How to Get Horse Armor in Minecraft (All 6 Tiers)

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Horse armor comes in 6 tiers: leather you craft, copper/iron/gold/diamond you loot from structure chests, and netherite you smith from diamond horse armor. Only tamed adult horses (and zombie horses) can wear it.

What you need

7 leather (leather tier, craftable)
Loot runs for copper/iron/gold/diamond tiers (dungeons, temples, fortresses, End cities)
Diamond horse armor + netherite ingot + Netherite Upgrade smithing template (netherite tier)
A tamed adult horse - babies, donkeys, mules and skeleton horses cannot wear armor

Step by step

Leather horse armor (3 armor): craft it from 7 leather in a helmet-like pattern - the only tier you can make from scratch.
Copper horse armor (4 armor): the new Copper Age tier - loot it from structure chests like the other mid tiers.
Iron, golden and diamond horse armor: loot chests in dungeons, desert and jungle temples, Nether fortresses, stronghold altar rooms, village blacksmiths, mineshafts and End cities.
Netherite horse armor (19 armor, plus toughness and knockback resistance): smith diamond horse armor with a netherite ingot and a Netherite Upgrade template at a smithing table.
Equip it: open your tamed horse's inventory and drop the armor in its slot, or right-click the horse while holding it.
Remove it any time with shears; if the horse dies, it drops the armor for you to reclaim.

Java vs Bedrock

Same tiers in Java and Bedrock. Bonus details: leather horse armor protects the horse from freezing in powder snow, and a zombie horse wearing armor stops burning in sunlight. On Bedrock, zombies and their variants can even pick horse armor up and wear it themselves - a known bug.

Versions: Horse armor has been chest-loot-only for the metal tiers since 1.6.1; the copper tier arrived with the Copper Age content and netherite smithing followed it. The ancient iron/gold/diamond crafting recipes were removed back in 2013.

Frequently asked questions

Can you craft diamond horse armor?

No. Only leather horse armor is craftable and netherite is smithed from diamond. Copper, iron, golden and diamond horse armor only come from structure chests.

What is the best horse armor?

Netherite horse armor - 19 armor points plus armor toughness and 10% knockback resistance, smithed from diamond horse armor with a netherite ingot.

Which structures have horse armor?

Dungeons, desert temples, jungle temples, Nether fortresses, stronghold altar rooms, village blacksmiths, mineshafts (iron) and End cities.