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Whistling is a feature introduced in Red Dead Redemption and it returns in Red Dead Redemption 2. It allows the player to call his or her mount over distance by pressing up on the d-pad on the controller. Players are able to do this in both singleplayer and in certain multiplayer modes. If the player's mount dies, whistling will in some game modes cause the mount to respawn, but there is a short delay before this is allowed.

In Red Dead Redemption, if the player first uses a horse deed from Marston's inventory, then a horse of that breed will respond to the whistle; otherwise a random two-star horse will spawn. While riding on a mount behind a herd of cattle, whistling can also be used to motivate the cattle to move faster. In this scenario the action alternates between whistling and calling out other forms of encouragement.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the whistling feature has been expanded upon. Instead of only whistling to call the player's horse, how the player whistles can affect how the horse responds. A short sharp whistle simply calls the horse, and it will stop once it reaches the player, while a long whistle will tell the horse to follow the player until either mounted or told to stay. The efficacy of the whistle is also affected by the horse's bonding level, with the player's horse responding to their whistle from further distances at higher levels. Horses are also more willing to traverse difficult terrain to reach the player at higher bonding levels.

Trivia[]

  • In Redemption, if a dog is near the player at the time the player whistles, the dog will walk up to and follow the player. The dog can be used for hunting dangerous animals, but it's usually not worth the effort.
  • If the player whistles near a stagecoach while it's moving they will stop and let the player character hop on it. If it is already stopped, the driver will just say "Hop on board." or something similar. This always happens if the player whistles for their horse outside a town as the stagecoach is close by, just behind the freight station across the road.
  • During random encounters where an NPC steals the player's horse, it can be quickly resolved simply by whistling. The horse will buck the thief off and return to the player, provided that the player has bonded sufficiently with that particular horse.
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