In addition to farming, breeding, and being a good source of leather, horses are wonderful creatures in Minecraft. With the right technique (and luck), you can get a horse with a speed that is twice as fast as a player’s walking speed, and occasionally even triple that.
Foods to Feed a Horse
You can feed a horse the following items in Minecraft:
| Item | Name | Health Restored | Speeds Growth By |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1 health point ( x 0.5) |
30 seconds | |
| Wheat | 2 health points ( x 1) |
20 seconds | |
| Apple | 3 health points ( x 1.5) |
1 minute | |
| Golden Carrot | 4 health points ( x 2) |
1 minute | |
| Golden Apple | 10 health points ( x 5) |
4 minutes | |
| Enchanted Golden Apple | 10 health points ( x 5) |
4 minutes | |
| Hay Bale | 20 health points ( x 10) |
3 minutes |
For each type of food a horse consumes, the amount of health that is restored is shown in the graph above. Additionally, it shows how long it takes for growth to accelerate when fed to a foal, a young horse.
Steps to Feed a Horse
You must locate a horse to feed once you have one of these foods.
Horses are usually found in the Plains biome.
If you’re having trouble finding a horse, you can use a cheat or a spawn egg to summon one.
Use the Food
You must then feed the horse the food that is selected in your hot bar. In this instance, we’ll give the horse wheat to eat.
TIP #1: To feed a horse, you must have the food item selected in your hot bar and the horse must “be hungry”. Otherwise, the horse will not eat.
Tip #2: If you are not holding a food item and you follow the instructions below, you may end up mounting the horse instead. So, before following the instructions, be sure to hold the food first.
Depending on the version of Minecraft, the following controls are used to use/feed the wheat to the horse:
- For Java Edition (PC/Mac), right click on the horse.
- You position your pointer over the horse in the Pocket Edition (PE) and click the Feed button.
- Press the LT button on the Xbox controller for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
- Press the L2 button on the PS controller for the PS3 and PS4.
- For Wii U, press the ZL button on the gamepad.
- For Nintendo Switch, press the ZL button on the controller.
- For Windows 10 Edition, right click on the horse.
- For Education Edition, right click on the horse.
When you’ve fed the horse, your hot bar’s wheat will be empty.
The health of the horse will improve, and if it was a foal, it will mature into an adult more quickly than usual.
You’ve just mastered the art of feeding a horse in Minecraft, so congrats!
Things to Do with Horses
Here are some things you can do in Minecraft with horses:
MINECRAFT | How to Breed Horses! 1.14.4
FAQ
What food do you feed a horse in Minecraft?
Horses/Donkeys (Tamed): golden apples and golden carrots. Llamas (Tamed): hay bales. Sheep, Cows, and Mooshrooms: wheat. Pigs: carrots, potatoes, and beetroot.
Do you need to feed Minecraft horses?
Horses in Minecraft don’t require feeding, just like any other mob. Partially, they don’t need it to survive, but you should feed your horses to heal them if they get hurt.
Do Minecraft horses eat carrots?
Wheat, hay bales, sugar, apples, golden apples, and golden carrots are all acceptable forms of horse food in Minecraft.
