Horse Epona in Zelda Ocarina of Time Is a Quest About Money
Something becomes obvious once you play this questline in the remake with voiced dialogue attached: every single beat of it is a transaction. Ingo has been taking out loan after loan since Ganondorf arrived. He has taken the ranch from Talon and renamed it after himself – the remake calls it Ingo Ranch in the adult era, not Lon Lon. He plans to sell the horses to clear his debts, starting with the fastest one. He charges you 20 rupees simply to sit on a horse. He then wagers 20 rupees a lap against a child he does not recognise, loses twice, and hands over the single asset standing between him and his creditors.
Then he locks the gate, because of course he does.
So this guide follows the money. Every payment in, every payment out, in the order the game asks for it – which is also the order that stops you arriving at the paddock gate seven in-game years too late with no song and no rupees.
| The Ledger | Amount |
|---|---|
| Learning Epona’s Song from Malon | Free |
| One riding session with Ingo | 20 rupees |
| Race one wager | 20 rupees, paid by the loser |
| Race two wager | Rupees again, amount not stated on screen |
| What you walk away with | Epona, plus the Scarecrow Song |
| What Ingo walks away with | Nothing, and a locked gate |
Minimum to start: 20 rupees. Bring more, because if you lose a race you pay rather than collect, and you will want another riding session.
The Down Payment: Epona’s Song as a Child
Everything depends on one song learned decades before you need it.
The steps:
- Progress the story to Hyrule Castle and meet Princess Zelda, leaving with Zelda’s Letter.
- During the castle sequence, wake Talon – Malon’s father – asleep on the castle grounds – with the Cucco that hatches from Malon’s egg.
- Go to Lon Lon Ranch in the middle of Hyrule Field, during the daytime.
- Find Malon in the horse enclosure beside the young Epona, and talk to her repeatedly until she mentions the song her mother taught her.
- Take out the Fairy Ocarina and play X, Y, A, X, Y, A.
That is Epona’s Song. Once learned, Epona approaches you instead of bolting, and the Malon’s Friend side quest appears in the remake’s Threads of Time menu so you can see it tracked.
One remake change worth knowing: Malon now hands over the Weird Egg immediately after your first meeting, and it hatches without making you wait for morning. In the original, you had to carry an egg overnight. That removes a small but real scheduling annoyance from the front of the questline.
Horse Epona in Zelda Ocarina of Time if You Skipped the Song
A recovery path exists, and it is worth knowing before you panic. If you reached adulthood without learning Epona’s Song, you are not locked out. Complete the Forest Temple, return to the Temple of Time, and place the Master Sword back in its pedestal to become a child again. Learn the song from Malon during the daytime, then return to the Temple of Time to pull the sword and resume adulthood.
That is one extra round trip and nothing more. The reason the Forest Temple matters is that returning the Master Sword requires having completed it, so this is not an option available the moment you arrive in the future.
Worth saying plainly: this is the most commonly missed prerequisite in the game. A huge number of players walk into the adult paddock, pay Ingo 20 rupees, stand among three horses that will not come near them, and have no idea why.
Seven Years Later: Ingo Ranch
The adult half opens at night, and the first thing you need is not a horse but a different song:
- Leave Hyrule Castle Town through the broken gate and cross Hyrule Field at night. Expect skeletal enemies and purple monsters on the way. Nothing collectible is on this stretch, so there is no reason to linger.
- Pass under the gate into Ingo Ranch. You can look around the ranch house, then follow the dark path to the brick stable.
- Play the Sun’s Song beside the stable wall. Night becomes day, and you hear Malon muttering from the stable door. This step matters more in the remake than it did in the original, because time now advances everywhere including indoors and inside dungeons, so the clock is a live concern rather than something the game pauses for you.
- Talk to Malon inside the stable. This is where the remake’s voice acting earns its keep. She explains Ingo’s loans, Ganondorf’s involvement, and that Epona – the ranch’s fastest horse – is about to be sold. Then she says she wishes someone would whisk Epona away, and adds that she is mostly joking.
She is not joking. That is the quest.
The 20-Rupee Entry Fee
Speak to Ingo at the paddock gate. He introduces himself as the new boss now that Talon “got the boot,” and boasts that his donations to Ganondorf will make him master of the area.
He asks whether you want to pay 20 rupees to ride a horse. Say yes. Also accept his riding tips, because one of them is genuinely load-bearing:
- Horses speed up when urged, which is the carrot mechanic.
- Horses will not jump diagonally. Every fence and gate in this questline has to be approached straight on. Angled approaches make Epona refuse.
That second tip is the single most useful sentence anyone says to you at this ranch, and it is the reason most players fail the escape later.
Inside the paddock, ignore the horses on offer and play Epona’s Song. She trots over and you mount her.
Practice first. Hold Go! to build speed and watch the row of carrots at the bottom of the screen drain as you sprint. Try a low fence, straight on. Then ride up alongside Ingo when you are ready.
If Ingo does not offer the race, end the session, pay another 20 rupees, and summon Epona again.
Racing Ingo Twice
Two races, one lap each, and the stakes change between them.
| Race | Length | Win | Lose |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | One lap | Collect 20 rupees from Ingo, and the rematch becomes available | Pay Ingo 20 rupees |
| Second | One lap | Ingo says “That horse is yours!” and Epona is yours | Pay again, amount not displayed |
Tactics that work for both:
- Accelerate hard off the READY call and get in front early.
- Hug the inside fence. It is the shortest line and it denies Ingo room to pass.
- Keep Epona on the dirt track. Drifting onto grass costs you speed.
- Spend carrots in short bursts rather than emptying the row, and keep one in reserve so stamina recovers.
- Do not sit behind him into corners. Pass on the straight and defend the inside line.
- Block when he comes alongside. Staying tight to the inner fence keeps him boxed out.
Race two is noticeably harder. Ingo is faster and actively tries to block you, so a speed burst off the line matters more than it did the first time. Once you are ahead, the race becomes about holding the inside line rather than going faster.
Win and Ingo complains at length that the horse only ever listened to Malon anyway, and that he needed the sale money for his debts.
Horse Epona in Zelda Ocarina of Time Escape From the Locked Ranch
Ingo keeps his word about the horse and then locks the ranch gate, telling you that you can never leave.
This is where the no-diagonal-jumps rule decides everything.
The route out:
- Ride Epona over the closed gate at the paddock, approaching it dead straight.
- Follow the fence around the track to the high palisade at the paddock’s edge.
- Build speed on a straight approach, spend carrots, and clear it.
A short scene plays of Malon watching Ingo, and you land in the open grass outside the ranch with Epona.
The two mistakes to avoid: approaching at an angle, which makes Epona refuse, and running at the fence from too short a distance to build galloping speed. Back off, line up square, then commit.
The Second Reward Nobody Mentions
Most guides stop at the fence. There is a second thing to collect while you have a horse under you.
Ride to the scarecrow field on the Lake Hylia side. Cross Hyrule Field and the hills, pass through a grove of trees, and dismount at the fenced patch of dark earth.
Bonooru the scarecrow is there, and he remembers you from childhood – he never forgets a song he hears. Open the note pad, play the tune you taught him as a child, and he confirms it and asks to join you.
That gives you the Scarecrow Song. It has no immediate application, which is why people skip it. It pairs with the Hookshot later and opens routes you otherwise cannot reach, so collecting it on the same trip as Epona saves a journey.
What the Remake Changed
Pulling together the differences that touch this questline specifically.
- Time advances everywhere, including indoors and in dungeons, where the original paused the clock. That makes the Sun’s Song a live tool at the ranch rather than a formality.
- The Weird Egg is handed over right after your first meeting with Malon and hatches without waiting for morning.
- Young Link can summon Epona with Epona’s Song, but cannot ride her to travel. The new dash is how a child gets around on foot.
- Rolling with A, held, breaks into that dash, which makes the child-era trips to Lon Lon Ranch considerably quicker.
- Items swap with one button press rather than through a pause menu, so pulling out the Ocarina mid-paddock is instant.
- Songs can be hummed into the Switch 2 microphone, pressed as buttons, or played on Nintendo’s physical Ocarina accessory – which only plays songs Link has actually learned.
- Cutscenes are fully voiced with added dialogue, which is why Ingo’s debts and Malon’s hint land as a story rather than a text box.
- Threads of Time tracks Malon’s Friend and tells you what the next objective is.
What Epona Is Actually For
Worth asking, since the questline is long and entirely optional:
- Gerudo Valley. Adult Link can cross the broken bridge on horseback. Note that a progression item from one of the dungeons – the Longshot – serves the same purpose, so Epona is a convenience here rather than a requirement.
- Horseback Archery at Gerudo Fortress. This needs Epona, full stop, and scoring 1000 points or more awards a Piece of Heart. If you are chasing all 36 pieces, the Epona questline is mandatory rather than optional.
- Crossing Hyrule Field. The least glamorous benefit and the one you will lean on most. The field is large, and a horse makes the constant traversal between Kakariko, the Lake, the Valley and the Town substantially less tedious.
- Play Epona’s Song anywhere in Hyrule Field to summon her once she is yours.
FAQ
What are Epona’s Song notes in the remake?
X, Y, A, X, Y, A on Switch 2, learned from Malon at Lon Lon Ranch during the daytime as a child.
How much does getting Epona cost?
20 rupees for a riding session, plus a 20-rupee wager on the first race which the loser pays. Bring more than 20 in case you lose.
Can you still get Epona if you missed her song as a child?
Yes. Complete the Forest Temple, return the Master Sword to its pedestal to become a child, learn the song from Malon during the day, then pull the sword again and race Ingo.
How do you escape the ranch after winning?
Ride Epona straight at the closed paddock gate to clear it, then follow the fence to the high palisade and jump that at full gallop. Horses will not jump diagonally, so every approach must be square.
How many races does Ingo make you run?
Two, each a single lap. Winning the first opens the rematch, and winning the rematch gives you Epona.
What else do you get from this questline?
The Scarecrow Song, from Bonooru in the scarecrow field on the Lake Hylia side. It has no immediate application but pairs with the Hookshot later.
Do you need Epona to finish the game?
No. The Longshot covers the Gerudo Valley crossing. But Horseback Archery at Gerudo Fortress requires her, and that is a Piece of Heart, so a 100% run needs her.
Twenty Rupees for a Horse
What makes this questline stick in the memory is that it is the only part of Ocarina of Time where Ganondorf’s conquest shows up as paperwork.
Everywhere else, the seven-year jump is expressed through monsters, ruins and a town full of the undead. At the ranch it is expressed through a man with debts. Ingo did not get the place by force. He borrowed money, curried favour, took it over, renamed it after himself, and now has to sell the horses to stay afloat. The remake’s voice acting makes that pathetic rather than villainous, which is a far more interesting register for a minor antagonist.
And the resolution is beautifully petty. You pay him twenty rupees, out-ride him twice, take the one asset he was counting on, and jump a fence while he shouts about it. Malon told you to. She said she was mostly joking.
Learn the song as a child, bring forty rupees rather than twenty, approach every fence dead straight, and pick up the Scarecrow Song on the way out.
Then go and win 1000 points at Horseback Archery, because there is a Piece of Heart in it.
Cleared that palisade yet? Share this, bookmark it, and go learn Epona’s Song before you touch the Master Sword – your adult self will thank you. If creative or commercial collaboration brought you here, the Lizet Manski team is one message away.