Minecraft will finally let you craft saddles instead of hunting for them

In a future Minecraft release that's now in testing, you won't need to hunt or fish for a saddle, as it's finally going to be an item you can just craft. Seems the knowledge was finally found, it only took 15 years.

Why are they doing this now? Well, it sort-of makes sense. While it does reduce part of the point of exploring the world, since it's yet another thing you can just make yourself, Mojang announced the Happy Ghast that will let you ride it with a crafted harness anyway. So it was a bit odd for you to be able to craft the harness but not the saddle.

Related: be sure to check out my idiots guide to setting up Minecraft on Steam Deck / SteamOS with controller support.

Anyway, this fresh update in testing was revealed by Mojang on May 13th. All you'll need are 3 bits of leather and 1 iron ingot and then you can ride away into the night.

Picture Credit - Mojang

There's a number of other changes coming:

New Features

• Added a new Music Disc with the track "Tears" by Amos Roddy
• Made Saddles craftable and shearable
• Updated the main screen panorama

Music

• Added the following new music tracks by Amos Roddy to Cherry Groves, Forest, Desert, Grove, and Lush Cave Biomes:
  • Below and Above
  • Broken Clocks
  • Fireflies
  • Lilypad
  • O's Piano
• The same songs have been added to the menu music rotation

Saddles Updates

Crafting Saddles

• Saddles can now be crafted with 3 Leather and 1 Iron Ingot
• Recipe unlocks when a player picks up their first Leather

Removing Saddles and Equipment

• Saddles, Horse Armor, Harnesses and Carpets can now be removed from the mobs they can be equipped on by using Shears
• Saddles, Horse Armor, Harnesses and Carpets cannot be removed by using Shears while the mob has a rider
• Saddles, Horse Armor, Harnesses and Carpets cannot be removed by using Shears while the player is crouching
• Saddles cannot be removed from Ravagers using Shears
• Dispensers with Shears cannot remove Saddles, Horse Armor, Harnesses or Carpets equipped on mobs

Loot Table Changes

Some loot tables have had saddles removed from them and replaced with 1-5 Leather:

• Monster Room chests
• Ancient City chests
• Desert Pyramid chests
• Jungle Pyramid chests
• Stronghold altar chests

Changes

• Fog is now applied to 3d hud elements such as first person player hands and items in hands
• The Ghast now drops the "Tears" Music Disc when killed by a Fireball deflected by a Player
• The fix to MC-3697 has been partially reverted. Decorative hanging entities such as paintings and item frames are now immune to explosions from submerged TNT while items and armor stands are once again vulnerable to them
• Updates to music and sound
• Rain and thunder weather is somewhat less foggy now
• Rain fog affects interiors less
• Saddles are now craftable and can be crafted with 3 Leather and 1 Iron Ingot
• Saddles, Horse Armor, and Carpets can now be removed from the mobs they can be equipped on by using Shears
• Some loot tables have been modified to give Leather instead of Saddles
• The Dried Ghast Block no longer breaks if water flows into it

Music and Sound

• Music now plays even when the game is paused
• Added an option to the Music & Sound settings that allows players to change how frequently music plays while in a game world
• Added an option to the Music & Sound settings that enables a music toast to be shown whenever a song starts playing
  • With this option enabled, the song that is currently playing will be seen at all times in the top left corner of the in-game Pause Menu

Realms

• Added the Realms logo to the Realms loading screens
• Added region information when connecting to a Realm

It's all available in Minecraft Java Snapshot 25w20a.

This and more will arrive with the Summer Game Drop that should be in June.