Skeleton Horse

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A skeleton horse is an undead skeletal horse that sometimes spawns when lightning strikes as a skeleton horseman. Despite being undead, it does not burn in sunlight. It becomes passive once separated from its rider.

A skeleton horseman is a skeleton wearing an enchanted iron helmet that rides and controls a skeleton horse.

A "skeleton trap" horse is a skeleton horse spawned from a fraction of lightning generated naturally by a thunderstorm (0.75–1.5% chance on Easy, 1.5–4% on Normal, and 2.25–6.75% on Hard difficulty, depending on regional difficulty). In Java Edition, the lightning that spawns a trap horse doesn't strike nearby entities or spawn fires. Lightning strikes created from a Channeling-enchanted trident and lightning strikes directed to a lightning rod never spawn a skeleton trap horse. The trap horse despawns after 15 minutes if not triggered (even if it is named). Trap horses will spawn in any biome where it can rain, even in mushroom fields and deep dark.^{[1][verify for Bedrock Edition]}

In Java Edition, skeleton horses do not spawn in Peaceful difficulty, like hostile mobs.^{[verify for Bedrock Edition]} Note that skeleton traps do not follow other mob spawning rules and can spawn on basically any block. They can even spawn when the game rule spawn_monsters‌^{[Java Edition only]} is false.^[2]

Baby skeleton horses cannot spawn naturally.

The skeleton trap horse is triggered when a player approaches within 10 blocks of it, resulting in a lightning strike that does not start fires or damage nearby entities. When struck, the skeleton trap horse transforms into a skeleton horseman: a skeleton riding a skeleton horse. It also spawns three additional skeleton horsemen in the vicinity.

The skeleton rider is equipped with an enchanted iron helmet along with an enchanted bow. Like regular skeletons, they also have a chance to spawn with various pieces of armor or with the ability to pick up equipment on the ground. The skeleton riders are always regular skeletons, and never spawn as strays, bogged, parched, or wither skeletons. Like the horses themselves, the skeleton riders are persistent, meaning they do not despawn unless the difficulty is set to "Peaceful".

In Java Edition, both the horse and rider have damage immunity for 3 seconds after spawning. In Bedrock Edition, both the horse and rider are always immune to lightning. Once its skeleton rider is killed, the skeleton horse becomes completely passive, allowing for it to be ridden.

A skeleton trap horse, and therefore skeleton horsemen, can also be manually spawned using commands:

Java Edition
/summon skeleton_horse ~ ~ ~ {SkeletonTrap:1}

Bedrock Edition
/summon skeleton_horse ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ minecraft:set_trap.

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

• 1–3XP when killed by a player or tamed wolf.

If saddled, it drops a saddle.‌^{[Java Edition only]}

Killing a baby skeleton horse yields no items or experience. In Bedrock Edition, killing a trap skeleton horse also yields no items or experience.

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The skeleton horse is an undead mob that spawns and triggers a "skeleton trap" if the player gets too close. Once the skeleton rider is defeated, the skeleton horse becomes completely passive. Skeleton horses behave like normal horses, roaming idly and occasionally stopping to rear, or lower their heads as though eating the grass. Unlike sheep, the eating animation does not actually cause any grass to be consumed. Skeleton horses can breathe in water.

Skeleton horses can safely fall 6 blocks before they begin to accumulate fall damage, unlike most mobs, which can only safely fall 3 blocks. Skeleton 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 skeleton horse, they receive the same fall damage as the skeleton horse.

Skeleton horses have a ¹⁄₉₀₀ chance to regenerate 1HP👁 💔
health point each game tick.

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

Skeleton horses cannot be bred.

Other notes:

• The skeleton wears an iron helmet, unless it randomly spawned with some other headgear.
• The skeleton's bow and helmet are enchanted as if on an enchanting table at level 5–22. The exact level depends on regional difficulty; on Easy it is always a level-5 enchantment.
• The skeleton trap horse and the skeleton horse in a jockey are always adults.
• The skeleton in a naturally spawned skeleton horseman jockey does not despawn.
• A trap horse may spawn in areas that a regular horse may not, such as the middle of an ocean.
• A trap horse can trigger normally in clear weather (and often a player encounters a trap horse after the thunderstorm has cleared).
• The skeleton drops more experience orbs.
• The skeleton does not attack any mob that attacks the skeleton horse.

Differences/inconsistencies of skeleton horses with other undead mounts, such as zombie horses, camel husks, and zombie nautiluses:

• It counts for the passive mob cap instead of the hostile mob cap.^[3]
• It is not valid for advancements.^[4]
• It can still be leashed and fed with horse food items when ridden by hostile mobs.^[5]
• It cannot be tamed normally, as its tamed by default when the trap triggers.
• A skeleton horse spawned via a spawn egg cannot be tamed or ridden.^[6]
• Its movement speed is not variable, unlike that of zombie horses.^[7]
• It cannot wear horse armor.^[8]
• Parrots can't imitate them.^[9]
• It does not burn in sunlight, unlike zombie horses and zombie nautiluses.

Being an undead mob, they are:

• damaged by the status effect Instant Health and healed by the status effect Instant Damage.
• unaffected by the status effects Regeneration and Poison.
• ignored by the wither.
• affected by the Smite enchantment.
• a threat to armadillos, causing them to hide in their shell.

As they are monsters, golden dandelions do not work on baby skeleton horses.

As they are under the skeletons entity type tag, creepers drop a music disc when killed by a skeleton horse.^{[note 2]}

In Bedrock Edition, a skeleton horse is always tamed. In Java Edition, a skeleton trap horse becomes tamed when the trap activates (unrelated to the fake lightning strike that the trap also creates). The other three skeleton horses are tamed when they are spawned.

In Java Edition, with the use of commands, a skeleton horse can be tamed in the same way as a regular horse, granting the Best Friends Forever advancement.

15% of nearby baby zombies, husks, zombie villagers, or drowned may ride an adult skeleton horse to form a jockey, if the skeleton horse has no riders.

Horses have three "equine stats" that vary from horse to horse: health, maximum movement speed, and jump strength. However, only jump strength will vary between skeleton horses. Jump strength is decided once the horse is spawned, and is not affected by food.

When spawned in any way except breeding – for instance, using commands, spawning naturally, spawning as part of a skeleton trap, or using spawn eggs – horses are assigned their stats within certain ranges, specific according to their horse type.

A skeleton horse's health is always 15. Displayed hearts are health, divided by two, rounded down. A horse with an odd number of health points (15, 17, 19, etc.) does not show the last half-heart. If the horse has lost one health point lower than the inflicted damage and did not regenerate, it has an odd number of health points, otherwise, it has an even number of health points.

A skeleton horse's speed is always 0.2; the player's normal walking speed is 0.1. The speed listed does not include any status effect that affects the speed of a horse or a player.

See Transportation § Methods to compare the speeds of various transportation methods.

Jump strength ranges from 0.4–1.0, averaging 0.7.

A jump strength of 0.5 is enough to clear 1 ¹⁹⁄₃₂ blocks, while 1.0 is enough to clear 5 ⁹⁄₃₂ blocks.

The jump strengths required to clear several block heights are:

As with normal horses, skeleton horses can be ridden by a player. When ridden, they can be used to climb hills and jump fences because the skeleton horses can jump up to five block heights, versus the player's maximum of one (without jump boost).

Skeleton horses can be ridden in water at any depth without forcing the player to dismount. They sink to the bottom and can be ridden along the ocean or river floor.

Skeleton horses can be pulled or tethered with a lead.

Java Edition

Skeleton horses have the following slot available:

• 👁 SlotSprite Saddle.png: Sprite image for Saddle in Minecraft
  Saddle Slot: For equipping a saddle.

Saddles can be placed on a tamed skeleton horse by holding it and then using on the skeleton horse, or by accessing its inventory. A skeleton horse’s inventory can be accessed by mounting the skeleton horse and using inventory control, or by sneaking and then using on the skeleton horse.

The saddle can be removed by two methods:

• Removing the saddle from its slot in the skeleton horse's inventory.
• Using shears on the skeleton horse.

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

Bedrock Edition

A skeleton horse does not have an inventory and cannot be equipped with a saddle or horse armor. Despite this, the default texture file, like those of normal horses, donkeys and mules, includes a chest.

In Bedrock Edition, skeleton horses can be controlled by the player without a saddle. In Java Edition, skeleton horses must be equipped with a saddle to be controlled. Like riding other entities, a player can travel into a nether portal or end portal while on a skeleton horse.

The player can control a tamed (and saddled Java Edition) skeleton horse with standard directional controls, jump, and the mouse. The player dismounts using the dismount control.

A player controlled skeleton horse automatically runs up any one block high slope. The skeleton 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 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. Skeleton horses cannot fit through a 1-block-wide gap.

Player controlled skeleton horses have the ability of "jumping charging". When the player rides them, the experience bar on HUD is replaced by jumping charging bar. A controlled skeleton horse can be made to jump and holding the control charges for a higher leap. Skeleton horses are not affected by jump boost beacons or potions.

Unlike normal horses, a skeleton horse does not force the player to dismount when it is under water; rather, it can be ridden underwater without drowning. The player can still drown underwater without the proper potions or enchantments, even when mounted on the skeleton horse. When underwater, its running speed and jump remain the same although it has a slower rate of descent.

Skeleton horse sounds are the sounds of the regular horse but lower pitched and slowed with reverb. Despite being monsters, skeleton horses use the "Friendly Mobs" sound category.^[10]

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

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

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Entity format.

Achievements that apply to all mobs:

Unlike all other undead mounts, killing a skeleton horse does not grant the Monster Hunter advancement and is not required in order to complete the Monsters Hunted advancement.^[4]

Advancements that apply to all mobs:

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

• In the Mobspotter's Encyclopedia, skeleton horses were referred to as neutral mobs, due to their behavior as a hostile mob when ridden by skeletons.

• 👁 A stray skeleton horseman, possible through the skeleton rider freezing in powder snow.
  
  A stray skeleton horseman, possible through the skeleton rider freezing in powder snow.
• 👁 A wither skeleton horseman (this is not possible in modern versions of the game)
  
  A wither skeleton horseman (this is not possible in modern versions of the game)

• 👁 A skeleton horse spawned in.
  
  A skeleton horse spawned in.
• 👁 The four variations of skeleton traps using "Grumm" or "Dinnerbone" name tags in Bedrock Edition.
  
  The four variations of skeleton traps using "Grumm" or "Dinnerbone" name tags in Bedrock Edition.
• 👁 Skeleton horses spawned from a trapped skeleton horse.
  
  Skeleton horses spawned from a trapped skeleton horse.
• 👁 A player riding a skeleton horse, having killed the skeleton rider.
  
  A player riding a skeleton horse, having killed the skeleton rider.
• 👁 A player riding a skeleton horse underwater. It can run and jump.
  
  A player riding a skeleton horse underwater. It can run and jump.
• 👁 Skeleton horse with saddle‌[Java Edition only] in survival after defeating the skeleton horse trap.
  
  Skeleton horse with saddle‌^{[Java Edition only]} in survival after defeating the skeleton horse trap.
• 👁 A skeleton horse in Minecraft Education.
  
  A skeleton horse in Minecraft Education.
• 👁 A group of skeleton horsemen spawned by a "skeleton trap" horse.
  
  A group of skeleton horsemen spawned by a "skeleton trap" horse.
• 👁 A comparison between a horse, a zombie horse, and a skeleton horse.
  
  A comparison between a horse, a zombie horse, and a skeleton horse.

• 👁 Skeleton horse texture file.
  
  Skeleton horse texture file.
• 👁 Baby skeleton horse texture file.
  
  Baby skeleton horse texture file.

• 👁 Image
  
• 👁 Animation of undead mobs walking on snow, including skeleton horsemen.
  
  Animation of undead mobs walking on snow, including skeleton horsemen.
• 👁 Lego Minecraft Skeleton Horse.
  
  Lego Minecraft Skeleton Horse.
• 👁 Lego Minecraft Skeleton Horseman.
  
  Lego Minecraft Skeleton Horseman.
• 👁 A skeleton horse as it appears in Last Block Standing!
  
  A skeleton horse as it appears in Last Block Standing!
• 👁 A skeleton horseman as it appears in Minecraft Dungeons.
  
  A skeleton horseman as it appears in Minecraft Dungeons.

• 👁 Image
  Horse
• 👁 Image
  Donkey
• 👁 Image
  Mule
• 👁 Image
  Skeleton
• 👁 Image
  Zombie Horse