This Minecraft tutorial explains the NBT tags (formerly called data tags) that you can use for a horse in Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19 and 1.20.

TIP: If you are not running Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.16/1.17/1.18/1.19/1.20, find NBT tags for horse in another version of Minecraft:

  • Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.14/1.15
  • Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.11/1.12
  • Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.10

Background

In Minecraft Java Edition 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19 and 1.20, the entity value for a horse is horse. The horse entity has a unique set of data tags that can be used in Minecraft commands such as: /summon and /data.

What are NBT tags (formerly called Data Tags)?

NBT tags allow you to set certain properties of an entity (such as horse). The NBT tag is always surrounded in {} such as {Variant:259}. If there is more than one NBT tag used in a game command, the NBT tags are separated by a comma such as {Variant:259, Tame:1}.

List of NBT Tags

Here is a list of the NBT tags that you can use for horse in Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19 and 1.20:

NBT Tag Value (Description)
Variant number (The variant for the horse. This determines the appearance of the horse)

Example
{Variant:259}

Tame  

0 (The horse is wild)
1 (The horse is tame)

Example
{Tame:1}

SaddleItem  

If the horse is wearing a saddle, it is used to specify the Minecraft id for the saddle and number of saddles worn by the horse

Example
{SaddleItem:{id:saddle, Count:1}}

ArmorItem  

If the horse is wearing horse armor, it is used to specify the Minecraft id for the horse armor and number of horse armor items worn by the horse

Example
{ArmorItem:{id:diamond_horse_armor, Count:1}}

Temper  

number (The temper of the horse which is a number from 0 to 100. The higher the number, the easier it is to tame the horse.)

Example
{Temper:100}

InLove  

ticks (The number of game ticks that the horse is in love mode and will try to breed with another horse)

Example
{InLove:400}

Bred  

0 (The horse has not bred)
1 (The horse has bred)

Example
{Bred:1}

Age  

ticks (The age of the horse in game ticks. Use 0 or higher for an adult. Use a negative number such as -25000 for a baby.)

Example
{Age:0} example for adult
{Age:-25000} example for baby

ForcedAge  

ticks (When a baby horse matures, the Age data tag will be set to ForcedAged. However, there have been bugs with this data tag so it may not work properly.)

Example
{ForcedAge:0}

EatingHaystack  

0 (The horse is standing normally)
1 (The horse has its head down like it is eating hay)

Example
{EatingHaystack:0}

Leash  

Indicates the coordinates of the fence that the horse is leashed to.

Example
{Leash:{X:92,Y:72,Z:-206}}

CustomName  

name (The name to assign to the horse)

Example
{CustomName: “\”Chestnut\””}

Health  

number (The number of health points the horse has)

Example
{Health:25.0f}

AbsorptionAmount  

number (The number of absorption health points the horse has)

Example
{AbsorptionAmount:2.0f}

Invulnerable  

0 (The horse will take damage like normal)
1 (The horse will not take any damage from attacks or physical surroundings)

Example
{Invulnerable:1}

PersistenceRequired  

0 (The horse will despawn naturally)
1 (The horse won’t despawn)

Example
{PersistenceRequired:1}

NoAI  

0 (The horse will have artificial intelligence and will move/behave like normal)
1 (The horse will have no artificial intelligence so it will appear motionless)

Example
{NoAI:1}

Silent  

0 (The horse will make its usual noises in the game)
1 (The horse will not make any noise in the game)

Example
{Silent:1}

Fire  

ticks (The number of game ticks until the horse is no longer on fire – there are 20 ticks in a second)

Example
{Fire:60}

PortalCooldown  

ticks (The number of game ticks until the horse can go through a portal again – there are 20 ticks in a second)

Example
{PortalCooldown:120}

Air  

ticks (The number of game ticks the horse has air left for)

Example
{Air:120}

id  

horse (The entity value used to represent a horse in the EntityTag or Passengers tag)

Example
{id:horse}

Passengers  

The mob that is riding on the horse. Use the entity value for the passenger mob

Example of skeleton as passenger
Passengers:[{id:skeleton}]

NBT Tag Examples

To summon a wild horse:

/summon horse

To summon a tame horse wearing a saddle:

/summon horse ~ ~ ~ {Type:3, Tame:1, SaddleItem:{id:saddle,Count:1}}

Target Selectors

Before we finish discussing data tags, let’s quickly explore how to use the @e target selector. The @e target selector allows you to target entities in your commands. If you use the type=horse value, you can target horses:

@e[type=horse]

Target Selector Examples

To change all horses to baby horses within a 5 block radius:

/data merge entity @e[type=horse,limit=1,sort=nearest] {Age:-25000}

To kill all horses:

/kill @e[type=horse]

Next, learn how to use the game commands in Minecraft.

Horse Variants

Here are the variants for a horse in Minecraft:

Horse Variant List (Java Edition)

Command Examples

Here are some game command examples for a horse in Minecraft:

How to Summon a Horse
How to Summon a Tame Horse with Saddle
How to Summon a Horse with Armor

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