Swift Mountain Horse

Swift Mountain Horse is a ground mount and the racial mount of the worgen. It was added in patch 4.3.0 (Cataclysm) and is sold by the vendor Astrid Langstrump. It is an elegant dark horse without a saddle, whose model was completely overhauled in patch 8.0.1 (Battle for Azeroth) — it now uses the HD horse model.

• A worgen racial mount — part of the base Alliance mount collection
• Counts toward mount-collecting achievements such as Leading the Cavalry and similar
• Costs only 10 gold — one of the cheapest mounts in the game
• The updated HD model looks great and pairs well with dark-toned transmogs
• Available immediately for worgen, with no need to grind reputation

Worgen characters can buy this mount from Astrid Langstrump without any reputation requirements. Every other Alliance race must first reach Exalted with the Gilneas faction.

Astrid Langstrump

Astrid Langstrump is a mountain horse vendor and a Gilnean. The NPC's name is a reference to Pippi Longstocking from the books by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren.

Astrid's location has changed along with the game's story:

Darnassus (original location)

Originally, Astrid was located in Darnassus, between the Cenarion Enclave and the Howling Oak:

Darnassus is accessible through Darkshore — to do this, speak with Zidormi on the Darkshore coast (coordinates 48.9, 24.5) to switch to the version of the zone from before the burning of Teldrassil.

Stormwind (after the burning of Teldrassil)

Following the events of Battle for Azeroth, Astrid moved to Stormwind, near the Wollerton Stead next to the Stormwind Embassy (coordinates roughly 52.4, 7.9).

Current status

Astrid has been removed from Stormwind — she has presumably returned to Gilneas after the events of the Return to Gilneas. To purchase mountain horses, it is recommended to visit Darnassus via Zidormi in Darkshore.

If you play a worgen, skip this section — you don't need the reputation.

For all other Alliance races, you will need to reach Exalted with the Gilneas faction. The fastest way is dungeon farming with a tabard.

Step 1 — Buy the Gilneas Tabard

Purchase the Gilneas Tabard from the quartermaster Lord Candren. He used to be in Darnassus, and you can still find him in Darnassus via Zidormi.

Step 2 — Equip the Tabard and Head into Dungeons

While the tabard is equipped, killing mobs in dungeons will earn you reputation with Gilneas. Dungeons from the Wrath of the Lich King expansion grant the most reputation per run.

Step 3 — Buy the Mount

Once you reach Exalted, return to Astrid Langstrump and purchase the Swift Mountain Horse for 10 gold.

The easiest way to get this mount is to create a trial worgen character. Worgen can buy racial mounts without any reputation requirements. The procedure:

1. Create a trial worgen character of any class
2. Mail them 11 gold (1 for the regular horse + 10 for the swift one)
3. Get to the vendor and buy both mounts
4. The mounts will be account-bound and become available on all Alliance characters
5. After that, the trial character can be deleted

• The mount is account-bound — once learned, it is available on all Alliance characters
• Speed depends on your riding skill: +60% with Apprentice and +100% with Journeyman
• Mountain horses are strictly ground mounts and cannot fly
• In addition to the Swift Mountain Horse, Astrid also sells a regular Mountain Horse for 1 gold — worth buying for the collection too