How to Tame a Horse in Hytale: Easy Guide
Horses are among the most sought-after animals in Hytale, offering significantly faster travel across the game's expansive zones. However, many players quickly discover that keeping these majestic creatures around is more challenging than expected. Here's everything you need to know about horses in Hytale's early access.
Can You Actually Tame Horses?
The short answer: Not yet. True horse taming is not currently implemented in Hytale's early access version. While you can ride horses, you cannot permanently tame them to become your loyal mounts. When you dismount, horses will immediately run away, reverting to their wild behavior.
This limitation applies to all animals in the current build, traditional taming mechanics simply don't exist yet.
How to Ride a Horse
Even without taming, you can still use horses for transportation:
- Approach a horse slowly - Sprinting toward horses will scare them away
- Press F to mount - No saddle or food required
- Enjoy faster travel - Horses move significantly faster than running on foot
- The catch - The moment you dismount, your horse will flee
The Carrot Trick: Keeping Your Horse from Running Away
While you can't tame horses, there's a clever workaround to prevent them from fleeing immediately:
Hold a carrot in your hand before dismounting. The carrot keeps the horse pacified temporarily, preventing its flight instinct from triggering. However, the moment you put the carrot away, the horse will bolt.
This technique is useful when you need to quickly build an enclosure around your horse.
Building a Horse Pen: The Practical Solution
Since taming isn't available, most players resort to building enclosures:
- Find a horse and ride it to your desired location
- Dismount with a carrot equipped to keep it calm
- Quickly build fences around it (at least 2 blocks high)
- Put the carrot away once the horse is secured
Pro tip: Build small horse pens in strategic locations across different zones. This creates a network of "fast travel" points you can use throughout your exploration.
Where to Find Horses
Horses spawn naturally in two main zones:
- Zone 1: Emerald Grove - The starting grassland area
- Zone 2: Howling Sands - The desert savannah region
Horses spawn randomly in these zones, so exploration is necessary. You can craft a Feed Bag at a Farmer's Workbench Tier 2 to lure horses toward you, making them easier to locate and approach.
Feed Bag Recipe:
- Craft at Farmer's Workbench
- Requires common materials found through exploration
- Acts as a universal lure for attracting animals
What About Breeding?
Animal breeding is also not functional in the current early access build. Even though feeding animals may display heart particles above their heads, this is purely cosmetic. No offspring will spawn, regardless of what food you use or how many animals you pair together.
This applies to all animals in Hytale, not just horses.
What's Coming in Future Updates?
The developers have confirmed that both taming and breeding systems are planned features for future updates. The groundwork is already visible in the game:
- Feed Bags exist as lure mechanics
- Heart particle effects show when animals are fed
- Capture Crates allow relocating small animals
- The game's design clearly anticipates mounted gameplay
However, no official timeline has been announced for when these features will be implemented. The development team is currently focused on core gameplay content before adding animal husbandry mechanics.
Current Workarounds Summary
Until official taming arrives, here's how to work with horses:
For temporary use:
- Find a horse in Zone 1 or 2
- Press F to mount and ride
- Accept that it will flee when you dismount
For semi-permanent access:
- Use the carrot trick to prevent immediate fleeing
- Build fence enclosures (2+ blocks high)
- Create multiple pens across the map for convenience
What doesn't work:
- Feeding horses to tame them
- Using Feed Bags to create permanent bonds
- Breeding horses to increase your herd
Looking Ahead
While the lack of horse taming is frustrating for many players, it's important to remember that Hytale is in early access. The animal interaction systems are clearly being built with future expansion in mind. Feed Bags, heart particles, and animal behavior patterns all suggest that robust taming and breeding mechanics are in development.
In the meantime, strategic pen-building and the carrot trick remain your best options for maintaining access to horses throughout your Hytale adventure. As updates roll out, keep an eye on patch notes for announcements about when true taming systems will be added to the game.
This guide reflects Hytale's early access state as of January 2026. Features and mechanics may change in future updates.