Mineuniverse
Zombie Horse

Zombie Horse

A zombie horse is an undead variant of the horse. It rarely spawns in dark areas as a hostile mob being ridden and controlled by a zombie horseman…

29 min read Updated
Entities Monster mobs Animal mobs Hostile mobs Passive mobs Transport Undead mobs Tameable mobs
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Contents (38)
  1. Spawning
  2. Zombie horsemen
  3. Drops
  4. On death
  5. Behavior
  6. Mob type
  7. Taming
  8. Jockey
  9. Statistics
  10. Usage
  11. Healing
  12. Equipment
  13. Riding
  14. Sounds
  15. Data values
  16. ID
  17. Entity data
  18. Achievements
  19. Advancements
  20. History
  21. Announcement
  22. Java Edition
  23. Bedrock Edition
  24. Legacy Console Edition
  25. New Nintendo 3DS Edition
  26. Data history
  27. Issues
  28. Trivia
  29. Gallery
  30. Renders
  31. Screenshots
  32. Textures
  33. Mojang images
  34. In other media
  35. See also
  36. Notes
  37. References
  38. External links
This article is about the zombie variant of horse. For the skeleton variant, see Skeleton Horse. For other uses, see Horse (disambiguation).
Zombie Horse
Health points 25HP❤️ × 12.5
Behavior Passive[note 1]
Mob type Undead
Monster
Animal
Hitbox size Java Edition:
Adult:
Height: 1.6 blocks
Width: 1.3965 blocks

Baby:
Height: 0.8 blocks
Width: 0.6982 blocks
Bedrock Edition:
Adult:
Height: 1.6 blocks
Width: 1.4 blocks
Baby:
Height: 0.8 blocks
Width: 0.7 blocks

Spawn At night or during thunderstorms:
Plains
Sunflower Plains
Snowy Plains
Savanna
Savanna Plateau
Windswept Savanna
Ice Spikes‌[BE only]
Usable items
Can be leashed Yes, if not ridden by a zombie
Can ride boats No
Can ride minecarts Yes

A zombie horse is an undead variant of the horse. It rarely spawns in dark areas as a hostile mob being ridden and controlled by a zombie horseman wielding an iron spear. It becomes passive once separated from the zombie rider, allowing it to be tamed and ridden.

Spawning

Zombie horsemen

Zombie horses can naturally spawn on grass blocks in savanna, savanna plateau, windswept savanna, plains, sunflower plains, and snowy plains biomes as zombie horsemen: a zombie wielding an iron spear riding a zombie horse. Like zombies themselves, zombie horsemen can only spawn at a light level of 0,‌[Java Edition only] or light levels below 7,‌[Bedrock Edition only][1] both above ground and underground. They will also burn in daylight. However, due to the lack of grass blocks underground in the Overworld, they are mostly found on the surface. The zombie horse never spawns as a baby. Other zombie variants such as husks and zombie villagers cannot spawn as horsemen. In Bedrock Edition, zombie horses are programmed to spawn in ice spikes biomes, but they fail to do so naturally, as the biome's surface is made of snow blocks instead of grass blocks, meaning they also cannot spawn underground in that biome.

Zombie horses count toward the "monster" mob cap and can despawn like most hostile mobs until the first time any player interacts with it. At that point it becomes persistent and no longer counts toward any mob cap either.

When using the zombie horse's spawn egg, 20% of spawned zombie horses will be the otherwise unused baby variant.

In Java Edition, zombie horses spawn in Peaceful difficulty, unlike other monsters.

Zombie Horse spawns in:
Category: MonsterJava EditionBedrock Edition
Spawn areaSpawn weightSpawn chanceGroup sizeSpawn weightGroup size
Plains[spawn 1][spawn 2]5⁄5200.96%151
Savanna[spawn 1][spawn 2]5⁄5200.96%151
Windswept Savanna[spawn 1][spawn 2]5⁄5200.96%151
Savanna Plateau[spawn 1][spawn 2]5⁄5200.96%151
Sunflower Plains[spawn 1][spawn 2]5⁄5200.96%151
Snowy Plains[spawn 1][spawn 2]5⁄5300.94%151
Ice Spikes[spawn 2]———51
  1. ↑ a b c d e f Always spawns ridden by a zombie with an iron spear unless the difficulty is peaceful.‌[Java Edition only]
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Always spawns ridden by a zombie with an iron spear.‌[Bedrock Edition only]

Drops

On death

Java Edition:

ItemQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Rotten Flesh2–3100.00%2.502–4100.00%3.002–5100.00%3.502–6100.00%4.00
ItemQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Rotten Flesh2–315⁄22–4132–517⁄22–614
ItemAmountProbability
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Rotten Flesh21⁄2 (50.00%)1⁄4 (25.00%)1⁄8 (12.50%)1⁄12 (8.33%)
31⁄2 (50.00%)1⁄2 (50.00%)3⁄8 (37.50%)1⁄4 (25.00%)
401⁄4 (25.00%)3⁄8 (37.50%)1⁄3 (33.33%)
5001⁄8 (12.50%)1⁄4 (25.00%)
60001⁄12 (8.33%)
Average5⁄2 (2.50)3 (3.00)7⁄2 (3.50)4 (4.00)
Killed1
ItemExpected Drops
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Rotten Flesh2.503.003.504.00

Bedrock Edition:

ItemQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Rotten Flesh2–3100.00%2.502–4100.00%3.002–5100.00%3.502–6100.00%4.00
ItemQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Rotten Flesh2–315⁄22–4132–517⁄22–614
ItemAmountProbability
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Rotten Flesh21⁄2 (50.00%)1⁄4 (25.00%)1⁄8 (12.50%)1⁄12 (8.33%)
31⁄2 (50.00%)1⁄2 (50.00%)3⁄8 (37.50%)1⁄4 (25.00%)
401⁄4 (25.00%)3⁄8 (37.50%)1⁄3 (33.33%)
5001⁄8 (12.50%)1⁄4 (25.00%)
60001⁄12 (8.33%)
Average5⁄2 (2.50)3 (3.00)7⁄2 (3.50)4 (4.00)
Killed1
ItemExpected Drops
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Rotten Flesh2.503.003.504.00

If equipped with a saddle or horse armor, the saddle and/or horse armor will be dropped upon death.

Baby zombie horses yield neither items nor experience.

Behavior

Zombie Horseman
Health points Zombie: 20HP❤️ × 10
Zombie Horse: 25HP❤️ × 12.5
Behavior Hostile

The zombie horse is an undead mob that spawns as a hostile mob with a zombie controlling it, as the rider controls its pathfinding, making the zombie horse target the player. On their own, zombie horses behave like normal horses, roaming idly and occasionally stopping to rear, swish their tails, or lower their heads as though eating the grass. Unlike sheep and like other horses, the eating animation does not cause any grass to be consumed.

Like other undead mobs, zombie horses can breathe in water. Unlike skeleton horses and other undead, they do not sink - they float - in or on water.

Zombie horses have a 1⁄900 chance to regenerate 1HP💔 health point each game tick.[verify for Bedrock Edition]

Zombie horses can safely fall 6 blocks before they begin to accumulate fall damage, unlike most mobs, which can only safely fall 3 blocks. Zombie horses also take half of the normal fall damage (rounded up) that most other mobs take (0.5HP❤️ × 0.25 damage per block over the safe distance instead of 1HP💔). If an entity is riding a zombie horse, they receive the same fall damage as the zombie horse.

Zombie horses cannot be bred.

Unlike most passive mobs, zombie horses don't panic when damaged.

If a player pulling a zombie horse with a lead enters a boat, the zombie horse follows by swimming the same speed as the boat. A player riding a zombie horse is dragged along if the zombie horse is being pulled by a lead, and can even be lifted up in the air in the same way.

In Java Edition, zombie horses are never spawned as part of a zombie siege, but if a zombie horseman naturally spawns nearby, it will join the siege and behave like all other zombies.

Mob type

Being an undead mob, they are:

Like most other undead mobs, zombie horses burn in direct sunlight. They are protected from burning when wearing horse armor, similar to other undead mobs wearing helmets. As horse armor has no durability, it does not break from absorbing the damage like helmets do.

As they are monsters, zombie horses count toward the hostile mob cap.

Parrots can also imitate them like other hostile mobs.‌[JE only]

As they are undead mobs, golden dandelions do not work on baby zombie horses.

Taming

Main article: Horse § Taming

As with regular horses, zombie horses can be tamed by riding them until they stop bucking the player off.

Jockey

This feature is exclusive to Bedrock Edition.

15% of nearby baby zombies, husks, or drowned may ride an adult untamed zombie horse to form a jockey.

Statistics

All zombie horses have three "equine stats": health, (maximum) movement speed, and jump height. While health is the same for all zombie horses, movement speed and jump height vary from horse to horse.

Health

Zombie horses are spawned with a constant health of 25HP❤️ × 12.5. The last half-heart is not shown in a zombie horse's health bar, which only displays 24HP❤️ × 12.

Movement speed

A zombie horse's movement speed is randomly assigned within certain ranges which vary between Java Edition and Bedrock Edition. In Java Edition, it ranges between ~0.21347 and ~0.28463 in internal units, with an average of ~0.24905. In Bedrock Edition, it ranges between 0.205 and 0.275, with an average of 0.24. The conversion factor between internal units and blocks/sec is roughly 43.17.

  • Java Edition:
    • Minimum: 9.216 blocks/s
    • Average: 10.752 blocks/s
    • Maximum: 12.288 blocks/s
  • Bedrock Edition:
    • Minimum: 8.85 blocks/s
    • Average: 10.361 blocks/s
    • Maximum: 11.872 blocks/s

Jump strength

Zombie horses' jump strength ranges from 0.5 to 0.7, with an average of 0.6 in internal units.

The minimum jump strength of 0.5 is enough to clear 1.7088 blocks, while the maximum of 0.7 is enough to clear 3.124 blocks. The average jump strength of 0.6 is enough to clear 2.3675 blocks.

Usage

See also: Transportation

Tamed and saddled zombie horses can be used as a means of transportation. They can also be used to climb hills and jump fences.

Healing

Red mushrooms can be fed to a zombie horse to heal it by 3HP💔❤️. The zombie horse can also be tempted (or "led") with a red mushroom.

Equipment

GUI of a zombie horse.

Tamed zombie horses have two equipment slots:

Baby zombie horses cannot be equipped, as they cannot be ridden.

Equipment can be placed on a zombie horse by holding it and then using on the zombie horse, or by accessing its inventory. A zombie horse’s inventory can be accessed by mounting the horse and using inventory control, or by sneaking and then using or pressing the "open inventory" button‌[Bedrock Edition only] on the zombie horse. The player cannot open the inventory on an untamed zombie horse, though they can open containers.

The equipment can be removed by two methods:

  • Removing the equipment from their slots in the zombie horse's inventory.
  • Using shears on the zombie horse. If both a saddle and horse armor are equipped, they are removed one at a time. The first use removes the horse armor, and a second use removes the saddle.

Riding

Main article: Riding

Once a zombie horse is tamed and saddled, the player can control it with directional controls, jump, and the mouse. The player dismounts using the dismount control. Like when riding other entities, it is possible for a player to use a Nether portal or End portal while on a zombie horse.

A ridden zombie horse automatically runs up any one-block-high slope. The horse and rider can safely fit through a space as low as 2.75 blocks high. Lower clearance risks suffocating the rider if the rider's head enters a non-transparent block. The zombie horse itself can enter gaps as low as 1.625 blocks high, but may itself take suffocation damage when clearance is less than 1.75 blocks. Like other horses, zombie horses cannot fit through a 1-block-wide gap.

Ridden zombie horses have the ability of "jump charging". When the player rides them, the experience bar on the HUD is replaced by a jump charging bar. The zombie horse is then able to jump, and holding the control charges for a higher leap. Zombie horses are not affected by the Jump Boost effect.

Sounds

Despite being monsters, zombie horses use the "Friendly Mobs" sound category.[2]

Java Edition:

Sounds
SoundClosed captionsSourceDescriptionIdentifierTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
​Zombie Horse criesFriendly MobsRandomlyentity.zombie_horse.ambientsubtitles.entity.zombie_horse.ambient​0.80.8–1.2
(Baby: 1.3–1.7)
16
​Zombie Horse diesFriendly MobsWhen a zombie horse diesentity.zombie_horse.deathsubtitles.entity.zombie_horse.death​0.80.8–1.2
(Baby: 1.3–1.7)
16
​Zombie Horse hurts​[until: JE 26.4]Friendly MobsWhen a zombie horse is damagedentity.zombie_horse.hurtsubtitles.entity.zombie_horse.hurt​0.80.8–1.2
(Baby: 1.3–1.7)
16
​Zombie Horse neighsFriendly MobsWhen a player is bucked off a zombie horse or fails to interact with an untamed zombie horseentity.zombie_horse.angrysubtitles.entity.zombie_horse.angry​1.01.016
​Horse gallopsFriendly MobsWhile a zombie horse is gallopingentity.horse.gallopsubtitles.entity.horse.gallop​Block-Dependent[sound 1]Block-Dependent[sound 1]16
​Horse jumpsFriendly MobsWhen a zombie horse begins a leapentity.horse.jumpsubtitles.entity.horse.jump​0.41.016
​Something fellFriendly MobsWhen a zombie horse falls from more than 1 blockentity.horse.landsubtitles.entity.generic.big_fall​0.41.016
​FootstepsFriendly MobsWhile a zombie horse is walkingentity.horse.stepsubtitles.generic.block.footsteps​Block-Dependent[sound 1]Block-Dependent[sound 1]16
​FootstepsFriendly MobsWhile a zombie horse is walking on wood or is being riddenentity.horse.step_woodsubtitles.generic.block.footsteps​Block-Dependent[sound 1]Block-Dependent[sound 1]16
​Saddle equipsFriendly MobsWhen a saddle is equipped to a tamed zombie horseentity.horse.saddlesubtitles.entity.horse.saddle​0.51.016
​Saddle snips awayFriendly MobsWhen a saddle is removed from a zombie horse using shearsitem.saddle.unequipsubtitles.item.saddle.unequip​1.01.016
  1. ↑ a b c d e f See block sound type

Bedrock Edition:

Sounds
SoundClosed captionsSourceDescriptionIdentifierTranslation keyVolumePitch
​ ?Friendly MobsRandomlymob.horse.zombie.idle​ ?0.80.8–1.2 (Baby: 1.3–1.7)
​ ?Friendly MobsUnused sound event[sound 1]mob.horse.armor​ ?0.61.0 (Baby: 1.5)
​ ?Friendly MobsUnused sound event[sound 1]mob.horse.armor​ ?1.00.8–1.2 (Baby: 1.3–1.7)
​ ?Friendly MobsUnused sound event[sound 1]mob.horse.breath​ ?0.71.0
​ ?Friendly MobsWhen a zombie horse diesmob.horse.zombie.death​ ?0.80.8–1.2 (Baby: 1.3–1.7)
​ ?Friendly MobsUnused sound event[sound 1]mob.horse.eat​ ?0.5–1.50.8–1.2 (Baby: 1.3–1.7)
​ ?Friendly MobsWhen a zombie horse takes damagemob.horse.zombie.hit​ ?0.80.8–1.2 (Baby: 1.3–1.7)
​ ?Friendly MobsWhen a zombie horse begins a leapmob.horse.jump​ ?0.41.0
​ ?Friendly MobsWhen a zombie horse falls from more than 1 blockmob.horse.land​ ?0.41.0 (Baby: 1.5)
​ ?Friendly MobsWhile a zombie horse is walkingmob.horse.soft​ ?0.450.9–1.1
​ ?Friendly MobsWhile a zombie horse is walking on wood[sound 2] or is being riddenmob.horse.wood​ ?0.450.9–1.1
​ ?Friendly MobsWhen a saddle is equipped to a zombie horsemob.horse.leather​ ?0.61.0
  1. ↑ a b c d These sound events were assigned to the zombie horse, but are not called by the game
  2. ↑ Except for stems, Nether wood, cherry wood, and bamboo wood due to MCPE-165012

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

NameIdentifierEntity tags Translation key
EntitySprite zombie-horse.png: Sprite image for zombie-horse in Minecraft Zombie Horsezombie_horseburn_in_daylight
can_equip_saddle
can_wear_horse_armor
can_breathe_under_water
cannot_be_age_locked
dismounts_underwater
ignores_poison_and_regen
inverted_healing_and_harm
sensitive_to_smite
undead
wither_friends
zombies
entity.minecraft.zombie_horse

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifierNumeric ID FamilyTranslation key
EntitySprite zombie-horse.png: Sprite image for zombie-horse in Minecraft Zombie Horsezombie_horse27 mob
undead
zombiehorse
entity.zombie_horse.name

Entity data

See also: Entity format

Zombie horses have entity data associated with them that contain various properties.

  • [NBT Compound / JSON Object] Entity data
    • Additional fields for mobs that can breed see Template:Nbt inherit/breedable/template
    • Tags common to all entities see Template:Nbt inherit/entity/template
    • Tags common to all mobs see Template:Nbt inherit/mob/template
    • [Byte] Bred: 1 or 0 (true/false) – Unknown. Remains 0 after breeding. If true, causes it to stay near other horses with this flag set.
    • [Byte] EatingHaystack: 1 or 0 (true/false) – true if the mob is eating grass.
    • [Int Array] Owner: The UUID of the entity that tamed the mob, stored as four ints. Has no effect on behavior. Does not exist if there is no owner.
    • [Byte] Tame: 1 or 0 (true/false) – true if the mob is tamed.
    • [Int] Temper: Ranges from 0 to 100; increases with feeding. Higher values make a mob easier to tame.

Achievements

IconAchievementIn-game descriptionActual requirements (if different)Gamerscore earnedTrophy type (PS)
PS4Other
Monster HunterAttack and destroy a monster. Other mobs may be killed, but are ignored for this achievement.15Bronze
Saddle UpTame a horse.—20Bronze
It SpreadsKill a mob next to a catalystKill any mob that drops experience near a sculk catalyst, with the sole exception of the ender dragon. Mobs that drop no experience are ignored for this achievement.10Bronze

Achievements that apply to all mobs:

Advancements

IconAdvancementIn-game descriptionActual requirements (if different)
Monster HunterKill any hostile monster Other mobs may be killed, but are ignored for this advancement.
It SpreadsKill a mob near a Sculk CatalystKill any mob that drops experience near a sculk catalyst, with the sole exception of the ender dragon. Mobs that drop no experience are ignored for this advancement.
Monsters HuntedKill one of every hostile monster Other mobs may be killed, but are ignored for this advancement.
Best Friends ForeverTame an animalTame one of these 11 tameable animals: Skeleton Horse can be tamed in the same way as a regular horse to gain this advancement with the ride command.

Advancements that apply to all mobs:

History

Announcement

September 27, 2025 Zombie horses are revealed to be added into Survival mode with the Mounts of Mayhem drop at Minecraft LIVE – September 2025 with a new design.

Java Edition

Java Edition
1.6.113w16a Added zombie horses.
Zombie horses have been assisted by DrZhark (John Olarte), creator of the Mo' Creatures mod, whose horses are a baseline for Minecraft's zombie horse models.[3]
13w16b Zombie horses have been made slower and have been reduced from gliding so much.
13w18a Removed horse saddles. Zombie horses are now ridden using the saddle.
13w21a Added new GUI for zombie horses, to control the saddle.
13w22a Added new sound effects for zombie horses.
1.7.213w36a Zombie horses are now available without third-party tools, with the introduction of the /summon command.
1.915w38b Zombie horses are now undead mobs.
15w43a Zombie horses no longer drop anything other than their equipment.
15w43c Zombie horses now drop 1 rotten flesh, not affected by Looting.
15w44a Zombie horses now drop 1 End crystal, not affected by Looting.
15w44b The above change has been reverted.
15w47b Added sounds for zombie horses eating food given by a player.
1.1016w20a Added zombie horse spawn egg.
pre2 Removed zombie horse spawn eggs.
1.1116w32a Re-added zombie horse spawn egg.
16w38a Zombie horses now drop 0–2 rotten flesh, affected by Looting.
1.1317w45a Changed the model for zombie horses.
17w46a The new zombie horse models have been slightly tweaked. The position of the nose has been moved up by one pixel.
18w03a Tweaked the models and textures of zombie horses once again.
pre2 Zombie horses now sink in water.
The model of zombie horses has been updated to fix Z-fighting, which has changed the model from to .[4]
1.1419w08a Changed the textures of zombie horses.
1.1620w09a Zombie horses can now be leashed.
1.19.423w03a Aligned the zombie horse unused saddlebag texture to match the same unused one from the horse, which has changed from to .
1.21.525w03a The zombie horse's saddle is now an overlay texture, split from the zombie horse main texture.
Saddles now show up on invisible zombie horses.[5]
Saddles now show the enchantment glint on the zombie horse when enchanted.
The unused saddlebag of the zombie horse's texture has been removed.
1.21.625w20a Saddles can now be removed from zombie horses using shears.
1.21.1125w41a Changed the textures of zombie horses to have darker texture.
Zombie horses now spawn naturally as part of zombie horsemen.
Zombie horses are now part of the "monster" mob cap, meaning they will despawn naturally like hostile mobs.
Zombie horses will now despawn on Peaceful difficulty. Their spawn eggs won't work on Peaceful as well.
Zombie horses now count for the "Monster Hunter" advancement and are required for the "Monsters Hunted" advancement.
Increased health points to 25HP❤️ × 12.5.
Zombie horses can now be tamed without commands.
Zombie horses no longer sink in water.
Red mushrooms are now used to heal and tempt zombie horses. Feeding untamed zombie horses increases their temper by 3.
Tamed zombie horses can no longer be fed horse food items.
Zombie horses are now vulnerable to sunlight like other undead mobs.
Zombie horses can now use horse armor, which also protects them from sunlight.
Increased amount of rotten flesh dropped on death, from 0-2 to 2-3.
Zombie horse can now vary its movement speed and jump strength on spawn.
Added an angry sound for when a player is bucked off a zombie horse.
25w42a Zombie horses no longer despawn in Peaceful difficulty. However, they still do not spawn on Peaceful.
Zombie horsemen no longer spawn with weapons other than iron spears.
Zombie horses can now be only leashed when its mob jockey is removed.
25w45a Now becomes persistent with any interaction from a player, not just riding them.
25w46a Sounds for zombie horses eating food given by a player have been reassigned.
Zombie horses no longer panic if controlled by other mobs.
pre1 Zombie horse saddle texture now match the other horses' saddle texture.
The texture of zombie horses' head is now symmetrical.
26.1snap2 Zombie horses no longer panic when hurt.
snap4 The model and texture of baby zombie horses have been changed.
Increased the bounding box of baby zombie horses to better fit the new model.
Saddles and horse armor on baby zombie horses no longer render.
snap6 Golden dandelions no longer work on tamed baby zombie horses.
snap7 Baby zombie horses no longer grow up.[6]
26.2snap4 Zombie horses can now spawn on Peaceful difficulty.

Bedrock Edition

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.15.0build 1 Added zombie horses.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.6beta 1.2.6.2 The models of zombie horses have been changed.
1.2.9 Zombie horses no longer open their mouths when bucking the player off or taking damage.
1.8.0beta 1.8.0.8 Baby zombie horses now have a chance of being spawned using a spawn egg.
1.10.0beta 1.10.0.3 Changed the textures of zombie horses.
1.19.60Preview 1.19.60.25 Aligned the zombie horse unused saddlebag texture to match the same unused one from the horse, which has changed from to .
1.21.120Preview 1.21.120.24 The zombie horse's saddle is now an overlay texture, split from the zombie horse main texture.
The unused saddlebag of the zombie horse's texture has been removed.
1.21.130Preview 1.21.130.20 Changed the textures of zombie horses to have darker texture.
Zombie horses now spawn naturally as part of zombie horsemen.
Increased health points to 25HP❤️ × 12.5.
Zombie horses can now be tamed.
Red mushrooms are now used to heal and tempt zombie horses.
Zombie horses are now vulnerable to sunlight, like other undead mobs.
Zombie horses can now be controlled by players using an saddle.
Zombie horses can now use horse armor. Currently, they do not protect them from burning in sunlight.[7]
Increased amount of rotten flesh dropped on death, from 0-2 to 2-3.
Added an angry sound for when a player is bucked off a zombie horse.
Zombie horse can now vary its movement speed and jump strength on spawn.
Zombie horses no longer have a baby variant.
Preview 1.21.130.22 Zombie horses once again have a baby variant, remaining unused.
The tooltip displayed when attempting to mount an untamed zombie horse has been changed from "Ride" to "Mount".
Horse armor now protects zombie horses from burning in sunlight.
Preview 1.21.130.24 Sounds for zombie horses eating food given by a player have been assigned.
Zombie horses no longer panic when hurt.
Preview 1.21.130.26 Zombie horses can be leashed only when its mob jockey is removed.
Zombie horses now spawn less frequently on Peaceful difficulty.
Wild zombie horses can now only be mounted by players baby zombies, baby husks, or adult zombies that have spawned as part of a zombie horseman.
Preview 1.21.130.27 Zombie horse saddle texture now match the other horses' saddle texture.
The texture of zombie horses' head is now symmetrical.
Reduced the range of speed the Zombie Horse can spawn with.
Preview 1.21.130.28 Zombie horses no longer spawn on Peaceful difficulty.
26.0Preview 26.0.23 Baby zombie horses no longer grow up.
Preview 26.0.25 Zombie horses no longer panic when hit.
Baby zombie horses can no longer be ridden or equipped with a saddle or horse armor.
Preview 26.0.27 Zombie horses are no longer damaged by the conduit.
Zombie horses no longer prevent the player from sleeping when nearby.
Wild zombie horses can now be mounted by baby drowned, baby zombie villagers that have been converted from baby villagers[note 2], and baby zombified piglins[note 3].
Due to a bug, zombie horses can no longer be mounted by baby husks.[8]
26.10Preview 26.10.20 The model and texture of baby zombie horses have been changed.
Increased the bounding box of baby zombie horses to better fit the new model.
Preview 26.10.21 Zombie horses no longer try to avoid rails.
Preview 26.10.24 Zombie horses can once again be mounted by baby husks.
26.30Preview 26.30.29 Zombie horses ridden by players can no longer be pushed by sulfur cubes with blocks absorbed.

Legacy Console Edition

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0 Added zombie horses.

Data history

Java Edition

Java Edition
1.1116w32a Zombie horses now have a separate ID from horses: zombie_horse.
1.1317w47a Numeric IDs for entities were presumably deprecated in this version.​
1.20.323w40a Zombie horses are now part of the #can_breathe_under_water, #undead and #zombies tags.
1.21.525w03a Unified the [NBT Compound / JSON Object] SaddleItem into the new [NBT Compound / JSON Object] equipment.saddle slot.

Bedrock Edition

Pocket Edition
1.1.0alpha 1.1.0.0 The entity ID for zombie horses has been changed from zombiehorse to zombie_horse.
Bedrock Edition
1.21.130Preview 1.21.130.20 Removed the minecraft:horse_baby component group from zombie horses.
Preview 1.21.130.22 Readded the minecraft:horse_baby component group to zombie horses.
Preview 1.21.130.26 Wild zombie horses are now only rideable by players or mobs in the baby_husk, baby_zombie, or zombie_rider families.
Zombie horses now have a new property, minecraft:was_upgraded_to_1_21_130. It default to false, but is automatically set to true when zombie horses reload or spawn. This is change was made to fix pre-existing zombie horses.
26.0Preview 26.0.25 Moved the minecraft:equippable component to the minecraft:horse_adult component group. This change was made to fix a bug where baby zombie horses were rideable and could be equipped with saddles and horse armor.
minecraft:was_upgraded_to_1_21_130 is no longer automatically set to true for baby zombie horses.
Preview 26.0.27 Wild zombie horses are now rideable by mobs in the baby_undead family, rather than baby_husk or baby_zombie families.

Issues

Issues relating to "Zombie Horse" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

  • DrZhark appears in the credits after the End Poem as the creator of horses, including zombie horses.
  • In the Minecraft.net, zombie horses were referred to as neutral mobs, due to their behavior as a hostile mob when ridden by zombies.[9]
  • Before Mounts of Mayhem, zombie horses were unused in Survival, despite being featured in a Minecraft video showcasing every mob in the game at that time.[10]
  • A zombie horse was also hinted 2 months before their official announcement, in the 1.21.8 article's photo.[11]

Renders

Screenshots

Textures

Mojang images

In other media

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Passive by itself, but hostile as a jockey, as the rider control its pathfinding, therefore making it hostile, despite zombie horses not actually damaging players, like small slimes.
  2. ↑ See Zombie Villager § Mounts
  3. ↑ Not in Survival, though. See Zombified Piglin § Mounting

References

  1. ↑ MCPE-233012 – Camel Husk and Zombie Horse riders spawn in light levels above 0
  2. ↑ MC-304386 – Undead mounts use the friendly mobs sound category, which is inconsistent – resolved as "Works As Intended".
  3. ↑ "Also big thanks to @DrZhark, the creator of Mo' Creatures, that have assisted us to make it happen!" – @jeb_ (Jens Bergensten) on X (formerly Twitter), April 4, 2013
    "@jeb_ np Jeb!" – @DrZhark on X (formerly Twitter), April 4, 2013
  4. ↑ MC-123007 – Z-fighting on zombie horse texture – resolved as "Fixed".
  5. ↑ MC-13738 – Invisible saddle when using Invisibility potion on a horse, donkey or mule – resolved as "Fixed".
  6. ↑ MC-305580 – Baby zombie horses and baby skeleton horses grow into adults, unlike other baby undead mobs – resolved as "Fixed".
  7. ↑ MCPE-229460 – Zombie horse with horse armor can burn in sunlight.
  8. ↑ MCPE-234690
  9. ↑ Minecraft 1.21.130 Changelog – Minecraft official website, December 7, 2025
  10. ↑ "WHICH MOBS DID WE MISS?" – Minecraft on YouTube, January 19, 2024
  11. ↑ Minecraft 1.21.8 Changelog – Minecraft official website, July 17, 2025

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Zombie Horse drops & spawning
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