To tame a horse in Minecraft, select an empty hotbar slot and repeatedly mount an adult horse until hearts appear and it stops throwing you off. This works for ordinary horses in current Java and Bedrock editions, in Survival or Creative. You do not need food or a saddle to tame it, but you need a saddle afterward to steer.
The short version
- Start empty handed: Approach an adult horse with an empty hotbar slot selected.
- Keep mounting: Right-click, use your controller's interaction trigger, or tap Mount on touch controls until hearts appear.
- Food is optional: Feeding can improve taming odds, but you still need to mount the horse.
- Saddle afterward: Place a saddle in the tamed horse's saddle slot to control your ride.
| Method or option | Where it applies | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Repeated empty-hand mounting | Current Java and Bedrock | A tamed ordinary adult horse |
| Mouse or controller interaction | Java with mouse; Bedrock with mouse or controller | Mounting through your interaction control |
| Touchscreen mounting | Current Bedrock touch controls | Taming attempts through Mount |
| Food before mounting | Java and Bedrock; exact food values below apply to Bedrock | Better taming odds |
| Ordinary carrots | Java 1.21.6 and later | Improved temper before mounting |
| Saddle after taming | Current Java and Bedrock | Controlled riding |
| Java zombie horse | Java 1.21.11 and later | A tame mount after removing its rider and repeatedly mounting |
| Bedrock zombie horse | Bedrock 1.21.130 and later | A tame adult after removing its rider and repeatedly mounting |
| Tame an existing horse by command | Bedrock with cheats and command permission | The nearest horse within three blocks becomes tame |
| Summon a tame adult by command | Bedrock with cheats and command permission | A tame adult horse at your position |
| Command access settings | Bedrock worlds you manage or where the host grants permission | Access to commands |
| Skeleton horse alternative | Current Bedrock; adult without a rider | Controlled riding without ordinary taming or a saddle |
Find an adult horse and empty your hand
Look for an adult horse, commonly in plains or savanna. Select an empty slot in your hotbar, then approach the horse. You can begin taming without collecting food first.
You can also get a saddle in Minecraft before or after taming. Keep it for the riding step, since repeatedly mounting the horse is enough to tame it.
Mount using your interaction control
With keyboard and mouse, aim at the adult horse and right-click while your hand is empty. This applies to Java on Windows, macOS and Linux, and to Bedrock when using keyboard and mouse. If you changed your bindings, use your assigned interaction control.
On a controller in Bedrock, aim at the horse and use the left trigger, often called the Use control. These are the default interaction controls, so use your assigned control if you changed it. Use that control again after each unsuccessful attempt.
For Bedrock touch controls on a mobile device, approach with an empty hotbar slot selected and tap Mount. Stay aboard until the horse throws you off. Approach and tap Mount again to continue.
Keep mounting after the horse throws you off
Being thrown off is part of the taming process. Mount again with an empty hand and stay aboard through the next attempt. Continue until hearts appear and the horse stops throwing you off.
If the horse keeps throwing you off, you can feed it before another attempt to improve your odds. After feeding, return to an empty hand and resume mounting. Once hearts appear and the horse stops throwing you off, you can equip a saddle.
Use food to improve your chances
To try food-assisted taming, hold suitable food and interact with the untamed adult horse. On Bedrock touch controls, tap Feed when offered. After feeding, switch back to an empty hotbar slot and resume mounting.
For ordinary horses in current Bedrock, wheat, sugar, apples and carrots each add 3 temper. A golden carrot adds 5, while a golden apple or enchanted golden apple adds 10. These increases improve your taming odds, but feeding does not replace mounting.
Food-assisted mounting also works in Java, and ordinary carrots improve temper in Java 1.21.6 and later, including current 26.x releases. Hold a carrot and right-click the horse to feed it, then select an empty hotbar slot and mount repeatedly until tamed. You can use ordinary carrots in those versions even if older instructions exclude them.
Equip a saddle and start riding
Mount your tamed horse and open your inventory. With default keyboard controls, press E, then place a saddle in the horse's saddle slot. Close the inventory and use your movement controls to steer.
If hearts appeared but you cannot control the ride, check that you placed the saddle in the horse's saddle slot. An ordinary horse needs that saddle for controlled riding even after you have tamed it.
Tame a zombie horse in current releases
In Java 1.21.11 and later, including current 26.x releases, you can tame a zombie horse in Survival. Find one with its zombie rider, including in plains or savanna, and remove the hostile rider without killing the horse. Repeatedly mount with an empty hand until tamed, then equip a saddle to control it.
For Bedrock 1.21.130 and later, including current 26.x releases, look for an adult zombie horse at night in plains or savanna. Defeat or remove its hostile zombie rider, then use the ordinary empty-hand mounting process until tamed and equip a saddle afterward. You can use this process in Survival in those releases.
Use optional Bedrock commands
In current Bedrock, you can use a command to tame an existing horse or summon an already-tame adult. Both shortcuts require cheats and Game Directors or operator command permission.
Enabling cheats disables achievements for that Bedrock world. To enable command access, open the world's settings and turn on Activate Cheats. This setting permits the command methods; it does not tame a horse by itself.
To tame an existing adult horse, stand beside the intended horse and open chat. Enter the following command, which targets the nearest horse within three blocks:
/event entity @e[type=minecraft:horse,r=3,c=1] minecraft:on_tameAlternatively, you can create an already-tame adult horse at your position. Open chat and enter this command:
/summon minecraft:horse ~ ~ ~ 0 0 minecraft:spawn_tame_adultAfter either shortcut, equip a saddle for controlled riding. If command access prevents you from using a shortcut, check that cheats are enabled and that you have the required command permission. You can also use repeated empty-hand mounting to tame an existing ordinary adult horse without commands.
Ride a skeleton horse in Bedrock
In current Bedrock, use an adult skeleton horse with no rider for another riding option. Interact with it to ride, or tap Ride on touch controls. You can control this mount without the ordinary horse taming process or a saddle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do hay bales improve horse taming odds in Bedrock?
Hay bales are not in the temper-increasing food list for ordinary horses in current Bedrock. Use wheat, sugar, apples, carrots, golden carrots, golden apples or enchanted golden apples to improve temper before mounting.
What food should you use for a zombie horse?
Use red mushrooms for zombie horses in Bedrock 1.21.130 and later. In Java 1.21.11 and later, you can use red mushrooms to heal and attract zombie horses.
How can you protect a zombie horse from sunlight in Java?
Equip horse armor to protect it from sunlight damage. You can use this protection for zombie horses in Java 1.21.11 and later, including current 26.x releases.
How can a host let another Bedrock player use horse commands?
Open the pause menu and select the permissions icon beside that player, then enable operator commands. The world also needs cheats enabled for these command methods.
Can you use command blocks for the Bedrock horse commands?
Yes, you can use commands through command blocks as well as chat in current Bedrock. You still need cheats enabled and the required command permission.