Horse mob in Minecraft
The Horse is the fastest ordinary mount in the game. Tame a wild one by climbing on it until it accepts you, put a saddle on it to steer, and breed your best horses with golden carrots or golden apples to get even faster foals.
- Health
- 15 to 307.5 to 15 hearts
- Behavior
- Passive
- Food
- Found in
- 5 biomes
Horse stats
- Health
- 15 to 30 7.5 to 15 heartsRandom, set when it spawns
- Behavior
- Passive
- Main drop
Leather- Spawns in
- 5 biomes
- Size
- 1.396 × 1.6 blocks
- XP when killed
- 1 to 3none as a baby
- Speed
- 0.225
- Detection range
- 16 blocks
- Tempt range
- 10 blocks
// Experience drops only when a player kills it. Speeds are the game’s internal values, not blocks per second.
Where to find Horse
Biomes where it spawns naturally, with its share of the spawns in each group.
- Group size
- 2 to 6
- Light level
- 9 or more
- Spawns on
Grass Block
Structures
Horse drops
Anything a player put on itAlways dropped: Copper Horse Armor, Diamond Horse Armor, Golden Horse Armor, Iron Horse Armor, Leather Horse Armor, Netherite Horse Armor and Saddle100%Health compared
Horse15–30
Variants
7 variants. The game picks one when the mob spawns, based on where it appears.
White 
Creamy 
Chestnut 
Brown 
Black 
Grey 
Dark brown Horse and its family
Mobs built on the same base in the game code, compared on their game values.
| Mob | Health | XP | Speed | Horse armor | Breathes underwater | Ignores Poison and Regeneration | Inverted healing | Weak to Smite | Undead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Donkey | 15–30 | 1–3 | 0.175 | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| Horse | 15–30 | 1–3 | 0.225 | ✓ | · | · | · | · | · |
 Mule | 15–30 | 1–3 | 0.175 | · | · | · | · | · | · |
 Skeleton Horse | 15 | 1–3 | 0.2 | · | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
 Zombie Horse | 25 | 1–3 | 0.225 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Traits
Properties set in the game files.
Food and breeding
Items it eats, follows or breeds with.
Each food adds taming points: the chance to tame it on the next ride. Bars show that added chance.
Golden Appleheals 10 health · baby grows 240 s sooner · breeds when tamed+10%Enchanted Golden Appleheals 10 health · baby grows 240 s sooner · breeds when tamed+10%Golden Carrotheals 4 health · baby grows 60 s sooner · breeds when tamed+5%
Appleheals 3 health · baby grows 60 s sooner+3%
Carrotheals 3 health · baby grows 60 s sooner+3%
Wheatheals 2 health · baby grows 20 s sooner+3%
Sugarheals 1 health · baby grows 30 s sooner+3%
Hay Baleheals 20 health · baby grows 180 s sooner—// Each failed ride also adds 5 points.
Baby Horse
Bred with Golden AppleGolden CarrotEnchanted Golden Apple Tamed adults only All baby mobs → Gear and tools
Items it can wear, and items you use on it.
Advancements with Horse
Advancements whose criteria involve this mob, from the game files.
Command
/summon minecraft:horse ~ ~ ~How to tame a horse
Wild horses roam plains and savannas. Walk up to one with an empty hand and right-click to climb on. The horse rears and throws you off; get back on, again and again, until hearts appear. It is now tamed and stays yours.
Feeding a wild horse before you climb on makes it more willing. Sugar, wheat, apples, carrots, hay bales and golden foods all count, so a few apples can save many attempts.
Saddle and horse armor
A tamed horse only goes where you want once it wears a saddle. Craft one from three leather and an iron ingot, then put it on through the horse's inventory while riding, or use it directly on the horse.
Horses can also wear armor. Leather horse armor is crafted and can be dyed. Copper, iron, gold and diamond horse armor come from chests: dungeons, desert pyramids, jungle temples, strongholds, nether fortresses, end cities, ancient cities, ruined portals and village weaponsmiths. Netherite horse armor is diamond horse armor upgraded at a smithing table. A horse cannot carry a chest: for that, use a donkey or a mule.
Breeding faster horses
Only tamed adults breed. Feed two of them a golden carrot or a golden apple; enchanted golden apples work too but are a waste. Regular foods such as wheat or sugar heal the horse and help taming, but never start breeding.
Every horse has its own speed, jump strength and health. A foal inherits a mix of its parents' values with a bit of randomness, so breeding your two best horses together, then the best foals, slowly improves your line. Feeding a foal hay bales and other horse foods makes it grow up faster. A horse bred with a donkey gives a mule.
Riding tips
- Charge your jumps: hold the jump key and release it for a higher jump, enough to clear fences.
- Water: a horse floats and swims at the surface with you on it, but throws you off as soon as it dives underwater.
- Parking: tie it to a fence post with a lead so it does not wander off while you mine.
✓ Checked in Java Edition 26.3 · updated 1 November 2026
Horse — FAQ
What do you feed a horse to breed it?
Golden carrots or golden apples, to two tamed adults. Wheat, sugar, apples and hay bales only heal it, help taming and speed up a foal's growth.
Why does my horse keep throwing me off?
It is not tamed yet. Keep climbing back on until hearts appear, and feed it sugar or apples first to make it accept you sooner.
Where do you find horse armor?
Leather horse armor is crafted. The copper, iron, gold and diamond versions come from structure chests, and netherite horse armor is made at a smithing table.
Where does the Horse spawn?
In Plains, Sunflower Plains, Savanna, Savanna Plateau and Windswept Savanna.
What does a Horse drop?
Leather. It also drops anything a player put on it.
Allay
Armadillo
Axolotl
Bat
Cat
Chicken
Cod
Copper Golem
Cow