Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. How tos

How to tame a horse in Minecraft

Add as a preferred source on Google
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.

Recommended Videos

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.

Sam Hill
As Digital Trends' Gaming evergreen lead, Sam Hill is here to help you find your new favorite game and dive right in. The…
Sony just handed Kojima’s PHYSINT to Xbox, and PlayStation fans aren’t going to like it
Another exclusive walks out the door, and Sony has only itself to blame.
The Playstation 5 system standing upright.

Sony has just made a decision that feels straight out of a "how to lose fans" playbook. In a statement posted on X, PlayStation Studios confirmed it is stepping away from Hideo Kojima's PHYSINT after what it called three decades of "industry-leading, genre-defining" collaboration. Barely minutes later, Xbox confirmed it would publish the game instead, expanding its existing partnership with Kojima Productions.

https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/2097875212427735146

Read more
Pusheen is getting its first game with Pusheen’s Place on Apple Arcade
Pusheen’s first official video game arrives on Apple Arcade alongside four more October additions
Book, Comics, Publication

Pusheen the Cat has been everywhere from plush toys to stickers, but the internet-famous cat has somehow never had an official video game. That changes on October 1, when Pusheen’s Place arrives exclusively on Apple Arcade.

The game headlines Apple Arcade’s October update alongside River City Survivors, Terraria+, Touchgrind BMX 2+, and 4 Pics 1 Word+. As usual for Apple Arcade releases, the games will be available without ads or in-app purchases.

Read more
The $260 SteelSeries pro controller makes switching between Xbox and PC ridiculously easy
SteelSeries Aeon Pro

If you own a gaming PC and an Xbox, you know the hassle. You either need two controllers or constantly have to re-pair the only one you have. You probably need a pro gaming controller that doesn’t throw as many tantrums across different gaming platforms. 

Enter SteelSeries, a company that has made headsets and mice for years. It’s entering the gaming controller market with a model that ships with a special dock that makes your life easier.

Read more