My first real horse, Rangely, was a dappled thoroughbred. The one that I got for free in Valentine because I’d pre-ordered the game. During a gunfight, he freaked out and ran into the middle of the bullets, and went down. That’s where I learned horses could get hurt, but you could save them with a magic potion.

Later, we rode off a cliff. I died, and respawned with some strange brown horse I didn’t know. That was how I learned your horse could die. Foreversies.

I didn’t like Brown Horse much, and none of the dull stable horses suited me either. So for the first time, I went out to find me a wild horse to call my own. I found a pack… a gaggle? A murder of thoroughbreds, and set my eyes on a beautiful, sleek black model with lots of potential in the speed department. He bucked me on my first attempt to tame him, and I had to chase him down all over again.

Finally, after some soothing words, wrastlin’ and some oat cakes, he was mine. My five-year-old, who was sitting with me at the time, said “You should name the horse ‘Stella.'”

I double-checked in the balls department, and said “This is a boy horse.”

My little guy said “And?”

So I named him Stella. And Stella has been my horse. For like, the past twenty hours of gameplay, most of it fucking around in the wilderness, it’s just been me and Stella.

And then, being chased by bounty hunters like you do, Stella took too many bullets, and collapsed, throwing me to the ground. Rather than run for cover, I ran to Stella, to try and administer care. But I, too, took too many bullets, and died.

I respawned face-to-face with Brown Horse, and my heart sank. I ran back to the spot of our showdown, and all that was left was my saddle, lying there in a bush.

That was how I learned my heart could break.

(And that I need to save more often.)

Oh and hey. Last call on these posters. Orders close Monday. The variant is just about gone, and the print run for the other will be determined by orders (rounded up because we can’t print them in odd denominations like “63” or whatever) so there may be some extras at a later date. But ordering right now will be the only chance to have your poster signed.