Horse Rider Patrols Hold AE - An Immersion Mod

⭐ ⭐ (262 endorsements) 📥 46,357 downloads 📌 v0.9 📅 5/21/2023
🟠 Updated over a year ago

By bientje · Immersion

⬇ Download Mod Source: Nexus Mods ↗ 📅 Updated: 5/26/2025 📅 Created: 5/21/2023
⚠️ Install Order · 5 steps
1🛠️ SKSE64 — Skyrim Script Extender 64 Download ↗
2🔧 USSEP — Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch Download ↗
3🖥️ SkyUI — SkyUI (MCM framework) Download ↗
4🧩 Address Library — Address Library for SKSE Plugins Download ↗
5🔧 SSE Engine Fixes — SSE Engine Fixes Download ↗

Install in this order, then this mod last — most mods fail to load without their framework and dependencies in place.

🔍 Analysis

  • 👍 0.6% endorsement rate
  • 🏆 #58 of 150 Immersion mods in this game by downloads

📋 About This Mod

This mod adds hold guards on horses patrolling the five major holds. The newly added patrolling guards are civil war aware and will thus change depending on which faction (Imperial or Stormcloak) controls the hold. As an added bonus there is now a Dawnguard Scout patrolling on horse across Skyrim; the Dawnguard Scout enables when you rebuilt Fort Dawnguard, and disables after completing the Destroying the Dawnguard quest. All horse riders and horses respawn, horses are owned by the appropriate faction, and horses automatically return to their relevant stables if their rider happens to be killed.

This mod requires Wild Horses Creation Club because I used the Stormcloak Horse Saddle for Stormcloak horse patrols.

Added horse patrols:

- Reach Hold Guard or Stormcloak Soldier (Markarth Stables - Karthwasten - Hold Hroldan Inn - Markarth Stables)

- Rift Guard or Imperial Soldier (Riften Stables - Shor's Stone - Ivarstead - Heartwood Mill - Riften Stables)

- Haafingar Guard or Stormcloak Soldier (Katlas Farm - Solitude - Dragon Bridge - Katlas Farm)

- Whiterun Guard or Stormcloak Soldier (Whiterun Stables - Riverwood - Rorikstead - Whiterun Stables)

- Eastmarch Guard or Imperial Soldier (Windhelm Stables - Hollyfrost Farm - Kynesgrove - Mixwater Mill - Windhelm Stables)

- Dawnguard Scout (Dawnguard HQ Exterior - Riften North Gate - Windhelm - Solitude - Markarth - Whiterun - Dawnguard HQ Exterior)

Difference between this mod and other similar mods

- Horses on Patrol series is a typical early Skyrim LE mod that adds way too many features and NPC's in a bloaty, unbalanced and buggy way. Examples: patrols of that mod consists of up to 5 NPC's in one patrol, and it even adds in a completely new stable with a merchant npc that sells new horse armor. If you like your mods to be overblown, go check out the Horses on Patrol series. In addition, that mod was ported to SE by someone who unfortunately doesn't have enough modding knowledge to further improve upon the mod or help users with troubleshooting.

- Hold Riders has closed permissions, which for me is enough of a reason to release my mod with open permissions. Furthermore, that mod just willy nilly adds in (too many) patrol for all minor and major holds and many different Skyrim factions without taking into account any world changes that happen through questing, such as the Dawnguard being destroyed or the Civil War having impact (even though the MA of that mod presents the fact that their horse riders do not react to the world as a consciously implemented feature, which seems a weird flex to me).

Bugs

- This mod operates in a simple way, and I structured it so that even the mods noob modders should be able to follow along with what I'm doing in Xedit. If I made any mistakes in the mod

🤖 AI-enhanced — based on mod data

Adds civil war aware Hold Guards that patrol on horseback in Skyrim Special Edition and Anniversary Edition. A lightweight immersion mod with 262 endorsements and 46,357 downloads, last updated May 2025. For players who want more dynamic guard patrols without major overhauls.

✨ Key Features

Adds civil war aware Hold Guards that patrol on horse
Compatible with Skyrim Special Edition and Anniversary Edition
Lightweight immersion mod focused on guard patrols

📊 Pros & Cons

✅ Pros

  • Solid community support with 262 endorsements and over 46k downloads
  • Simple concept that adds life to holds without bloating your load order
  • Recently updated (May 2025) so it's likely compatible with current game versions

⚠️ Cons

  • Limited to guards on horseback – doesn't touch other patrol types or AI
  • Potential conflicts with mods that overhaul guard AI or add new patrols
  • Civil war awareness might not work as expected if you're mid-questline
🎯 Is This For You?
For Skyrim players who want more immersive guard patrols without a heavy overhaul. If you're tired of static guards and want some mounted presence in holds, this is for you. Skip if you're looking for major gameplay changes or full patrol overhauls.
📦 Install:Easy· Under 1 minute

💡 Beginner Tips

  • If you're using a mod manager like Vortex or MO2, just download and install – no extra steps needed.
  • Make sure you have the Anniversary Edition update if you're on AE, as the mod is built for it.
  • Load order shouldn't matter much, but place it after other guard mods to avoid conflicts.

📊 Mod Details

Game
Skyrim Mods
Author
bientje
Version
0.9
Downloads
46,357
Endorsements
262
Category
Immersion
Created
5/21/2023
Updated
5/26/2025

🔧 How to Install Skyrim Mods

Download from Nexus.

📖 Full step-by-step install guide for Skyrim →

Visit the official mod page for specific installation instructions for this mod.

🎮 Need cheat codes or console commands? Check ur gaming wiki for Skyrim commands, item IDs, and more.

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