Hide & Pelt, Smithing Material

Horse Hide

Horse Hide is skinned from fallen horses and tans into three pieces of Leather, making it one of the most efficient hides.

Horse Hide is the grim reward for a horse that met a bad end, whether it was a bandit’s mount or your own unlucky steed after an argument with a dragon. It is worth 15 gold, weighs 2 and tans into 3 Leather, tying with cow hide as the best yield among the common farm and road animals. We won’t judge how you got it.

How to get it

Skin any dead horse, or buy the hide from general goods traders such as Belethor in Whiterun, Lisbet in Markarth and Birna in Winterhold. The Khajiit caravans, with Ahkari among them, stock it as well, so you rarely need to look far.

Loose hides are found in Hag’s End, Gallows Rock and Bristleback Cave (2 each), plus single ones in Steamcrag Camp, Alftand Animonculory, Duskglow Crevice, Bloodskal Barrow and Fort Frostmoth on Solstheim.

Since a horse is a big investment and a pricey purchase at the stables, killing your own mount for 3 Leather is a terrible trade. Buying the hide is far more sensible, and at 15 gold it is cheaper than buying 3 pieces of Leather from a smith.

Smelting and tanning

1 Horse Hide → 3 Leather at the tanning rack

Used to craft

Horse Hide appears in 1 recipe in the game files.

Weapons and other items

tanning rack: Leather (1)

The number in brackets is how many Horse Hide each recipe needs. Bold labels are the Smithing perk the recipe requires.

Good to know

Worth 15 gold, but 3 Leather is worth more – tan it.

Data from the Skyrim game files (Skyrim.esm and the official add-ons): value, weight, ore veins, recipes and merchant lists. ID 0003AD93 is the item’s form ID for the console.

Where to find it

Skin any dead horse
Sold by general goods merchants such as Grelka
Loose: Hag’s End, Gallows Rock and Bristleback Cave (2 each)

Crafting materials

Lore notes

Dropped by

Quest reward from

Where it appears

Duskglow Crevice

Duskglow Crevice in Skyrim: Falmer cave south of Dawnstar with bandits, the Family Heirloom quest, two skill books, a moth in a jar and a hidden shortcut.

Gallows Rock

Gallows Rock in Skyrim: the Silver Hand fort southwest of Windhelm – The Silver Hand quest with Aela, Krev the Skinner, the spiked door and skill books.

Markarth

Markarth is the stone city of the Reach, carved into the cliffs by the Dwemer – home of the Silver-Blood family, Cidhna Mine and the Forsworn conspiracy.

Steamcrag Camp

Steamcrag Camp in Skyrim: a giant’s camp south-east of Windhelm with an official warning sign, a bounty quest and a wrecked Khajiit caravan nearby.

Whiterun

Whiterun is the trading heart of Skyrim, a hilltop city on the central plains crowned by Dragonsreach. Districts, shops, quests and characters.

Winterhold

Winterhold is the ruined capital of Winterhold hold – most of it fell into the sea in the Great Collapse, leaving a handful of houses and the College of Winterhold.

Characters connected to it

Ahkari

Ahkari in Skyrim: the Khajiit caravan trader travelling between Dawnstar and Riften, who buys almost anything and fences stolen goods for the Thieves Guild.

Belethor

Belethor runs Belethor’s General Goods in Whiterun – the Breton merchant who’d sell his sister if he had one. Skyrim’s most quotable shopkeeper.

Birna

Birna in Skyrim: the Nord pawnbroker who runs Birna’s Oddments in Winterhold, sells the Coral Dragon Claw for 50 gold, and despairs of her brother Ranmir.