How to Tame a Horse in Minecraft
Guide Java Bedrock
Quick answer: Approach a wild horse with empty hands and right-click to mount it. It will buck you off a few times - keep mounting until hearts appear. Then equip it with a saddle to control it.
What you need
- Saddle (loot only: dungeons, nether fortresses, bastions, villages, fishing)
- Optional: apples/wheat/sugar to speed up taming
- Golden apples or carrots for breeding
Step by step
- Find horses in plains and savanna biomes, in herds of 2-6.
- Empty your hand and right-click the horse to mount. It bucks you off within seconds.
- Mount again repeatedly. Each attempt raises its temper until hearts appear - the horse is tamed.
- Feeding first helps: apples, wheat, sugar, hay bales or golden carrots/apples raise temper so fewer attempts are needed.
- Open your inventory while riding (or sneak + right-click the horse) and place a saddle in its slot. Saddles cannot be crafted - find them in dungeons, temples, bastions, villages or by fishing.
- Tamed horses can wear horse armor and be bred with golden apples or golden carrots.
- Speed, jump height and health are random per horse (and inherited): breed your best two to get a better foal.
Java vs Bedrock
Identical taming mechanic in Java and Bedrock. Skeleton horses from skeleton traps tame the same way; zombie horses are unused in vanilla survival.
Versions: Horses since 1.6.1. Horse variants and breeding mechanics current since 1.18+.
Frequently asked questions
Can you craft a saddle in Minecraft?
No. Saddles are loot-only: dungeon/temple/bastion chests, village weaponsmith and tanner chests, fishing treasure, or trading with master leatherworkers (Java: 6 emeralds).
What is the fastest way to tame a horse?
Feed it a few apples, wheat or hay bales first - each feeding raises temper, so it accepts you after 1-2 mounts instead of many.
How do you get a fast horse?
Stats are random at spawn. Tame several horses, test their speed and jump, then breed the best two with golden apples or golden carrots - foals average their parents' stats with random variation.