Even after you domesticated a horse in Minecraft, the animal still has free will and will not obey your instructions. Although you can confine it to a fence, your attempts to ride it aren’t going as planned. Horseback riding is one of the quickest modes of transportation except flying, but you need a saddle in order to manage your ride. In the past, you had to get a saddle via trading at communities, exploration, and fishing since you couldn’t make one yourself. Nevertheless, we are eventually able to construct a saddle for ourselves after many years, and we will demonstrate the process for you.
How to make a saddle
Crafting a saddle in Minecraft is limited to the snapshot test version of the game as of May 2025. It is anticipated to be included to the whole game this summer, however. In any case, this is the process for creating a saddle.
Step 1: Gather three pieces of leather.
Step 2: Gather one ingot of iron.
Step 3: As shown in the above image, arrange the iron ingot in the center bottom square of a crafting table, together with the three leather pieces above and next to it.
Take the saddle out of the output in step four.
Step 5: You may now mount your saddle on any animal that is suitable, but there’s also a new function that allows you to take it off of a pig without killing it. If you have sheers, you may use them on a pig to securely remove the saddle so you can use it on another animal.
The process of trading for a saddle
You can still acquire one via trade, but the simplest method to get one is still by constructing one.
Step 1: Locate the leatherworker in a community.
Step 2: The villager will not provide a saddle until it reaches Level 3, therefore you will need to level it up. This is done by exchanging flint, leather, rabbit skin, emeralds, and whatever else the villagers want.
Step 3: Your chances of getting a saddle increase to 50% after you advance the leatherworker to Level 5 (Master).
How saddles are located in chests
The next best option is to go out and locate a saddle packed inside a chest if you don’t want to construct or invest the time to level up a Leatherworker. Fortunately for you, there are many locations to search. Regretfully, opening a chest does not always ensure a saddle. The locations and percentages of your chances of discovering a saddle are shown below.
- Mineshaft abandonment (percentage unknown)
- Temples in the desert (23.5%)
- Dungeons: 27.9%
- City of End (13.3%)
- Temples in the jungle (12.9%)
- Fortress of Nether (35.3%)
- Strongholds: 2.5%
How to use fishing to get a saddle
With a 0.8% likelihood of producing a saddle, this is the least probable option. Just hope that you wind up hauling a saddle out of the water by fishing the same way you would for a typical fish.
How to use a saddle
You went through all of this for more than a conversation starter. Get excited and put the saddle on a horse!
Step 1: Engage with the horse while making sure you have nothing.
Step 2: The horse could attempt to buck you off, or it might not. Repeat step 1 until the horse stops if it does.
Step 3: Open your inventory while remaining seated on the horse. The inventory of the horse should be shown beside yours. With a gray saddle symbol, drag the saddle from your inventory up into the top square. The horse symbol will change when it is applied.
You can ride the horse wherever you choose now that it has a saddle.