Minecraft Horse: Taming, Feeding, and Equipping

The Minecraft horse remains the most versatile land mount in the game. Faster than sprinting, capable of jumping up to 5 blocks high, and equipable with armor, it radically transforms exploration in the early and mid-game. This guide covers everything you need to know in 2026 about taming, feeding, equipping, and breeding horses, with a dedicated section on the Minecraft camel introduced in the 1.20 Trails & Tales update.

How to Tame a Horse

Horses naturally spawn in Plains and Savanna biomes, in herds of 2 to 6 individuals. They can also be found in the stables of some villages. There are 35 possible combinations of colors and markings, but appearance does not influence statistics.

To tame a Minecraft horse, approach it with empty hands and right-click (or use the interaction button on consoles) to mount it. The horse will likely eject you on the first try. Immediately remount: with each attempt, its "temper" counter increases by 5 points. When this counter exceeds a random threshold (between 0 and 99), heart particles appear, and the horse is tamed.

Feeding the horse before mounting significantly speeds up the process. Each food increases the temper by a different value: sugar adds 3 points, wheat 3 points, apple 3 points, golden carrot 5 points, and golden apple 10 points. With a golden apple, you can often tame a horse on the first or second attempt.

Each horse has three hidden statistics randomly generated at spawn: health (between 15 and 30 hearts), movement speed, and jump height (from 1 block to over 5 blocks). These statistics cannot be modified by food and are not directly visible in the game. To find the best horse, you need to tame several and manually compare their speed and jump.

Horse Feeding

What do horses eat in Minecraft? Six foods are accepted, each with distinct effects on health, foal growth, and temper during taming.

Sugar restores 0.5 heart of health, speeds up foal growth by 30 seconds, and increases temper by 3 points. Wheat restores 1 heart, speeds up growth by 20 seconds, and adds 3 temper points. Apple restores 1.5 hearts, speeds up growth by 1 minute, and adds 3 points. Golden Carrot restores 2 hearts, speeds up growth by 1 minute, and adds 5 points. Golden Apple restores 5 hearts, speeds up growth by 4 minutes, and adds 10 points. Hay Bale restores 10 hearts and speeds up growth by 3 minutes but does not increase temper (it cannot be used for taming).

For breeding, only the golden carrot and golden apple (normal or enchanted) trigger love mode. Give one of these foods to two tamed horses close to each other to get a foal. The foal's statistics are calculated from the average of the two parents with a random variation margin, making selective breeding interesting for obtaining a horse with maximum stats.

Foals take 20 minutes to become adults without food. Feeding a foal with the listed foods speeds up its growth. Zombie and skeleton horses cannot be fed, even if tamed.

To feed a horse, hold the food in your hand and right-click on the animal. You cannot feed a horse you are currently riding.

Saddle and Armor

A tamed horse can only be controlled once equipped with a saddle. Saddles cannot be crafted: they are found in dungeon chests, desert temples, jungle temples, Nether fortresses, bastions, and End cities. Master-level Leatherworker villagers also sell them for emeralds, and fishing can rarely yield them.

To equip the saddle, mount the horse and open your inventory (E key on PC). The horse's inventory shows two slots: one for the saddle and one for armor.

Horse armor protects your mount from damage and comes in four materials:

Leather armor offers basic protection (armor points not officially documented but the weakest) and is the only one that can be crafted: 7 leathers in the 3x3 grid (H shape). It can also be dyed with dyes. Iron, gold, and diamond armor cannot be crafted and must be found in world structure chests (dungeons, temples, Nether fortresses, End cities). Diamond armor offers the best protection. There is no netherite armor for horses.

Practical tip: Gold armor is not more durable than iron. It is actually less protective than iron armor. The protection order is: leather < gold < iron < diamond.

By breeding a horse with a donkey, you get a mule. Mules cannot wear armor but can be equipped with a chest (right-click with a chest in hand), adding 15 storage slots. They are ideal for transporting resources over long distances.

The Camel in Minecraft

The Minecraft camel was added in the 1.20 "Trails & Tales" update (2023). Unlike the horse, it requires no taming: you can mount it directly.

Location. The Minecraft camel exclusively appears in desert villages, one per village. It does not respawn if killed, making it a relatively rare mob. To obtain two (necessary for breeding), you must find at least two desert villages.

Riding and Control. Place a saddle on the camel (right-click with the saddle in hand) to control it. Without a saddle, you can mount it but not control its direction. The camel has a unique slot in its inventory: the saddle. There is no armor for camels.

Two-Seater Capacity. The camel is the only land mount that can carry two players simultaneously. The front player controls the movements, while the rear player can attack freely without harming the driver or the mount. This is a considerable advantage in multiplayer.

Dash. By holding the jump key, a dash bar fills up. Releasing at the right moment, the camel performs a forward leap covering up to 12 blocks horizontally and 1 block vertically. The dash has a cooldown of 2.75 seconds. This ability allows crossing ravines and rivers that horses cannot traverse.

Height Advantage. The camel is tall enough (2.375 blocks standing) that most melee hostile mobs (zombies, vindicators, piglins, hoglins) cannot reach the players riding it. However, spiders, wolves, and slimes can still attack due to their jumps.

No Auto-Step-Up. The camel can automatically step over obstacles 1.5 blocks high (compared to 1 block for horses), allowing it to pass over fences and walls without jumping.

Breeding. Give a cactus to two adult camels to trigger love mode. Cacti are abundant in desert biomes. The baby camel grows faster if fed with cactus.

Horse or Camel? The horse is faster and jumps higher, making it superior for quick travel in varied terrain. The camel excels in group exploration (two-seater), combat (protection against ground mobs), and traversing rough terrain (dash). Both mounts complement each other depending on the situation.

To fully enjoy the two-seater capacity of the Minecraft camel with a friend, a dedicated multiplayer server offers the best experience. A high-performance Minecraft hosting ensures stable TPS even during intensive exploration sessions with multiple loaded mounts.

Mounts FAQ

Can you put netherite armor on a horse?

No. Horse armor only exists in leather, iron, gold, and diamond. Netherite is not available for mounts.

How to know the exact speed of a horse?

There is no native way to display a horse's precise statistics in-game. The most reliable method is to have two horses run side by side over an identical distance and compare the result. Mods like Horse Stats Vanilla (Fabric/Forge) display the exact values of speed, jump, and health.

Can a horse swim?

A saddled horse floats on the surface of shallow water. In deeper water, the player is automatically dismounted. To cross a body of water with your horse, attach it to a lead and pull it behind a boat.

How many blocks can a horse jump?

The jump height varies according to the horse's statistics: from 1.08 blocks (minimum value) to 5.29 blocks (maximum value). Hold the space bar to charge the jump and achieve maximum height.

Is the camel faster than the horse?

No. The horse is generally faster at cruising speed. The camel compensates with its dash ability (12-block leap), protective height, and space for two players.