Mule

For other uses, see Horse (disambiguation).
This article would benefit from the addition of isometric renders.
 
Please remove this notice once you have added suitable isometric renders to the article.
The specific instructions are: Update the render of saddled mules, as its saddle texture was changed in Java Edition 1.19.4 and Bedrock Edition 1.19.60 to align with the horse texture.
Mule

Mule.png: Infobox image for Minecraftentity Mule

Adult

Baby Mule.png: Infobox image for Minecraftentity Mule

Baby‌[until Drop 1 2026]

Baby Mule JE6.png: Infobox image for Minecraftentity Mule

Baby​[upcoming Drop 1 2026]

Saddled Mule.png: Infobox image for Minecraftentity Mule

Chested Mule.png: Infobox image for Minecraftentity Mule

Saddled Chested Mule.png: Infobox image for Minecraftentity Mule

Invicon Mule Spawn Egg.png: Inventory sprite for Mule Spawn Egg in Minecraft as shown in-game with description: Mule Spawn Egg
Health points

15HP❤️ × 7.5 to 30HP❤️ × 15

Behavior

Passive

Mob type

Animal

Hitbox size

In Java Edition:
Adult:
Height: 1.6 blocks
Width: 1.3965 blocks
Baby:
Height: 0.8 blocks
Width: 0.6982 blocks
In Bedrock Edition:
Adult:
Height: 1.6 blocks
Width: 1.4 blocks
Baby:
Height: 0.8 blocks
Width: 0.7 blocks

Spawn

When a horse and donkey breed

Usable items

A mule is a passive mob created by breeding a horse and a donkey together. It is very similar to a donkey, except it cannot breed.

Spawning

Mules do not spawn naturally, but a mule can spawn through cross-breeding a horse with a donkey. Mules cannot breed with other mules.

20% of mule spawn eggs produce baby mules.

Appearance

Mules are the offspring of horses and donkeys and are closer to (but not quite) the size of a horse. Their ears, coats, and manes are like those of a donkey, though mules' coats are darker and reddish-brown. Like donkeys, mules cannot be equipped with armor but can be equipped with chests. Mules cannot have babies, much like mules in real life.

Drops

On death

Java Edition:

ItemQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Leather0–266.67%1.000–383.33%1.500–491.67%2.000–594.44%2.50

ItemQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Leather0–22310–356320–4111220–5171852

ItemAmountProbability
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Leather013 (33.33%)16 (16.67%)112 (8.33%)118 (5.56%)
113 (33.33%)13 (33.33%)14 (25.00%)16 (16.67%)
213 (33.33%)13 (33.33%)13 (33.33%)518 (27.78%)
3016 (16.67%)14 (25.00%)518 (27.78%)
400112 (8.33%)16 (16.67%)
5000118 (5.56%)
Average1 (1.00)32 (1.50)2 (2.00)52 (2.50)

Killed1
ItemExpected Drops
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Leather1.001.502.002.50

Bedrock Edition:

ItemQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Leather0–266.67%1.000–366.67%1.330–466.67%1.670–566.67%2.00

ItemQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Leather0–22310–323430–423530–5232

ItemAmountProbability
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Leather013 (33.33%)13 (33.33%)13 (33.33%)13 (33.33%)
113 (33.33%)16 (16.67%)112 (8.33%)118 (5.56%)
213 (33.33%)13 (33.33%)14 (25.00%)16 (16.67%)
3016 (16.67%)14 (25.00%)29 (22.22%)
400112 (8.33%)16 (16.67%)
5000118 (5.56%)
Average1 (1.00)43 (1.33)53 (1.67)2 (2.00)

Killed1
ItemExpected Drops
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Leather1.001.331.672.00

  • 1–3XP, when killed by a player or tamed wolf.
  • If equipped with a chest or saddle, they drop those items, as well as any contents of the chest.

Killing a baby mule yields no items nor experience.

Behavior

Similar to horses and donkeys, mules roam idly, occasionally stopping to rear, swish their tails, or lower their heads as though eating the grass. Unlike sheep, the eating animation does not actually cause any grass to be consumed. Mules turn to look at any player that comes near. Any mule, even a wild one, may be attached to a lead. However, if the player attempts to saddle an untamed mule, it rears and flails its front hooves.

Mules can safely fall 6 blocks before they begin to accumulate fall damage, unlike most mobs, which can only safely fall 3 blocks. Mules 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 mule, they receive the same fall damage as the mule.

Mules, like most mobs, can ride in a minecart. Similarly to horses and donkeys, adult mules cannot ride a boat, but babies can. Also like horses and donkeys, mules have a 1900 chance to regenerate 1HP💔 health point each game tick.[verify for Bedrock Edition].

Taming

Adult mules can be tamed: with an empty hand, mount the mule repeatedly; when it no longer bucks the player and shows hearts, it is tamed. It is necessary to tame a mule in order to give it equipment or ride it for any length of time.

Taming depends on the mule's "temper". Mules begin with a temper of 0 out of 100. When a player is riding the mule, a random number between 0 and 99 is chosen. The mule becomes tame if this number is less than the temper, otherwise, the temper is increased by 5 and the player is bucked off. Temper can also be increased by feeding the mule.

While riding an untamed mule, a galloping sound is audible, more or less rapid to give a general idea of the mule's speed.

Like all tamed animals, a death message is displayed to their owner if they are killed.‌[Bedrock Edition only]

Breeding

Like their real-life counterparts, mules in Minecraft cannot produce offspring. The only way to produce a mule (other than using a spawn egg) is to cross-breed a horse with a donkey.

Food

Feeding a mule food can alter its behavior, cause it to grow (if it is not yet an adult; baby mules normally take 20 minutes to fully mature if not fed), and/or restore its health. The table below lists the effects of the various foods mules eat.

To feed a mule, hold a valid food item and press use on the mule. If the food is invalid, the player simply mounts the mule. Mules can be fed only when feeding would have an effect, similar to other animals.

Food Heals Speeds growth by Increases temper Notes
Sugar 1HP💔 30 sec (600 ticks)
3
Wheat 2HP❤️ 20 sec (400 ticks)
3
Apple 3HP💔❤️ 1 min (1200 ticks) +3
Carrot
Golden carrot 4HP❤️❤️ 1 min (1200 ticks)
5
Golden apple 10HP❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ 4 min (4800 ticks) +10
Enchanted golden apple
Hay bale 20HP❤️ × 10 3 min (3600 ticks) N/A In Bedrock Edition, adult mules with full health cannot be fed.

Jockey

This feature is exclusive to Bedrock Edition.
 

15% of nearby baby zombies, husks, or ‌in Bedrock Edition 26.0[upcoming] zombie villagers, drowned, or zombified piglins may ride an adult untamed mule to form a jockey.

Statistics

See also: Tutorial:Horses

Mules have three "equine stats" that vary from mule to mule: health, (maximum) movement speed, and jump strength. These stats are created once the mule is born or spawned, and are not affected by food.

Spawned values

When spawned in any way except breeding – for instance, using commands or using spawn eggs – mules are assigned their stats within certain ranges, specific according to their horse type.

Health

A mule's health ranges from 15–30, but tends toward the average of 22–23. Displayed hearts are health, divided by two, rounded down. A mule with a non-even number of health points (15, 17, 19, etc.) does not show the last half-heart. So if a mule has 15 health (💔❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️), its health bar will only display 14 health (❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️). And if the mule took 3HP💔❤️ damage, it would have 12 health left 🖤❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️, but it would seem like it only took 2HP❤️, since the bar only shows 2 points of damage.

Movement speed

Spawned mules' speed is always 0.175; 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. Bred mules have speed between 0.1125 and 0.3375 based on their parent's speeds, like all other horse breeding. See Horse#Movement speed.

See transportation to compare the speeds of various transportation methods.

Jump strength

Spawned mules' jump strength is usually 0.5, which is enough to clear 1 916 blocks. Jump strengths between 0.4 and 1.0 can be found in bred mules, depending on the statistics of the parents (as explained later).

Bred values

When breeding a horse and a donkey, the baby's stats are determined by a variation of the average of both parents' stats, randomly determined as horses' stats are.

Usage

See also: Transportation

Tamed and saddled mules can be used as a means of transportation in the game. Mules float on water when being controlled by a player.

Mules can be equipped with chests and used as pack animals. They can be pulled along and tied up using a lead.

Equipment

GUI of a mule.

Tamed mules have the following slots available:

  • SlotSprite Saddle.png: Sprite image for Saddle in Minecraft Saddle slot: for equipping a saddle.
  • Invicon Chest.png: Sprite image for Chest in Minecraft An additional 15 inventory slots, provided the mule has been equipped with a chest.

A saddle can be equipped on a mule by holding it and then using on the mule, or by accessing its inventory. A mule's inventory can be accessed by mounting the mule and using inventory control, or by sneaking and then using or pressing the "open inventory" button ‌[Bedrock Edition only] on the mule. The saddle can be removed by either removing it from the mule's inventory or by using shears on the mule.

A mule starts out with just a saddle slot, but if it is given a chest, it acquires 15 more inventory slots that can hold any items. Chests can be given to a mule by using it with the chest in hand, and the chest cannot be removed except by killing the mule. Upon death, the mule drops the attached chest and its contents.

Baby mules cannot be equipped with anything.

Riding

Main article: Riding

Once a mule is tamed and saddled, the player can control it with standard directional controls, jump, and the mouse. The player dismounts using the dismount control.

A ridden saddled mule automatically runs up any one block high slope. The mule 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 mule 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. Mules cannot fit through a 1-block-wide gap.

The maximum speed of mules, when created by breeding a horse and a donkey, varies between 4.74 blocks/second and 14.23 blocks/second (compared to the player's walking speed, which is about 4.3 blocks/second). About 68% of mules are able to go faster than a minecart. Any mule spawned with its spawn egg always has a speed of 7.38 blocks/second, which is slower than a minecart at full speed. Mules are slow-moving backward, and about as fast as the player when moving sideways.

Ridden saddled mules have the ability of "jumping charging". When the player rides them, the experience bar on HUD is replaced by jumping charging bar. A ridden saddled mule can be made to jump and holding the control charges for a higher leap. Mules are not affected by jump boost beacons or potions.

Sounds

Mules share the same sounds as donkeys.

Java Edition:

Sounds
SoundClosed captionsSourceDescriptionIdentifierTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
​Mule hee-hawsFriendly MobsRandomlyentity.mule.ambientsubtitles.entity.mule.ambient0.80.8-1.2
(Baby: 1.3-1.7)
16
​Mule neighsFriendly MobsWhen a player is bucked off by a mule or attempts to feed a mule an invalid itementity.mule.angrysubtitles.entity.mule.angry0.80.8-1.2
(Baby: 1.3-1.7)
16
​Mule Chest equipsFriendly MobsWhen a mule equips a chestentity.mule.chestsubtitles.entity.mule.chest1.00.8-1.216
​Mule diesFriendly MobsWhen a mule diesentity.mule.deathsubtitles.entity.mule.death0.80.8-1.2
(Baby: 1.3-1.7)
16
​Mule eatsFriendly MobsWhen a mule eats an itementity.mule.eatsubtitles.entity.mule.eat1.00.8-1.216
​Mule jumpsFriendly MobsWhen a mule begins a leapentity.mule.jumpsubtitles.entity.mule.jump0.41.016
​Something fellFriendly MobsWhen a mule falls from more than 1 blockentity.horse.landsubtitles.entity.generic.big_fall0.41.016
​Mule hurtsFriendly MobsWhen a mule is damagedentity.mule.hurtsubtitles.entity.mule.hurt0.80.8-1.2
(Baby: 1.3-1.7)
16
​FootstepsFriendly MobsWhile a mule is walkingentity.horse.stepsubtitles.generic.block.footstepsBlock-Dependent[sound 1]Block-Dependent[sound 1]16
​FootstepsFriendly MobsWhile a mule is walking on woodentity.horse.step_woodsubtitles.generic.block.footstepsBlock-Dependent[sound 1]Block-Dependent[sound 1]16
​Saddle equipsFriendly MobsWhen a mule equips a saddleentity.horse.saddlesubtitles.entity.horse.saddle0.51.016
​Saddle snips awayFriendly MobsWhen a saddle is removed from a mule using shearsitem.saddle.unequipsubtitles.item.saddle.unequip0.51.016
  1. a b c d See block sound type

Bedrock Edition:

Sounds
SoundClosed captions
[upcoming: BE 26.0]
SourceDescriptionIdentifierTranslation key
[upcoming: BE 26.0]
VolumePitch
​ ?Friendly MobsRandomlymob.horse.donkey.idle​ ?0.80.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7)
​ ?Friendly MobsWhen a player is bucked off by a mulemob.horse.donkey.angry​ ?0.80.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7)
​ ?Friendly MobsWhen a mule equips a chestmob.horse.armor​ ?0.80.8-1.2
​ ?Friendly MobsWhen a mule diesmob.horse.donkey.death​ ?0.80.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7)
​ ?Friendly MobsWhen a mule eats an itemmob.horse.eat​ ?0.5-1.50.8-1.2
​ ?Friendly MobsWhen a mule begins a leapmob.horse.jump​ ?0.41.0
​ ?Friendly MobsWhen a mule falls from more than 1 blockmob.horse.land​ ?0.41.0
​ ?Friendly MobsWhen a mule is damagedmob.horse.donkey.hit​ ?0.80.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7)
​ ?Friendly MobsWhile a mule is walkingmob.horse.soft​ ?0.450.9-1.1
​ ?Friendly MobsWhile a mule is walking on wood[sound 1] or is being riddenmob.horse.wood​ ?0.450.9-1.1
​ ?Friendly MobsWhen a mule equips a saddlemob.horse.leather​ ?0.51.0
​ ?Friendly MobsWhen a saddle is removed from a mule using shearsmob.unsaddle​ ?1.01.0
  1. Except for stems, Nether wood, cherry wood, and bamboo wood due to MCPE-165012

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

NameIdentifierEntity tags Translation key
EntitySprite mule.png: Sprite image for mule in Minecraft Mulemulecan_equip_saddle
dismounts_underwater
followable_friendly_mobs
entity.minecraft.mule

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifierNumeric ID FamilyTranslation key
EntitySprite mule.png: Sprite image for mule in Minecraft Mulemule25 mob
mule
entity.mule.name

Entity data

Mules have entity data associated with them that contain various properties.

Java Edition:

Main article: Entity format
  • [NBT Compound / JSON Object] Entity data
    • Additional fields for mobs that can breed see Template:Nbt inherit/breedable/template
    • Tags common to all entities see Template:Nbt inherit/entity/template
    • Tags common to all mobs see Template:Nbt inherit/mob/template
    • [Byte] Bred: 1 or 0 (true/false) – Unknown. Remains 0 after breeding. If true, causes it to stay near other horses with this flag set.
    • [Byte] EatingHaystack: 1 or 0 (true/false) – true if the mob is eating grass.
    • [Int Array] Owner: The UUID of the entity that tamed the mob, stored as four ints. Has no effect on behavior. Does not exist if there is no owner.
    • [Byte] Tame: 1 or 0 (true/false) – true if the mob is tamed.
    • [Int] Temper: Ranges from 0 to 100; increases with feeding. Higher values make a mob easier to tame.
    • [Byte] ChestedHorse: 1 or 0 (true/false) - true if the horse has chests. A chested horse that is not a donkey or a mule crashes the game.
    • [NBT List / JSON Array] Items: List of items. Exists only if ChestedHorse is true.
      • [NBT Compound / JSON Object] An item, including the Slot tag. Slots are numbered 2 to 16 for donkeys and mules, and none exist for all other horses.
        • An item see Template:Nbt inherit/item/template

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Entity format.

Achievements

IconAchievementIn-game descriptionActual requirements (if different)Gamerscore earnedTrophy type (PS)
PS4Other
Cow TipperHarvest some leather.Pick up leather from the ground or via fishing.15Bronze
Artificial SelectionBreed a mule from a horse and a donkey.30Bronze
Saddle UpTame a horse.20Bronze
It SpreadsKill a mob next to a catalystKill any mob that drops experience near a sculk catalyst, with the sole exception of the ender dragon. Mobs that drop no experience are ignored for this achievement.10Bronze

Achievements that apply to all mobs:

Advancements

IconAdvancementIn-game descriptionActual requirements (if different)
It SpreadsKill a mob near a Sculk CatalystKill any mob that drops experience near a sculk catalyst, with the sole exception of the ender dragon. Mobs that drop no experience are ignored for this advancement.
The Parrots and the BatsBreed two animals together A mule must be the result of breeding a horse and a donkey for this advancement as they are not breedable together. Other breedable mobs are ignored for this advancement.
Best Friends ForeverTame an animalTame one of these 11 tameable animals: Skeleton Horse can be tamed in the same way as a regular horse to gain this advancement with the ride command.
Two by TwoBreed all the animals! A trader llama does not count as a llama, and a mule must be the result of breeding a horse and a donkey for this advancement as they are not breedable together. Other breedable mobs can be bred, but are ignored for this advancement.

Advancements that apply to all mobs:

Videos

History

This section is missing information about: Did saddles always show up on invisible mules? If not, when did this change? Remember to include any relevant bug reports.
 
Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.

Java Edition

Java Edition
1.6.113w16a Added mules, assisted by DrZhark (John Olarte), creator of the Mo' Creatures mod, whose horses are a baseline for Minecraft's mule models.[1]
Added leads, which can be used to leash tamed mules.
13w16bMules are now slower.
The gliding of mules has been reduced.
13w18aHorse saddles have been removed. Mules are now controlled using the saddle.
13w19aAccess to the mule inventory by sneaking and interacting has been enabled.
13w21aAdded new GUI for mules, to control their saddles and inventories.
13w22aAdded new sound effects for mules.
Untamed mules can now be leashed.
ReleaseMules can now be fed with golden carrots in addition to both types of golden apples.
1.814w26cMules can no longer be fed bread for taming, healing, or growing.
Wheat's acceleration of baby mule growth has been reduced.
14w28bBaby mules appear adult sized.
1.8.1pre1Baby mules no longer appear adult sized unless they are fed. Reloading the world makes them appear as babies again.
1.915w47aFeeding baby mules no longer makes them appear adult sized. This also means that mules now no longer gradually grow in size as they age.
15w47bAdded sounds for mules eating food given by a player.
1.1016w20aAdded mule spawn egg.
pre2The mule spawn egg has been removed.
1.1116w32aThe mule spawn egg has been re-added.
1.1317w45a The models of mules have been changed.
17w46a [verify] The new models of mules have been slightly tweaked.
18w03a The models of mules have been updated again.
1.1418w43b Changed texture.
1.1620w15aTamed mules can now be saddled by dispensers.
Dispensers can now put chests on tamed mules.
1.18experimental snapshot 6Mules now follow players that are holding golden carrots, golden apples, or enchanted golden apples.
1.19.423w03aThe texture of the mule saddle has been changed to fix some incorrectly colored pixels, in order to match the horse saddle texture.
23w07aThe speed, jump height and health of a baby is now a variation of the average of the parents' attributes, rather than being biased toward the average possible value.
1.20.524w09aAdded sound event entity.mule.jump to replace entity.horse.jump.[2]
1.21.525w03aThe mule's saddle is now an overlay texture, split from the mule's main texture.
Saddles now show up on invisible mules.[3]
Saddles now show the enchantment glint on the mule when enchanted.
1.21.625w20aSaddles can now be removed from mules using shears.
25w21aMules can now be fed carrots for taming, healing, and growing.
1.21.1125w44aMules no longer sink in water when ridden by the player.
25w46aMules no longer panic if controlled by other mobs.
Upcoming Java Edition
26.1snap4 The model of the baby mules has been changed.
Changed the hitbox of baby mules to match the new model.[verify]
Saddles and chests on baby mules no longer render.

Bedrock Edition

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.15.0build 1 Added mules.
v0.16.0build 1Mules can now be fed using enchanted golden apples.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.5releaseMules no longer follow players that are holding food.
1.2.6beta 1.2.6.2 The models of mules have been changed to Java Edition 17w45a's mule models.
1.10.0beta 1.10.0.3 [verify] Changed the textures of the mules.
1.19.60Preview 1.19.60.25The texture of the mule saddle has been changed to fix some incorrectly colored pixels, in order to match the horse saddle texture.
1.20.10Preview 1.20.10.20Mules now follow players that are holding golden carrots, golden apples, or enchanted golden apples.
1.21.90Preview 1.21.90.25Saddles can now be removed from mules using shears.
Preview 1.21.90.26A sound now plays when removing a saddle from an mule using shears.
Mules can now be fed carrots for taming, healing, and growing.
1.21.130Preview 1.21.130.24Mules no longer sink in water while being ridden by a player.
Upcoming Bedrock Edition
26.0Preview 26.0.23Mules now no longer gradually grow in size as they age, matching Java Edition.
26.10Preview 26.10.20 The model and texture of baby mules have been changed.

Legacy Console Edition

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360Xbox OnePS3PS4PS VitaWii USwitch
TU19CU71.121.121.12Patch 11.0.1 Added mules.
TU22CU101.151.151.15Added quick move to the mule inventory.
TU31CU191.221.221.22Patch 3Baby mule growth can now be accelerated using wheat.
TU43CU331.361.361.36Patch 13Added sounds for mules.
TU60CU511.641.641.64Patch 301.0.11 The models of mules have been changed to Java Edition 17w45a's mule models.
1.90 Changed texture.

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0 Added mules.

Data history

Java Edition
1.1116w32aMules now have a separate ID from horses: mule.
1.1317w47aNumeric IDs for entities were presumably deprecated in this version.​[more information needed]
1.21.525w03aUnified the [NBT Compound / JSON Object] SaddleItem into the new [NBT Compound / JSON Object] equipment.saddle slot.

Issues

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

Trivia

  • A "mule" specifically refers to the offspring of a male donkey (jack) and a female horse (mare). The offspring of a female donkey (jenny) and a male horse (stallion) is called a "hinny". However, because mules are much more common than hinnies, "mule" can colloquially refer to any donkey-horse hybrid.
  • Mules are the only hybrid mobs in Minecraft.

Gallery

Screenshots

Textures

See also

References

  1. "Also big thanks to @DrZhark, the creator of Mo' Creatures, that have assisted us to make it happen!"@jeb_ (Jens Bergensten) on X (formerly Twitter), April 4, 2013
  2. MC-98316 — Wrong subtitles caused by missing distinction
  3. MC-13738

External links

  • Mule article on Wikipedia

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