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How to tame a horse in Minecraft

A Minecraft warrior riding a horse
Mojang / Mojang

When you’re out on your own, exploring the various biomes and far away from whatever little house you’ve created for yourself in Minecraft, there’s no better comfort than a trusted steed by your side. Nothing says experienced adventurer like a seasoned horse companion. While you can jump atop any horse you find in the game, you need to tame and put a saddle on a wild horse in order to access some unique actions and truly call it your own. If you really want to get attached, you should also name your horse with a name tag. Here are all our expert tips and tricks for taming your very own horse.

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Difficulty

Moderate

Duration

20 minutes

What You Need

  • A horse

  • A saddle

A player riding a horse in Minecraft
Mojang

How to tame a horse

Horses spawn in plains and savannas in herds of two to six. These are mostly flat, grassy areas with a few scattered trees. There are a variety of colors — white, chestnut, black, gray, brown, and flaxen chestnut — with a handful of different markings that a horse can spawn with, and herds are likely to be similar. While it’s not difficult to find a herd of horses in the world, you may have to do some hunting to find a specific color if you have a preference.

You can also find horses in stables in generated villages if you’re up for stealing one instead of finding one in the wild.

Step 1: Taming a horse is quite simple -- you just need to keep mounting the horse again and again until it likes you. Just press Use on the horse with nothing eqipped.

Step 2: On your first go, the horse will likely buck you off. But keep trying! Each time the horse bucks you off, get back on.

Step 3: Eventually a cloud of hearts will appear over the horse, signifying that it is tamed.

An armored horse in Minecraft
Mojang

How to use a tamed horse

Now that you’ve tamed a horse, it’s time to ride it

Step 1: Find a saddle and equip it to your horse.

Step 2: Now when you mount your horse, you will be able to fully control its movements.

Horses can jump much higher and farther than your character. Hold down the jump button to charge up a bigger jump. A player can use any item while riding a horse.

You can also equip your horse with its own armor. You can craft your own horse armor, find it in certain chests in the game, or purchase it from a villager. You can’t enchant the armor like you can your own, but you can dye it.

Be careful when adventuring with your horse — that armor isn’t just for show, and it can still be damaged by enemies.

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