Mule

Overview

A Mule is the pack animal you manufacture rather than find. It does not spawn anywhere in the world in any biome — the only way to get one is to breed a Horse with a Donkey using golden carrots or golden apples, and the foal inherits stats from both parents. That is the whole appeal: a Mule bred from a fast horse keeps the donkey's chest, so you get 15 inventory slots on an animal that moves at something closer to horse speed instead of a donkey's plod. Health rolls from the parents in the usual way, up to 30. The limits are real, though. A Mule cannot wear horse armour, cannot jump particularly well, and cannot be bred any further, because mules are sterile — pairing two of them produces nothing, so every Mule you own costs one horse-and-donkey breeding. Keep the parents. Taming works the same way as its parents': mount it repeatedly until hearts appear, then fit a saddle and a chest, and remember that the chest cannot be removed afterwards without killing the animal. Leads work, so a Mule can be walked through a boat or a nether portal.

Cargo at horse speed. A Mule keeps the donkey's 15 chest slots while often inheriting a horse's movement, which makes it the best pack animal in the game for long overland hauls.

A mule is the crossbreed of a horse and a donkey and inherits stats from both parents, so a mule bred from a fast horse can be quicker than any wild donkey while keeping the donkey's chest slots. It carries fifteen items when fitted with a chest, cannot wear horse armour, and cannot be bred any further. In practice mules are the pack animal you build deliberately rather than find.

In Minecraft, Mule is classified as a tameable mob. It has 30 health points, or 15 hearts. Expect 3 experience per kill.

Properties

Mule has 30 health, which is 15 hearts. It drops up to 3 experience when a player kills it. Its hitbox is 1.4 blocks wide and 1.6 tall, which is what decides whether it fits through a gap or a one-block-high opening.

Spawns in

Never spawns naturally. Produced only by breeding a horse with a donkey, and mules themselves are sterile.

It has no biome restriction, so anywhere in the Overworld that meets the light and space conditions is a valid spawn.

Dimension

Overworld

Added in

1.6.1

Dimension: Overworld · Added in 1.6.1

Drops

Killing Mule drops Leather, plus up to 3 experience. Looting raises the maximum on most of these by one per level.

• Leather: 0–2

How it behaves

The Mule can be tamed, after which it follows and defends you. A tamed one still takes damage, so it is worth naming so it never despawns.

Killed by a player it drops up to 3 experience; killed any other way it drops none.

Command

In a world with cheats on, this spawns one Mule where you are standing.

Guides and tools that cover this

• GuidesAnimal Breeding and Food Production in Minecraft→
• GuidesHow to Fight Every Hostile Mob in Minecraft→
• GuidesHow to Build a Base That Mobs Cannot Enter→

Frequently asked questions

Related pages

CatDonkeyHorseParrotWolf

How to get it

Mules never spawn naturally. Breed a horse with a donkey using golden carrots or golden apples; the foal is always a Mule. Tame by mounting until hearts appear, then add a saddle and a chest for 15 slots.

Tips

• Breed your fastest horse with a donkey, since the Mule averages both parents' speed and health rolls.
• Keep the parent horse and donkey alive — mules are sterile, so every new Mule needs another breeding pair.
• Fit the chest only when you are sure, because it cannot be taken off without killing the animal.
• Do not buy horse armour for one: a Mule cannot wear any, so keep it out of fights entirely.