Malon's Friend: How to Get Epona

After the Princess of Hyrule Castle quest, talk to Malon in the ranch corral by day and show the Fairy Ocarina. She teaches Epona’s Song. As an adult, win two races against Ingo, leave with the horse, and the ranch returns to the family.

Childhood: the song

1. Clear the Princess of Hyrule Castle quest, leave Castle Town, and take the southwest wooden arch into Lon Lon Ranch.
2. By day, talk to Malon in the central corral. When she asks about an instrument, show the Fairy Ocarina.
3. Play the song: Switch 2 X Y A X Y A; Nintendo 64 C-Up, C-Left, C-Right, twice; 3DS A X Y A X Y.

Learning the song costs nothing on every version checked. The button sequences come from the earlier Game8 and Zelda Wiki checks; those pages could not be read again on 14 November. Nintendo’s product page also confirms optional microphone controls; the button sequence remains the route described here.

What the song does

Malon says her mother composed it. Playing it near Epona calls the horse. The same melody is how Link milks a cow. The full argument about her mother is on Malon’s mother, not here.

Adult: two races

1. Return to the ranch by day carrying enough Rupees: 40 Rupees on Switch 2 (20 to ride, 20 to race) or 60 on N64 and 3DS (10 to ride, 50 to race).
2. Play the song inside the corral, mount Epona, then talk to Ingo while you are on the horse and pay the race fee.
3. Win two races. Ingo shuts the gate. Jump the closed gate or a low outer fence. OoT Guide and IGN both describe that exit. The 2026 ranch is no longer on a plateau, and Zelda Wiki notes a wooden tower that lets you leave without the horse.

Talon’s Super Cucco game is optional and sits in the ranch house: 10 Rupees, 30 seconds, three special cuccos. Game8 is the source for a 5-Rupee retry and for a bottle filled with Lon Lon Milk. That retry price is one source. The cow that arrives at Link’s house is the obstacle-course prize, written up on the obstacle course page.