Learn how to breed horses in Minecraft along with donkeys and mules.
Horse Breeding
The first step to breeding horses is to find and tame two horses. Learn where to find horses and how to tame horses in our horse taming guide.
Once you have two horses, the horses need to be close together to mate. Try building a fence around the horses or make a lead and leash the two horses to a fence. If the horses wander apart, breeding will not work.
If you attacked either horse by accident, feed them first to ensure they are at full health.
After your horses are fed, tamed and in close proximity, feed each horse a 
golden apple or 
golden carrot. Red hearts will appear over the horses’ heads and continue to appear for a short time.
A baby horse will then appear.
Baby Horses
A baby horse is most often the same color as one of its parents. There is also a small chance the baby horse can be a different color.
You cannot tame a baby horse in Minecraft until it grows into an adult. Although, you can feed a baby horse to make it grow into an adult faster. Once grown into an adult, you can tame the baby horse, put a saddle on it and ride.
Horse Stable
Horse stables are fun creation to make in Minecraft when breeding horses. Most horse stables consist of a house-like structure with an open side and a larger fenced area. Decorate your horse stable with hay, fence gates, a feeding trough, and a watering hole.
Donkey and Mule Breeding
Donkeys can mate and breed just like horses. Herds of Donkeys spawn in the plains biome in all editions of Minecraft and also the savannah biome in the PC Java Edition.
Donkeys need to be tamed and fed to breed just like horses. Breeding together two Donkeys will produce a Donkey foal.
Mule Breeding
In Minecraft, Mules can only be created through breeding because they do not spawn naturally in the game.
To breed a mule feed a tamed horse and a tamed donkey a golden carrot or golden apple and they will produce a baby mule.
Mules are sterile and cannot be bred together. You can tame, saddle and ride an adult mule.
How to Breed Horses (Donkeys and Mules too)
- Find any two horses.
Horses spawn in the plains biome.
- Tame each horse.
Horses must be tamed before breeding. See taming horses
- Ensure horses are fully fed and close to each other.
Make a fence around the horses or make a lead to tether them to a fence post. If the horses wander apart they will not breed.
- Feed each horse a golden apple or golden carrot.
With a golden apple or golden carrot in hand approach very close to each horse. Feed each horse by pressing the right-mouse button or hover and choose “Feed” on pocket edition or LT, L2 or ZL on your console.
You will immediately see red hearts from the horse. If you didn’t see red hearts feed the horse again. Within a second or two after the second horse has been fed and as long as the horses are close together a baby horse will appear.
(Donkeys can be breed with exactly the same steps. Breed a mule by using 1 horse and 1 donkey instead.)
