Horses of Hoofprint Bay Apple Tree: Where to Find It and How to Pick the Apples
Can't find the apple tree in Horses of Hoofprint Bay? This guide covers the right trail ride, the fork to take, how to grab every apple, and fixes for the pick-up bug.
Horses of Hoofprint Bay Apple Tree Task, Explained
Early in your playthrough of Horses of Hoofprint Bay — the 2D hand-drawn stable management and riding game from thogli studios, published by The Mane Quest — you'll receive a task asking you to find an apple tree and pick up apples. It sounds like a five-minute errand, but the objective never marks the tree on your map, and the tree isn't actually visible while free-roaming. Plenty of new players gallop down every open-world path, come back empty-handed, and end up asking "where is the apple tree?" in the Steam Community forums and the Horses & Video Games Facebook group.
The good news: the Horses of Hoofprint Bay apple tree is easy to reach once you know two things — which trail ride to choose and which way to turn the sign at the fork. This guide walks through the exact route, how the apple pick-up works, and what to do if the task glitches out.
Which Trail Ride Has the Apple Tree?
Here's the key detail most players miss: the apple tree only spawns during the short forest trail ride. If you head out on a free ride, that stretch of woodland is empty — no tree, no apples, no matter how carefully you look. That's why the objective seems impossible at first.
To find the apple tree, follow this route, based on directions confirmed by players in the Steam discussion:
- Open the trail selection board and choose the short trail ride — it's the option shown on the right/top of the selection screen.
- Start the ride and follow the path at a steady pace. Don't gallop past anything; interactables are easy to blink through.
- Watch for the fork in the trail with the wooden direction sign standing beside it.
- At the fork, press W to flip the direction sign so the arrow points toward the forest route instead of the coastal route. This is the step people get wrong — the default sign direction sends you the wrong way.
- Continue along the forest path until you cross the small wooden bridge.
- The apple tree stands immediately after the bridge, on the right-hand side. You can't miss the red apples scattered under its canopy.
If you reach a clearing or the ride's turnaround point without seeing the tree, you took the wrong fork. Let the ride finish, then start the short trail ride again and flip the sign the other way.
How to Pick Up the Apples in Horses of Hoofprint Bay
Once you've found the tree, collecting the apples is simple, but the interaction has a few quirks worth knowing:
- Ride close to the trunk. An interaction prompt appears when your horse is near the base of the tree. If nothing shows up, slow to a walk and nudge closer — galloping past too fast can skip the prompt entirely.
- Press the interact key (E on PC) when the prompt is visible. Your horse will paw at the trunk and knock down a batch of apples.
- Collect every apple on the ground. Ride slowly over each one to pick it up. They register one at a time, so don't rush across the pile.
- Repeat until the task counter is full. The tree yields three apples per ride, which is exactly what the task requires.
Two reassuring notes: picking apples does not cancel your trail ride — your horse pauses automatically and resumes the route once you're done. And you don't need to detour back to the stable; the task completes on the spot once the last apple is collected.
Horses of Hoofprint Bay Apple Tree Bug: Apples Won't Pick Up
Some players report that the apples drop but don't register, or that the task never completes even after collecting everything. Before assuming your save is broken, try these fixes in order:
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| No interaction prompt at the trunk | Slow to a walk, line up directly beside the trunk, and wait a second. The prompt has a small activation radius. |
| Apples drop but won't collect | Ride over them one at a time at walking speed. Rolling over the whole pile quickly can skip pickups. |
| Task stuck after collecting all apples | Finish the remainder of the trail ride. The task sometimes only ticks over once the ride officially ends back at the start point. |
| Apples have already been picked earlier | The tree's stock carries over per ride session. Complete a different ride, then replay the short forest trail — apples respawn after a couple of in-game days. |
| Still broken | Save, exit to the main menu, and reload. A fresh ride instance resets the tree and the task state. |
If none of that works, check for a game update — thogli studios has been patching interactable bugs actively, and pickup glitches are exactly the kind of thing that gets fixed in a small hotfix.
What Are the Apples For?
The apple tree task isn't just a fetch quest. Once collecting is unlocked, the Horses of Hoofprint Bay apple becomes one of your most useful everyday items:
- Horse bonding: Hand-feed an apple as a treat for an easy bond boost with any horse in your stable.
- Kitchen recipes: Apples are an ingredient in several stable kitchen recipes, including the horse treats that make trail rides calmer.
- Repeatable source: Since the tree respawns, the short forest trail ride doubles as a reliable apple farm once per in-game cycle — a good habit to pair with your regular training rides.
FAQ
Why can't I find the apple tree while free riding?
The apple tree only exists during the short trail ride. Free-roam exploration doesn't spawn it, which is why the map search turns up nothing. Choose the short ride, flip the fork sign toward the forest, and cross the bridge.
Which direction do I pick at the fork?
Flip the sign with W so it points toward the forest path, not the coast. The tree is right after the bridge on that route.
Do I have to finish the trail ride after picking the apples?
The task itself completes when you collect the final apple, but finishing the ride is the safest way to make sure the progress registers — and you'll pass the tree again on future rides once the apples respawn.