I’m not the keeper of the grand “games with horses” spreadsheet but to whoever is: time to add Palia. The next expansion for the life sim MMO is adding one of those features players are always asking for in MMOs: mounts. Specifically: horses. I was expecting the stock-standard mounts implementation—a glorified ‘go faster’ button—but it sure looks like Palia’s put enough thought into its horses to be worth a second glance by the chronically underfed equestrian gamers.

Palia’s next expansion is called The Royal Highlands, launching as a free game update on May 12. The expansion will add the largest “adventure zone” (read: explorable area) in Palia so far, a handsome (they insist, and I won’t argue with) new villager named Eshelon, new furniture styles, ranches for your home lot, and three horse breeds.

One of the first things you can spot in Singularity 6’s breakdown video on the new mounts is that there’s a speed meter that transitions through different gaits. The equestrians in the room will have to give opinions on the accuracy there, but I’m spotting at least a walk, canter, and gallop. I’m a little less sure about that trot, but I’m no expert.

In most MMOs, mounts don’t actually change how player movement feels and are really just a slightly higher camera angle and traversal speed. Guild Wars 2 has always been a bit of a notable exception with its mounts that all handle quite differently. Palia may not be going quite so far as GW2’s Roller Beetle drifting movement, but different gaits and traits that mention changing how each horse handles—I spotted one called “Bulldozer” that makes a horse faster but worse at turning—is more than most MMOs get into.

Back at the ranch on your home plot you can feed and pet your horses. That’s pretty basic stuff in the realm of horse care games, but the breeding system where you can produce mounts with favored traits is more than I expected from an MMO. Some traits are realistic like a chestnut coat or a cheerful disposition. Others are fantastical, like sparkly visual effects and status effect buffs. This is probably the second best thing to getting the horse ranching update I always wanted, and never got, in Red Dead Online.

When the Royal Highlands expansion launches in May there will be three (made up) horse breeds available: the Dawnspur, Phoenixfire Dawnspur, and the (Arabian-inspired) Akwinduu Thoroughbred. Someone in that video explainer has already beat us all to the “Mace Akwinduu” joke, sorry. During the reveal video, Singularity 6 says “starting with horses” so it sure sounds like we can expect more types of mounts, and maybe more horse breeds, in the future.

There’s more going on in Palia this season that you can read up on in its Palia Path roadmap including an in-game event celebrating 10 million total players that begins today and a “sunkissed summer” event coming later.