Minecraft features a variety of rideable mobs, including horses, pigs, and the more recent striders... And another is coming in a future update.
Getting your butt onto any of these creatures requires a saddle, though, which has meant searching random chests, trading with random villagers, or hunting random enemies for all 15 years the item has been in the game.
No more! Finally, after years of complaints, Mojang Studios is testing making saddles craftable. Minecraft insiders can already enjoy this revolutionary new feature, but the rest of us will be able to craft our own saddles with the release of the next Minecraft game drop update.
Some other new things are here, too, if you care.
How can I craft saddles in Minecraft?
You can make an argument for why you have to hunt down horse armor rather than craft it, given how intricate it is, but it has never made sense how difficult to obtain saddles are in Minecraft.
Now, or at least in this debut test build, you'll be able to craft saddles with three pieces of leather and one iron ingot, making saddles significantly more accessible. The recipe will unlock the first time you pick up leather, too.
Mojang Studios is also making it possible to strip mounts of their saddle with shears, as long as it's not hostile and something isn't actively riding it. Several loot tables for chests are replacing saddles with 1-5 leather, too.
Some of this may change before release, but I doubt it'll be by much, if at all.
What else is Mojang testing with this release?
I won't rehash everything that Mojang is currently testing for the next Minecraft update; you can check out my summary of everything announced at Minecraft Live (Mar. 2025) for that.
There is a little more going on in the latest Minecraft Preview and Snapshot builds then just craftable saddles, though. Mojang is also adding five new songs to the soundtrack, composed by Amos Roddy.
The five tracks will play in Cherry Grove, Forest, Desert, Grove, and Lush Cave biomes, and will join the main menu rotation, too. Separately, a new "Tears" music disc will be available to collect, obtained by killing a Ghast with its own fireball.
When will we get all these new features?
If you're interested in participating in Minecraft's development by testing early builds and submitting feedback, you can craft all the saddles your heart desires right now. You can find info on Minecraft Preview 1.21.90.25 at Minecraft.net, and info on Minecraft: Java Edition Snapshot 25w20a at Minecraft.net.
Most of us, though, will be waiting for the next official Minecraft game drop, which was announced during the last Minecraft Live event. This game drop doesn't have a title, yet, but we already know most of what to expect.
In addition to craftable saddles and new music, the next game drop will debut two new Ghast mob variants and related items/blocks. Don't worry, these are friendly Ghasts, and you (and up to three of your friends) can even ride one!
The next game drop is likely a few weeks or months away, still, but it should be a fun update. It'll also finally alleviate a common greivance with craftable saddles.
