How to make a saddle in Minecraft 2025
A saddle is a vital item in Minecraft if you want to ride horses, pigs, striders, or any other rideable mobs. However, unlike many items in the game, you cannot craft a saddle, even in the 2025 version of Minecraft. This has confused many players, especially those new to the game. So, in this guide, we’ll explore the main point—saddles must be found, not crafted—and then walk through all the methods to obtain one, including where to look, how to trade, and pro tips for quicker results.
🎯 Main Point
Saddles cannot be crafted. You must find them in the world through chests, trading, fishing, or mob drops.
No matter how many leather pieces or iron you have, there is no crafting recipe for saddles, and Mojang has kept it that way to encourage exploration and trading. Let’s break down the main methods you can use to find a saddle.
🧰 Method 1: Loot Chests (Best Way for Most Players)
The most common and reliable way to find a saddle is to explore and open naturally generated loot chests. Here are the best structures to search:
🏰 Dungeon Chests
- Found underground in small cobblestone rooms with monster spawners.
- 28.3% chance of containing a saddle.
- Easy to locate early-game using caves or mineshafts.
🐖 Bastion Remnants
- Located in the Nether.
- Contain multiple chests with a higher chance of saddle loot.
- Risky, but rewarding—especially in treasure rooms.
📦 Nether Fortresses
- Also in the Nether, and often contain blaze spawners.
- Chest loot includes saddles and horse armor.
🐎 Village Weaponsmith/Armorer Chests
- Found in villages, usually in blacksmith buildings.
- Chance of saddle spawn varies, but relatively common.
🏜️ Desert Temples
- Four loot chests hidden under a pressure plate.
- High chance for enchanted books, bones, and saddles.
🏹 Jungle Temples, End Cities, and Ancient Cities
- Less reliable, but saddles do appear.
- More late-game exploration needed.
✅ Tip: Use a horse or donkey to carry your loot as you explore to cover more ground faster.
🎣 Method 2: Fishing (Slow but Steady)
Fishing is another method, especially if you’re patient or have access to an AFK fishing farm. Here’s how it works:
- Saddles are part of the “treasure loot” table.
- Base chance is around 0.8% without enchantments.
- Use a fishing rod with Luck of the Sea III to increase your chances.
🎣 Best setup:
- Use a fishing rod with Luck of the Sea III, Lure III, and Unbreaking III.
- Set up an AFK fishing farm (Java Edition only, as Bedrock has more limitations).
- Fish in open water (5×5 minimum) for best results.
✅ Tip: Fish during the day or while it’s raining to speed up bite rates.
🧑🌾 Method 3: Villager Trading (Guaranteed if Upgraded)
Another reliable way to get a saddle is by trading with leatherworker villagers.
🛍️ How to Get a Leatherworker Villager:
- Find an unemployed villager.
- Place a Cauldron nearby to turn them into a leatherworker.
- Level them up through trades (usually by selling leather or buying leather armor).
📈 Trade Levels:
- Saddles become available at the Journeyman level (third tier).
- Cost: Usually 6–10 emeralds.
✅ Tip: Use a zombie discount strategy by zombifying and curing a villager to drop prices significantly.
🧟 Method 4: Mob Drops (Rare Situational Spawns)
Certain mobs naturally spawn with saddles and will drop them upon death. This is a more passive or combat-based way to get saddles.
Mobs that Drop Saddles:
- Striders with piglins riding them (Nether)
- Ravagers (during a Pillager Raid)
- Skeleton horses from thunderstorm traps (after the skeleton is defeated)
This method is not ideal for beginners, but it’s useful if:
- You encounter a raid near your base.
- You’re exploring the Nether and find piglin-ridden striders.
- You survive a thunderstorm skeleton horse trap event.
✅ Tip: Always carry a decent weapon and armor if you’re relying on this method.
| Method | Chance | Best Time to Try |
|---|---|---|
| Loot Chests | Medium–High | While exploring |
| Fishing | Low | Early-mid game, if bored or idle |
| Trading | Guaranteed | Mid-game, with emeralds |
| Mob Drops | Rare | Opportunistic only |
❗ What NOT to Do
- Don’t waste time crafting materials in hopes of crafting a saddle—it’s not possible in any version, even in Minecraft 2025.
- Don’t kill horses or pigs hoping for a saddle drop—they don’t drop them unless they already had one equipped.
- Don’t assume every chest has one—keep trying and be prepared to explore more.
🧭 Final Thoughts
Saddles are one of the few items in Minecraft that require exploration, trading, or luck. While it might seem frustrating that they can’t be crafted, this mechanic encourages you to:
- Explore the world,
- Trade with villagers,
- Build farms, and
- Engage in survival adventures.
Once you do get a saddle, the possibilities open up—ride a horse, saddle up a pig for fun, or cross lava lakes on a strider.
So get out there, start adventuring, and may your next chest or villager trade bring you the saddle you need!
