Summary

• Carrots in Stardew Valley 1.6 have a hidden buff that wasn't mentioned in the patch notes.
• Feeding carrots to a horse increases its movement speed, potentially a more valuable use for carrots than simply selling them.
• It's a small addition but shows attention to detail and care from the developer.

Following expanded multiplayer, and a number of visual improvements, players have begun to discover some less obvious additions - including one trick that could significantly speed up in-game travel times.

As was discovered by some players shortly after the release of the patch, including Reddit Hansekins, using the new carrot crop while riding a horse will now feed the carrot to the horse, giving the horse a day-long buff that increases its movement speed by around 40%.

As of the current patch, the newly added carrots, which can only be planted in Spring, are the only crop to have this interaction, making them uniquely valuable as a way for players to get around their farm faster and get more work done in a day.

Other items, like coffee, can also buff a player's general movement speed, which does stack with the increased speed from riding a horse, but have relatively short durations and can't be fed directly to the horse like carrots can.

Stardew Valley's 1.6 Update Adds A Unique Movement Speed Buff

Carrots Are More Useful Than Previously Realized

Stardew Valley already had the ability to increase the player character's speed by +1 from drinking coffee, eating crab cakes, having a Joja Cola, and more. These foods and drinks could be used together, with any one drink and any one food working to give a total of +2. Feeding a carrot to a horse is unique, as it is the first time a speed boost has been applicable to a horse. The carrot is the only item that can provide this boost to the horse, and will add a +0.4 Speed for the rest of the day.

For players who commonly use their horses to get around, stockpiling carrots during the Spring season can be a good decision, even if other crops might technically make more money. It's something of an investment in the future, as horses won't be immediately available, but once they are, the faster movement speed will help get more done every single day, rather than focusing on short-term profit.

Carrots Also Provide A More Immersive Roleplay Quality

Feeding Horses Carrots Can Make The Game Feel More Real

Cozy simulation games such as Stardew Valley can be safe havens to escape from the real world, and players can become immersed in the experience and even form attachments to their animals and NPCs in the game. Although it seems like a minor thing, having the ability to feed a carrot to a horse in the game can add to the comforting and wholesome sensations. The speed boost only provides more benefit and a useful reason to do so.

The recent patch also added the ability to put hats on cats and dogs that the player has as pets on their farm. Hopefully, all of these animal-related additions will lead to the next update letting horses also wear cute hats or outfits. These simple touches just make the overall vibe of the game even more relaxing and cheerful, and provide more of a benefit to players who want to escape to their happy farm for a while.

Carrots Were Added To Stardew Valley In The Recent Patch

New Crops Are Not Found At The General Store

Patch 1.6 added many new items and mechanics to Stardew Valley, including four new crops: summer squash, broccoli, powdermelons, and the aforementioned carrots. None of these crops are found at the General Store or from any of the other traditional merchants in the game; there are three ways to get them:

• Players can find seeds by digging Artifact Spots between Winter 21 and Spring 20.
• Players can try to get them as a random reward from the Prize Machine in Mayor Lewis's home.
• Carrot Seeds can be purchased from the Raccoon Family Shop after completing the raccoon quests.

While the ability for players to feed their horses and get some extra movement speed is a fairly minor addition compared to everything else included in Stardew Valley's 1.6 update, it's a nice touch for players who are more attached to their farm's animals, and provides a good mechanical incentive as well, giving carrots a unique value aside from how much money they're worth. It also pairs nicely with 1.6's new farm type, the Meadowlands Farm, which starts players out with two chickens and plentiful grazing land to help players focus on ranching.

The release of update 1.6 for Stardew Valley has revitalized the game's playerbase with the addition of several long-requested features, including unique NPC reactions to gifts, new crops, and multiple new events. Comparatively, being able to feed carrots to horses for a movement speed buff is a small change, to the point that many players likely won't even notice that it's possible without looking it up, but it's still a nice touch that shows the developer's care and attention to detail when it comes to even the smaller touches in Stardew Valley.