work at first, try refreshing the page.
This horse is skilled in !
The horse girl is a well known and archetypical phenomenon- a stereotypical figure of a girl obsessed with horses and equestrian sports. The term is often used a pejorative, similar to "wolfaboo". She's too passionate, too loud, too dirty, and too obsessive, and too neurodivergent- thus, the horse girl is mocked. However, it is perfectly natural to love horses. They have held humanity on their backs for centuries, and the appeal of a “special bond” with a powerful animal is just universally enticing, especially to girls who like animals. The market has noticed: there are plenty of movies and shows about horses being trained and rescued by young female protagonists, to the point of parody and widespread mockery, both due to the target audience, and the way horse media frequently demands sincerity from its audience. There are many memes and jokes about "horse girl movies". And this prevalence and ridicule of horse girl media has also applied to games- though the options on the market have always left much to be desired. (This is likely due to games aimed for young girls being considered “less serious”, so many games like this are shovelware rather than proper titles with passion put into them. I recommend checking out the blog The Mane Quest to learn more about the way horse games tend to fall victim to this tendency).
Video games seem like the perfect medium for horse girls, which makes this “curse” a real shame. Horse girls crave the interactivity that a video game can simulate; often video games are used as a way to make up for the inability to own a real horse. They’re expensive animals: a horse owner must have a good amount of land, the money to spend on food, farrier visits, and more; not to mention the time investment to go regularly riding and keep the horse groomed and healthy. It is why there are so many horse toys, shows, and more, to appeal to this fantasy. One of the most popular model horse brands, Breyer, even has the tagline "A Horse of my Very Own". While I was one of the lucky few who got riding lessons as a child (as well as the unique opportunity to volunteer with a therapy horse facility for a little over a year), I still turned to horse games to fulfill my equestrian dreams, which were often browser games and virutal worlds. And after the Flash shutdown, many of these avenues are now closed for good, flawed though they were.
Even the horse games that do exist now don't really do much to scratch my itch. And I really do think this comes down to interactivity... There’s this emphasis on breeding and collecting and stats and getting the best horse genetics for racing and growing economically, raising an inherited ranch from the ground up, and so on, but what I crave is to know each horse as an individual. To have a horse that is mine. To have a friend. When I play a game, be it a browser game or otherwise, I want to be immersed in the world, and immersed in the artificial lives of those that inhabit it. I actually disagree with the Mane Quest on certain priorities- I think I'd prefer a horse that "feels alive" and characterful than a realistically-animated horse, and I'd prefer something fantastical over something grounded. Taking this into consideration, there’s nothing that makes me feel the same way Bella Sara did, with its worldbuilding, and mysterious and beautiful horses, each a unique individual with a special place in its vast mythology. There was a sense of mystery and wonder. Maybe it was because I was just a pup back then, but the world of North of North just felt so much more vast and mysterious than most modern horse games.
The horses that lived in my childish dreams live here now. I wanted to achieve at least some of that wonderment. Each horse has their own personality, quirks, and unique skills. Each has a digitally personified life and soul, if you let yourself reach towards it.
I hope you'll find a friend here.
Once you've selected and cared for a horse, click
below to get ready for your ride together.
