A skeleton horse in Minecraft is an undead variant of the horse that sometimes spawns when lightning strikes. It is made from bones and is one of the fastest methods of travel in the game. In this article, we are going to show you how to acquire one.

1 - How to get a skeleton horse in Minecraft

Skeleton horses can only spawn from a "skeleton trap horse" that is generated naturally by a thunderstorm or by chance (0.75–1.5% chance on Easy, 1.5–4% on Normal, and 2.25–6.75% on Hard, depending on regional difficulty).

Only lightning strikes from a natural thunderstorm count. You can't create a skeleton trap horse from a channeling-enchanted trident. The trap horse despawns after 15 minutes if not triggered.

skeleton horse in Minecraft
Skeleton horse in Minecraft is a super rare mob that only spawn once in a blue moon.

As only natural thunder creates a skeleton trap horse, it is nearly impossible to get this mob deliberately unless you use a console command to create a thunderstorm. The most you could do is to leave your horse or horse farm in a thunderstorm for lightning to randomly strikes.

Otherwise, just use the cheat code weather (thunder) [] to create your own limitless thunderstorm until lightning strikes and create a skeleton horse.

Lightning strikes
A lightning strike is the only way to summon one.

2 - How to tame a skeleton horse

The skeleton trap horse triggers when players come near, transforming into a skeleton horseman that's equipped with an enchanted helmet and bow. It also summons 3 other skeleton horsemen. These hostile mobs move fast and maneuver exactly like skeletons, backing up when the player moves toward them and strafing when attacking.‌ The items dropped by them can have useful enchantments.

The skeleton horses will not attack, only the skeletons with their bows. A skeleton horse can be tamed by killing the skeleton that is riding the horse. Afterward, players will be able to tame it. You also need to equip the skeleton horse with a horse saddle in order to ride it. This is one of the best mobs to tame in Minecraft.

Skeleton horsemen
Skeleton horsemen are similar to normal skeletons, just a bit faster.

3 - How to ride a skeleton horse

Skeleton horses are better than normal horses, as you can ride them in water of any depth. This means moving around at the bottom of the ocean would be much easier, as long as you know how to breathe underwater in Minecraft.

Skeleton horses can jump up to 5 block heights, which is very useful in climbing hills and jump fences.

You can't equip anything but a saddle on the skeleton horse. This means a normal horse with armor can be a better option in battle. In bedrock, you don't need a saddle to ride this horse.

The skeleton horses are undead and cannot be bred. This "undead status" result in a unique reaction to Withers. A normal horse gets attacked by the Wither normally while on the other hand, the skeleton horse gets ignored due to it being another undead.

Skellyhorses
Surprisingly, skeleton horses can spawn as a baby as well.

Interested in more of our articles related to Minecraft? Please check out this post to find out the Top 5 Tips And Tricks To Survive In Minecraft Hardcore Mode.