How to make a saddle in Minecraft: Four easy methods

Saddle up for this Minecraft guide on the elusive uncraftable saddle.

By Daniel Furn

Published: Tuesday, 21 November 2023 at 11:36 AM

Minecraft is a world all about mining materials and crafting the weird, the wonderful and pretty much anything else your imagination can think of. How about a saddle? 

Mojang rolled out saddles way back in June 2010, still remaining one of the major components that players seek out.

Considered mysterious relics, no crafting recipe is available, and there are also only a finite number of saddles found in the world – so make them count. 

Since no crafting is involved when it comes to acquiring a saddle, you must venture out into the overworld and find one. For doing so, the ability to saddle mobs will become instantly available. 

That means you can hop on everything from pigs and camels to donkeys and striders. And who doesn’t want to do that?

Once you have a saddle, simply hold it in your hand, right-click (or the equivalent) the animal and hey presto – it’s attached. It’s easy to take off, too, unless it’s a pig. If it’s a pig, there’s no getting that back – unless it faces an untimely demise.

Finding a saddle depends on which mode you’re playing – we’ve broken down the various ways below.

Where to find a saddle in Minecraft Creative Mode

Horse in Minecraft next to a chicken
Minecraft.
Mojang

Creative mode provides unlimited resources, meaning saddles can be found by simply browsing the Creative Inventory Menu. The menus vary slightly depending on which platform you’re using – but the saddle can be found under the following headers:

  • Java: Under Transportation
  • Pocket Edition: Tools/Equipment
  • Console/Win10/Edu: Equipment

How to find a saddle in Minecraft Survival Mode

Camels in Minecraft
Minecraft.
Mojang

In survival mode it’s not quite as easy with players having to go exploring the Overworld – though there are multiple locations that offer the opportunity to acquire a saddle:

Dungeon Chests

The easiest way to obtain a saddle is by looting chests while exploring dungeons. Dungeons are structures that generate naturally in the Overworld and often contain a mob spawner and up to two chests. Be careful though, as the mobs spawned will be hostile – you have a 50 per cent chance of a zombie, 25 per cent chance of a spider, and less than a one per cent chance of it being a skeleton.

Nether Fortress Chests

A slightly more complicated one: players must first build a Nether portal to explore The Nether. This can be done by building a frame with fourteen obsidian, then activating the portal with flint and steel or a fire charger.

Once in The Nether, heading to the Fortress and looting the chests may well yield you a saddle – just make sure you’re prepared, as the fortress is full of obstacles.

Fishing

We’re not sure of the logic here, but yes, you can catch a saddle while fishing. Cast your fishing line into a body of water and look out for bubbles coming out of the water. If you wait patiently the bubbles will move towards your fishing line and eventually pull your bobber under – that’s the signal to reel in your fishing line.

If you’re lucky you’ll catch a saddle that will be automatically added to your inventory, though be warned as this may well take a few tries.