Spurred to Victory
Complete 20 story missions without switching to a new horse at a hitching post. (Secret) (Missable)
I made the solution mainly for those who are having to replay to get the achievement so I made it as fool-proof as I could. After hearing from more players it seems my solution is verging on paranoid lol. But after trying 3 times to get the achievement, that's how I felt. It probably comes down to simply - Never hitch any horse to a hitching post.
If you are starting a new game and you follow these guidelines, this achievement will unlock after mission 21. Otherwise, check to see if you have at least 20 missions left in the game and make sure to follow the guidelines. Here is a link to a mission list.
http://reddead.wikia.com/wiki/Red_Dead_Redemption_missions TA member teamwrk has verified that missions replayed from the Stats > Missions menu ***DO NOT*** count toward this achievement.
Guidelines
*Do not hitch any horse, including your own, to a hitching post. The game will force you to do this a couple of times at the beginning. No worries, this will not reset the counter. ***A few players have told me that they hitched the stallion without resetting the counter but I still recommend playing it safe and staying away from hitching posts.
*Always whistle for your horse when allowed. Do not take a horse from a hitching post, not even your own, unless the game forces you to do so. If you see your horse is hitched, just whistle and it will come. ***This may or may not be necessary but I think it's better to be safe than have to replay 21 missions over and over again.
*You will get a new horse during a mission with Bonnie. During the mission you will break a stallion (the Kentucky Saddlebred) and Bonnie will tell you to keep it. You can continue on using the Kentucky Saddlebred as this will not reset your counter.
*On the Seth mission when he tells you to steal a horse, instead mount your own horse and point your weapon at the law officers or lasso one of their horses. When you get your bounty, ride away and they will follow. ***This may not be necessary but it's an option if you don't want to chance it.
*If your horse dies, reload your most recent game-save. Save often!!!
*Do not use any horse deeds
Additional Tips
If this is your first play-through and you will be doing side missions and such, make sure you use your campsite to save often. Challenges do not auto-save until completed, so save after any progress you make with challenges.
If you are starting a new game just to get this achievement and want to get through as quickly as possible, use your campsite to fast travel to mission start locations and skip cut scenes. It will still probably take a 2 1/2 - 3 hours.
There are three save slots to choose from when you start a new game. Be careful not to save over a game you want to keep.
Good Luck!
Below are comments that I thought were relevant in specific situations.
** just a little addition that may not have been made entirely clear, I started the game with the war horse, when you get the stallion for the bonnie mission, do not use the deed to get your war horse back, otherwise the counter resets, I ended up getting the achievement with the war horse on mission 27
Posted by minus15T on 13 May 11 13:18:21
** I didnt see it mentioned in other comments, but if you allow your honor to drop to Desperado, when you whistle, a Dark Horse will respond. If you save with that horse, your counter will reset as well. I highly recommend that anyone attempting this achievement keep using the Kentucky Saddler for the duration as it is very easily recognizable and during many of the Act 1 missions it is unlikely that you'll come across any civilian riding one or randomly hitched to confuse you. +1 for the thorough guide (except for the dark horse mention!)
Posted by SGT Impaler on 03 Jun 11 11:47:07