How to Get a Saddle in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Craft it: 3 leather + 1 iron ingot on a crafting table (since 1.21.6). Before that update, saddles came from fishing (0.8%), ravager drops, strider jockeys, village trading and structure chests like nether fortresses and dungeons.

What you need

3 leather (cows, horses or hoglins)
1 iron ingot
Crafting table
Or a fishing rod with Luck of the Sea for the old-school route

Step by step

Craft it (1.21.6+): place leather in the top-center slot and leather, iron ingot, leather across the middle row - 3 leather and 1 iron ingot per saddle.
Fish for one: saddles are a treasure catch with a 0.8% chance per attempt, improved by Luck of the Sea.
Kill a ravager during a raid: it always drops a saddle, and Looting does not change that.
Kill a strider jockey in the Nether (a zombified piglin riding a strider): the strider always drops the saddle it wears.
Trade with a master-level leatherworker villager, who sells a saddle for emeralds.
Loot chests: nether fortresses, bastion remnants and village tannery chests can still hold saddles.
Remove one without killing the mob: since 1.21.6, using shears on a saddled mob takes the saddle off safely.

Java vs Bedrock

Saddles became craftable in Java 1.21.6 and Bedrock 1.21.90 (3 leather + 1 iron ingot), and the same update lets shears remove a saddle from a mob without killing it. The 1.21.6 update also removed saddles from monster room, ancient city, desert pyramid, jungle pyramid and stronghold altar chests, so chest hunting now means nether fortresses, bastions and village tanneries. Fishing odds (0.8%) and the ravager drop are identical in both editions.

Versions: Craftable since 1.21.6 (Java) / 1.21.90 (Bedrock), the Chase the Skies drop. On older versions use fishing, ravagers or chest loot.

Frequently asked questions

Can you craft a saddle in Minecraft?

Yes, since 1.21.6: 3 leather plus 1 iron ingot, with the leather in the top-center slot and leather-iron-leather across the middle row. Before 1.21.6 saddles were loot-only.

What is the fastest way to get a saddle?

Craft it from 3 leather and 1 iron ingot - both farmable in minutes. Without crafting, killing a ravager during a raid guarantees one, and master leatherworker villagers sell them for emeralds.

How do you get a saddle off a pig or horse?

Since 1.21.6, use shears on the saddled mob to remove the saddle without hurting it. On equines and camels you can also open their inventory and take it out of the saddle slot.