If you’re playing the PC version of Minecraft, you might be wondering how do you feed a horse in minecraft pc. Feeding a horse in the PC edition of Minecraft is a key step for taming and breeding. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know, from finding the right food to the actual feeding process.
Horses are useful mobs that can be ridden for fast travel and can carry your items. But before you can saddle up, you need to earn their trust with food. The process is simple once you know what items to gather.
Let’s get started with the basics of what horses eat and why feeding them is so important for your adventures.
How Do You Feed A Horse In Minecraft Pc
Feeding a horse on a PC involves holding the correct food item and using it on the horse. You right-click while pointing at the horse. This action will give the horse the food, which can have several effects depending on what you feed it.
The core mechanic is straightforward. You need to have the food in your hotbar, select it, and then interact with the horse. Different foods provide different benefits, which we will cover in detail.
It’s important to note that you cannot feed a horse while you are riding it. You must be standing next to it on the ground to successfully complete the feeding action.
Essential Items You Need To Feed A Horse
Before you can feed a horse, you need to gather the correct food items. Horses in Minecraft are picky eaters and will only accept specific things. You cannot feed them just any plant or meat.
Here is a list of all the items a horse will eat:
- Sugar
- Wheat
- Apples
- Golden Carrots
- Golden Apples
- Hay Bales
Each of these items is obtained in different ways. For example, sugar comes from sugar cane, wheat is farmed, and golden apples require crafting with gold. Hay bales are crafted from wheat.
You should always keep a few of these items in your inventory when you plan to find horses. Having the right food ready makes the process much smoother.
Step By Step Guide To Feeding A Horse
Follow these simple steps to successfully feed a horse in Minecraft on your PC.
- Find a horse. They commonly spawn in Plains and Savanna biomes.
- Approach the horse carefully so it does not run away.
- Have the desired food item in your hand. Select it from your hotbar.
- Point your cursor at the horse and right-click (or left-trigger if you use a controller on PC).
- You will see particles appear around the horse, indicating it has eaten the food.
- Check the result. The food may heal the horse, help tame it, or prepare it for breeding.
If you are trying to tame a wild horse, you may need to feed it multiple times before it accepts you. Be patient and have enough food on hand.
Remember that feeding has a cooldown. You cannot spam-feed a horse; you must wait a moment between each feeding attempt.
What Happens When You Feed A Horse
Feeding a horse does more than just keep it happy. Each food item triggers a specific in-game effect. Understanding these effects helps you use your resources wisely.
For example, feeding a horse sugar has a very minor effect, while feeding it a golden apple is a powerful action. The primary outcomes of feeding are healing, taming acceleration, and breeding preparation.
Always consider your goal before choosing which food to use. Using a golden apple on a horse you just want to heal is a waste of a valuable resource.
Best Foods For Taming Horses Quickly
Taming a horse requires you to mount it repeatedly until hearts appear. Feeding it certain foods during this process increases your chance of success and speeds it up.
While you can tame a horse without food, it takes much longer. Feeding it during your attempts makes the horse more likely to accept you as its owner.
The best foods for taming are those with higher “taming probability.” Here is the list from least to most effective:
- Sugar (Lowest chance)
- Wheat (Low chance)
- Apple (Medium chance)
- Golden Carrot (Good chance)
- Golden Apple (Best chance)
For a balance of cost and effectiveness, golden carrots are a great choice. They are easier to obtain than golden apples but still provide a significant boost to your taming progress.
If you have the resources, using golden apples is the fastest method. You will typically only need one or two to tame even the most stubborn horse.
Using Food To Breed Horses
Breeding horses allows you to create a foal, which can inherit traits from its parents. To breed two horses, you must feed each one a breeding item.
Not all foods that horses eat can be used for breeding. Only specific “breeding foods” will trigger love mode. The two horses must also be close to each other.
The valid breeding foods are:
- Golden Apples
- Golden Carrots
Once you feed a golden apple or golden carrot to two tamed horses that are near each other, they will enter love mode. Hearts will appear above their heads, and they will move together. After a moment, a foal will be born.
Breeding is a good way to get a horse with better stats, like higher jump strength or more health. The foal’s stats are an average of its parents’ stats, with a random small increase.
Healing Your Horse With Food
Horses can take damage from falls, mob attacks, or player mistakes. You can heal your horse by feeding it. Different foods restore different amounts of health.
Knowing how much each food heals helps you manage your horse’s health efficiently. You don’t want to waste a golden apple when a few wheat will do.
Here is the healing amount for each food item:
- Sugar: Heals 1 health point (half a heart)
- Wheat: Heals 2 health points (1 heart)
- Apple: Heals 3 health points (1.5 hearts)
- Golden Carrot: Heals 4 health points (2 hearts)
- Golden Apple: Heals 10 health points (5 hearts)
- Hay Bale: Heals 20 health points (10 hearts)
The hay bale is the most efficient healing item, as it is made from 9 wheat but heals for much more. Always carry a hay bale or two for emergency healing during long journeys.
To heal, simply feed the horse the food like you normally would. You will see the health particles, and the horse’s health bar will refill if you have its statistics screen open.
Where To Find Horse Food Ingredients
You need to know where to get all the different food items. Some are easy to find, while others require farming or crafting.
Finding Sugar And Wheat
Sugar is made from sugar cane. Sugar cane grows naturally near water. You can break it and craft three sugar cane into three sugar at a crafting table.
Wheat is obtained from farming. You need to find seeds, usually by breaking grass, and then plant them on farmland near water. Once fully grown, you harvest the wheat.
Wheat is a very common and reliable food source for initial horse taming and healing.
Getting Apples And Golden Carrots
Apples have a chance to drop when you break oak or dark oak leaves. You can also find them in chests in various structures like dungeons or villages.
Golden carrots require more work. You need to craft them with a carrot and eight gold nuggets. Carrots are found in village farms or from killing zombies. Gold nuggets come from smelting gold tools or armor, or from killing zombie pigmen in the Nether.
Golden carrots are worth the effort for their strong taming and breeding benefits.
Crafting Golden Apples And Hay Bales
Golden apples are crafted with an apple and eight gold ingots. Gold ingots are smelted from gold ore, which is found deep underground. They are a valuable resource, so use golden apples sparingly.
Hay bales are the simplest to craft. Place nine wheat in a 3×3 grid in your crafting table. This creates one hay bale. It is the most cost-effective healing item for horses by far.
Having a good wheat farm is the key to sustaining a stable of horses, as it provides both wheat and hay bales.
Common Mistakes And How To Avoid Them
New players often make a few simple errors when trying to feed horses. Being aware of these can save you time and resources.
One common mistake is trying to feed the horse while holding the wrong item. Double-check that you have selected the food from your hotbar before right-clicking.
Another error is not having the horse properly targeted. Your cursor must be directly on the horse’s body for the feed command to register. If you click the ground next to it, you might just place the item or eat it yourself.
Players sometimes forget that only tamed horses can be bred. You cannot breed two wild horses by feeding them. You must tame each one first.
Also, remember that feeding has a brief cooldown. If you click too rapidly, the second attempt might not work. Wait for the eating particles to finish before trying to feed the horse again.
Advanced Tips For Horse Management
Once you understand the basics, you can use feeding for more advanced horse management. This includes selecting for specific traits and creating a breeding program.
When you breed horses, the foal’s stats are based on the parents. To get a better horse, breed your two best horses together. You can check a horse’s stats by mounting it and looking at its jump bar and health.
Keep a stock of golden carrots specifically for breeding. This separates your breeding resources from your healing and taming resources.
If you have many horses, build an automatic wheat farm. This will give you a nearly endless supply of wheat for healing and for crafting into hay bales. It’s one of the most useful farms for any player who uses horses regularly.
Always name your best horses using a name tag. This prevents them from despawning and helps you keep track of your breeding lines. You can find name tags in dungeon chests or by fishing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some common questions about feeding horses in Minecraft PC.
Can You Feed A Horse A Carrot In Minecraft?
No, you cannot feed a regular carrot to a horse. Horses do not eat normal carrots. The only carrot-based food they accept is the golden carrot, which is a crafted item.
What Is The Fastest Way To Tame A Horse On PC?
The fastest way to tame a horse is to feed it a golden apple before or while attempting to mount it. This greatly increases the taming progress. Combine feeding with repeated mounting attempts for the quickest results.
How Do You Heal A Horse Quickly?
To heal a horse quickly, feed it a hay bale. A hay bale restores 10 full hearts of health, which is the largest single healing amount possible from food. It is much more efficient than using multiple pieces of wheat or apples.
Why Won’t My Horse Eat In Minecraft?
If your horse won’t eat, there are a few possible reasons. You might be holding the wrong item, the horse might be on a feeding cooldown, or you might be too far away. Ensure you are close, have the right food selected, and wait a moment between feeds.
Can You Feed A Horse To Make It Faster?
No, feeding a horse does not permanently increase its speed. A horse’s speed is a fixed stat determined when it spawns. Feeding only helps with taming, breeding, and healing. To get a faster horse, you need to find one with high natural speed or breed two fast horses together and hope the foal inherits good speed.