What Do Horses Eat In Minecraft?
What do horses eat in Minecraft? Well do not worry for we have got you covered, in this article we will teach you all about horses and much, much more. Let’s get started:
Horses in Minecraft are awesome for traveling around the world and have many fun mechanics for taming, feeding, and breeding. Knowing what to feed your horses and how to take care of them can make a big difference in how useful they are and how fast they grow. Here’s an easy-to-follow guide on everything you need to know about feeding, taming, and caring for horses in Minecraft.
What Horses Eat and Why It Matters
Horses in Minecraft can eat several types of food, each with its own effect on their health, taming progress, and growth rate for foals (baby horses). Let’s look at the different foods you can feed your horse, and what each one does.
Sugar
- Where to Find It: Made from sugar cane, which grows near water in multiple different biomes.
- What It Does:
- Adds a small amount of health (½ heart).
- Makes a wild horse easier to tame by raising its “temper” by less than a handful of points.
- Speeds up the growth of foals (baby horses) by 30 seconds.
- Best Use:
- Sugar is handy if you want a small health boost or to help tame a wild horse faster.
Wheat
- Where to Find It: Grown in villages or by planting seeds.
- What It Does:
- Adds a little bit more health than sugar (1 heart).
- Raises a wild horse’s temper by 3 points, making it easier to tame.
- Speeds up the growth process of infant horses by 20 seconds.
- Best Use:
- Wheat is a quick and easy food to help tame or slightly heal your horse.
Apples
- Where to Find It: Drops from oak and dark oak trees, or in chests in villages.
- What It Does:
- Adds 1.5 hearts to your horse’s health.
- Raises a wild horse’s temper by 3 points, helping with taming.
- Speeds up foal growth by 1 minute.
- Best Use:
- Apples are useful for small health boosts or taming but are not as easy to find as wheat.
Golden Carrots
- Where to Find It: Crafted from carrots and gold nuggets (Golden Carrots are found in mines).
- What It Does:
- Heals 2 hearts.
- Raises a horse’s temper by 5 points, helping with taming.
- Increases growth of a foal by 1 minute.
- Activates “love mode,” allowing tamed horses to breed.
- Best Use:
- Great for breeding and decent for healing; worth using for high-quality horses or breeding.
Golden Apples
- Where to Find It: Crafted from an apple and gold ingots (a more valuable resource).
- What It Does:
- Adds 5 hearts to your horse’s health.
- Raises a wild horse’s temper by 10 points, making it much easier to tame.
- Speeds up foal growth by 4 minutes.
- Activates love mode for breeding.
- Best Use:
- Best for large health boosts and breeding. Since it is made from valuable resources, use it for special horses.
Hay Bales
- Where to Find It: Crafted from nine pieces of wheat.
- What It Does:
- Adds the most amount of health (10 hearts).
- Speeds up foal growth by 3 minutes.
- Best Use:
- Use hay bales when your horse has lost a lot of health. However, they can’t be used on wild horses.
How to Feed Your Horse
To feed a horse, select the food item in your hot bar, stand close to the horse, and right-click (or left trigger on consoles). Keep these things in mind:
- Horses will only eat if they need health or if they are a foal that have not grown up to adulthood yet.
- If you try to feed a horse something it does not eat, you will just end up mounting it.
Quick Food Effects Overview
- Health Boost: Hay bales restore the most health, followed by golden apples.
- Taming Help: Sugar, wheat, apples, and golden carrots all raise a horse’s temper, making it easier to tame.
- Foal Growth: Golden apples make foals grow the fastest, but all foods will help speed up their growth.
How to Tame a Horse
Taming a horse lets you ride it, breed it, and equip it with saddles and armor. You tame a horse by trying to ride it multiple times until it stops throwing you off.
Steps for Taming a Horse
- Find a Horse: Horses spawn in plains and savanna biomes in groups of 2-6.
- Get Close and Mount: Stand near the horse and right-click (or use left trigger) to get on. It might buck you off at first.
- Repeat the Process: Keep getting back on until the horse shows hearts, when it starts showing hearts it means that the horse is tamed and ready for your shenanigans.
How to Breed Horses
To breed horses, you need two tamed horses and special food items. Feeding each horse a golden apple or a golden carrot will put them in “love mode” and make a foal.
Steps for Breeding
- Activate Love Mode: Feed each horse a golden apple or carrot.
- What the Foal Will Look Like: The foal usually looks similar to its parents, but sometimes there are slight variations.
- Cross-Breeding with Donkeys: If you breed a horse and a donkey, you’ll get a mule, which can’t breed.
Horse Stats
Each horse has three main stats: health, speed, and jump strength. These vary by horse and can affect how useful they are for different tasks.
- Health: Horses can have between 15-30 HP (7.5-15 hearts). More health makes a horse tougher.
- Speed: Horses can move anywhere from 4.74 to 14.23 blocks per second. You’ll need to test different horses to find the fastest.
- Jump Strength: Ranges from 0.4 to 1.0. High jump strength lets a horse jump over more blocks.
Equipping Your Horse
You can equip horses with:
- Saddle: Needed to control the horse while riding. Saddles can be found in chests or while fishing.
- Horse Armor: Provides protection and comes in iron, gold, diamond, and leather (in Bedrock Edition only). Horse armor can’t be crafted and must be found in chests.
Additional Horse Behaviors and Tips
Horses have some unique behaviors you’ll notice:
- Swimming: Horses can swim but will buck you off in deep water.
- Using Leads: Leads are helpful for guiding horses around or tying them to fences.
- Drops: If a horse dies, it may drop leather and, if equipped, the saddle or armor.
Conclusion
What Do Horses Eat In Minecraft? Now you have all the basics of feeding, taming, and breeding horses in Minecraft! Whether you’re looking to find the fastest horse, raise a strong foal, or keep your favorite mount healthy, understanding their needs will make a big difference in your game. Horses are a fantastic way to travel quickly and explore Minecraft’s vast world, and with the right care, they can be both loyal companions and valuable assets. So go ahead, find your perfect horse, and enjoy the journey!
FAQs
Q: What’s the best food to heal a horse?
- A: Hay bales are the best for health, restoring a full 10 hearts. Always make sure your horses are well fed because if you were to be stranded far away from your home and somehow lose your horse then, you are quite screwed to say the least.
Q: Can horses go underwater?
- A: Horses can swim in shallow water but will dismount you if it’s too deep.
Q: How can I find a fast horse?
- A: Test out different horses since speed varies. Tame and ride them to find the fastest.
Q: What should I use to make a foal grow quickly?
- A: Golden apples reduce growth time the most, but any food will help foals grow faster.
Q: Can mules be bred?
- A: No, mules (born from a horse and a donkey) can’t breed.