How to Tame a Horse in Minecraft PC

Last Updated: August 30, 2020 Tested

In Minecraft, taming a horse is required to ride it or breed it. You can tame a horse by repeatedly mounting it or feeding it apples. This wikiHow teaches you how to tame a horse.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Mounting a Horse to Tame It

1
Locate a horse. Horses are found in plains biomes. Plains biomes are relatively flat, grassy biomes with few trees.^{[1]
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2
Right-click the horse with an empty hand. This mounts the horse It will likely buck you off after a few seconds.

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3
Keep mounting the horse repeatedly. Each time the horse bucks you off, get back on. If it doesn't buck you off, just stay on. Eventually, hearts will appear over the horse, which indicates that the horse has been tamed.
- You can make it easier to tame a horse by feeding it apples. Apples are found by breaking oak leave blocks. You don't need any tools to break oak leave blocks.
- You can breed two tamed horses in close proximity by feeding them until hearts appear over their head. A foul will appear after a few seconds. If you breed a horse and a donkey, they will produce a mule.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Crafting and Using Horse Items

1
Craft a lead. A lead can be crafted out of 4 spider strings and some slimeballs using a crafting table. You can get spider string from killing spiders, and slimeballs from killing slime. Slime spawns in swamp biomes.
2
Equip the lead. The lead looks like a leash. Place the lead in your toolbar and select the toolbar slot to equip it.
3
Place the reticle on a tamed horse and right-click on it. This places the lead around the horse. You can now walk the horse.
4
Click a fence post to tether the horse. While walking a horse with a lead, click a fence post to tether the horse. This keeps it from wandering off.
- Fence posts can be crafted out of wood from trees.
5
Craft horse armor. Horse armor can be crafted out of 7 leather, iron, gold, or a diamond using a crafting table. Leather can be obtained by slaughtering cows. Iron, gold and diamond must be mined to obtain. Iron and gold ore needs to be smelted in a furnace to create iron and gold bars.
6
Mount a tamed horse and press E. This opens your inventory with the horse menu at the top. You can transfer from your own inventory to the horse.
7
Drag the horse armor to the armor slot. The armor slot resembles the top side of a horse in the upper-left corner of the horse inventory window. Drag the horse armor from your own inventory to this slot.
8
Put a chest on a mule or a donkey. Place a chest in your toolbar and select the slot with the chest to equip it. Right-click on the mule or donkey's back. That will put the chest on the mule or donkey. Chests can be crafted from 8 wood plank blocks.
- To access the chest, right-click while riding the mule/donkey.
- To remove the chest, right-click while riding the mule or donkey and there will be an icon of a chest in the armor slot. Remove that chest via shift-clicking or dragging the chest to your inventory.
- Chests cannot be placed on a horse.
9
Obtain a saddle. A saddle is needed to ride a horse once it is tamed. Saddles are one of the few items that cannot be crafted. You can find a horse saddle in chests in dungeons or nether fortresses. You can also catch a saddle while fishing.^{[2]
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10
Mount the horse and press E. This will display your inventory with the horse menu at the top. You can transfer from your own inventory to the horse.
11
Drag the saddle to the horse armor slot. It's the slot that resembles a horse saddle in the upper-left corner of the horse inventory. This places the saddle on the horse. With the horse saddle equipped you can mount the horse and control it using the "W" "S", "A", and "D" keys. You can also jump by pressing the spacebar.
12
Locate a name tag. Like the saddle, name tags cannot be crafted. They can be found in dungeon chests and within nether fortress chests.^{[3]
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13
Use an anvil to engrave a name tag. To engrave a name on a name tag, have the name tag in your inventory and right-click on an anvil. Drag the name tag to the first slot on the left in the anvil menu. Click on the box below "Repair and name" and delete "Name tag" in the box. Then type the name you want to name your horse. Drag the engraved name tag in the slot on the right back into your inventory. This costs 1 enchantment point.
14
Equip the name tag. Place the name tag in your toolbar and highlight it in your inventory.
15
Place the reticle on a horse and right-click. This places the name tag on the horse and names your horse. You will see the horses name above it.

Community Q&A

Question

How do you craft a saddle?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

You do not craft a saddle. You either install a data pack that gives you a crafting recipe or you have to find a saddle inside either a dungeon or a naturally generated loot chest within a dungeon/village, etc.
Question

Can you tame a wild horse in Minecraft?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

Yes, you can tame a horse in Minecraft. Repeatedly get on the horse despite it kicking you off, eventually it will become friends with you. You will need a saddle to ride it once it's tame. Once tamed, it will stay tame.
Question

What do you feed a horse to tame it in Minecraft?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

Unlike other mobs you can tame in the game, horses are tamed not by feeding but by getting on and off repeatedly. However, feeding a horse can keep it near and make it easier to tame it.

Warnings

Horses that aren't trapped in a small fenced area, or are not named or tamed, will despawn eventually.

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If you don't put a saddle on the horse and try to ride it, you'll only get a few steps and then the horse won't budge.

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