If you want to ride and control a horse or the new camel mob in Minecraft 1.20, you need to use a saddle. This item unlocks one of the most reliable ways to travel in the game. Not to forget, thanks to the camel’s height, the saddle acts as a major tactical advantage to the user. But, how do you get a saddle in Minecraft? Can you craft a saddle? Let’s answer all these questions and find out how to get a saddle in Minecraft in our dedicated guide.
Minecraft Saddle: Everything You Need to Know (2023)
We are covering the mechanics, spawning, and usage of saddles in Minecraft within different sections. Use the table below to explore the aspect that you want to learn about.
What is a Saddle in Minecraft

The saddle is a utility item in Minecraft that you need to ride, and in some cases, control rideable mobs in the game. It looks similar to leather in terms of design and texture but, unlike leather, you can’t color or add armor trims in Minecraft to the saddle.
Which Mobs Can You Ride Using a Saddle
You can use the saddle to ride the following mobs in Minecraft:
- Pigs
- Striders
- Camels
- Horses
- Skeleton Horses
- Donkeys
- Mules
However, not every mob functions in the same way. For example, you first need to tame a horse in Minecraft before using the saddle. Plus, mobs like pigs require bait (carrot on a stick) to control them even after placing a saddle. Not to forget, while ravagers always spawn with a saddle on top of them, the players cannot ride them. This is because they are naturally hostile toward the players. So, killing the ravager is the best option for you.
How to Find Saddle in Minecraft
Unfortunately, the saddle is a treasured item in Minecraft, and it can’t be crafted on the crafting table. So, the only way to obtain it is by exploring the world and using the in-game looting methods. Here are the various methods to get a saddle:
Chests
You can find a saddle in various chests in all dimensions of Minecraft. They often spawn in the following locations:
- Dungeon
- Ancient City
- Bastion Remnant (Hoglin Stable)
- Desert Temple
- End City
- Jungle Temple
- Nether Fortress
- Stronghold (Altar)
- Village (Weaponsmith, Savanna, and Tanner houses)
As per the Minecraft Wiki, the chests in Nether Fortress have the highest spawn rate of chests with saddles. So, you might have to make a Nether portal in Minecraft while trying to get a saddle.
Fishing
Much like other treasure items, you can catch saddles while fishing in the overworld waterbodies of Minecraft. But keep in mind that, it has a spawn rate of less than 1%. So, you might need to fish for a long time before getting your hands on the saddle.
Though, as an alternative, you can also create an AFK fish farm in Minecraft. While it will take some time, you can get a bunch of saddles as well as other items without putting in much effort.
Mob Loot

Another reliable method to find saddles is killing Striders and Ravagers. Out of these, ravagers always spawn with a saddle, but you have to trigger a raid in Minecraft to make them spawn. Meanwhile, striders only spawn with a saddle if a zombified Piglin is riding them.
Unfortunately, neither of these mobs have fixed spawn circumstances so you can’t create a farm to collect saddles via these mobs. However, if you are playing on the Minecraft survival servers, you can kill other players’ saddled mobs to obtain their saddles.
Trading
Being leather-like items, saddles are available as a tradable item with Master-level leatherworker villagers. They sell saddles for 6 emeralds. This trade always shows up on the Java edition, but Bedrock users will only see it around half of the time. Not to forget, you can quickly set up a villager trading hall to get not only saddles but also emeralds with easy trades.
How to Use a Saddle
Now that you have finally found a saddle, it’s time to use it. There are two main ways to equip a saddle onto a mob, let’s explore the steps involved in each of them.
Saddle Slot
The saddle slot is available only to camels, horses, donkeys, mules, and skeleton horses. If you are trying to ride one of these mobs, follow the steps below:
1. First, right-click or use the secondary-action key on the mob to start riding it.

2. Then, open your Minecraft inventory with the E key or your dedicated inventory key. You will also see the inventory of that mob. Now, place the saddle in the saddle slot of the mob.

3. Once the saddle is in place, you can use your movement keys to make the mob move around. Moreover, if you want to get the saddle back, you can remove it from the inventory slot.

Direct Placement
One of the simplest ways to equip a saddle in Minecraft is by placing it on the mob. This method works for all rideable mobs in-game. But, mobs like horses have to be tamed first before they can be ridden. With that said, here’s how to directly place a saddle on a mob:
1. First, find a rideable mob and get in its close proximity.

2. Next, use the right-click or secondary action key, while holding the saddle, to place it. After that, use the right-click again to start riding the saddled mob.

Dispensers
While this method is not the ideal one, you can also use a dispenser in Minecraft to put a saddle on your mobs. Here’s how it works:
1. First, place a dispenser one block above the ground and put a saddle in it.

2. Then, get your mob right in front of the dispenser’s face.

3. Finally, activate the dispenser using a Redstone torch, button, or lever. Then, the dispenser will put the saddle on your Minecraft mob.

Get and Use a Saddle in Minecraft
Now, you are ready to go on adventures around the world of Minecraft. But, keep in mind that riding mobs around the overworld might be easy, but it’s not the fastest method to explore the world. At a later stage in your game, we suggest you obtain the Elytra in Minecraft. Other than teleportation, it is the most efficient way to travel in Minecraft. Coming back to the saddles, very few Minecraft mobs can be ridden by players. At least, in the default world. However, if you want to break away from these limitations, the ride command in Minecraft will allow you to ride any mob in the game. So, whether you go for commands or a saddle, which Minecraft mob are you going to ride first? Tell us in the comments below!