( warning opening quest spoilers)
So you steal a horse from the bad guys and ride like the wind.
Then when you need to go back to your home, you grab the horse you nabbed to begin with and head home. About half way there, boom… Cut scene, “sorry ol’ faithful, you gotta stay here.” and now you’re horseless until the story quest (which I haven’t done), or you save up a bunch of gold to grab one from the Handler in that far off city.
I decided I wanted to get some use out of my horse. Go hunting, get some skills up, work on my archery in the forest. So I rode off to the Huntsman with the intention to head into the forest. I dismounted outside his place, stepped inside, and… Cut scene: “Sorry ol’ faithful, you gotta stay here.” So imagine my surprise when I returned to Tamblem (sp?) and went to buy more arrows and low and behold… The original horse I stole, sittin’ pretty just where I left her!
So the EARLIEST horse you can get, is literally the one you steal. So long as you place her somewhere smart (mine is named Olena), except she doesn’t count as an owned mount, but she’s also not stolen, so no guards after you, and complete exploration freedom early on (you know, if you’re like me and boost Herbalism to level 15 in the opening town and then abuse it to boost your strength to insane numbers).