DeadHorses Plugin: Ride and Tame Undead Horses in Minecraft
Minecraft is a game that never stops surprising its players. From towering mountains to deep, mysterious caves, there is always something new to discover. But what about the creatures that roam the night? Skeleton horses and zombie horses are rare, often overlooked mobs that can add a whole new layer of adventure to your server. The DeadHorses plugin unlocks their full potential, allowing players to interact with these undead steeds in ways the vanilla game never intended. Whether you want to leash them, feed them, tame them, or ride them into battle, this plugin transforms dead horses from spooky decorations into loyal companions.
What Exactly Does DeadHorses Do?
DeadHorses is a Bukkit plugin designed to bridge the gap between players and the two undead horse variants: skeleton horses and zombie (undead) horses. Normally, these mobs exist in a kind of limbo—they spawn under specific conditions but cannot be tamed or properly equipped. This plugin changes everything by passing all interactions through Bukkit’s event system, which means it plays nicely with protection plugins like WorldGuard. You get the fun without breaking your server’s rules.
The plugin does not alter natural mob spawning on its own, so you will likely want to pair it with a spawning plugin such as NetherMobs or UnLivingHorsies. Once the dead horses are in your world, DeadHorses gives you full control over them.
Core Features at a Glance
- Attach leashes to both wild and tamed dead horses
- Feed dead horses using custom food lists to tame or age them
- Tame dead horses through either vanilla-style mounting or food-based methods
- Mount and ride dead horses just like regular horses
- Equip barding (horse armor) to reduce damage taken
- Optional packet modification to show barding textures on the client (requires ProtocolLib)
Taming Your Undead Mount
DeadHorses supports two distinct taming modes, and you can choose which one fits your server best. The first is vanilla-like taming, where players mount the dead horse repeatedly until it accepts them, following the same random chance rules as ordinary horses. The second is food-based taming, which lets players feed specific items to the horse in hopes of winning it over. The configuration file defines which foods work and what the success percentage is, so you can tweak the difficulty to your liking.
This dual approach means you can keep the classic horse-taming feel or introduce a more RPG-like system where rare ingredients become valuable. For example, a skeleton horse might respond to spider eyes, fermented spider eyes, or poisonous potatoes, while an undead horse prefers raw beef, pork, or even raw chicken. The percentages are fully customizable, giving server owners complete freedom.
Feeding and Aging Baby Dead Horses
Feeding is not just for taming. If you have baby dead horses wandering around, feeding them can accelerate their growth into adults. The chance to age a baby is the same as the chance to tame with that food item, so you can design a consistent progression system. This feature adds a delightful breeding and nurturing aspect, especially if your server includes custom spawn eggs or mob spawning mechanics for dead horses.
Barding and Visual Enhancements
One of the coolest additions is the ability to equip dead horses with barding. Just like normal horses, they can wear iron, gold, or diamond armor, and the damage reduction works exactly as expected. However, there is a small catch: the vanilla server does not send the metadata required to render the barding texture on an undead horse. This is where packet modification comes in. If you enable the feature and have ProtocolLib installed, DeadHorses will alter the packets so the client sees the armor. But to actually display the texture correctly, players need a client-side mod. One popular option is HorseTweaks. For those who want the full barding visuals, you'll need a client-side mod like HorseTweaks. Installing such mods is straightforward with the foxygame.net launcher, a flexible and modern Minecraft launcher that allows you to download mods right from its menu. Without the client mod, the horse will appear with a pure white texture, which still looks ghostly but might not be what you want.
Installation and Setup
Getting DeadHorses running on your server is a simple process. First, download the DeadHorses jar file from the official source. Then move or copy it into your server's plugins folder. Restart the server, and the plugin will generate a default configuration file inside the /plugins/DeadHorses directory. You can then edit config.yml to adjust all the settings to your liking. If you want to use the barding packet modification, make sure ProtocolLib is also installed.
Permissions and Commands
DeadHorses uses two permission nodes to control access. The deadhorses.admin node grants all commands and is set to op by default, while deadhorses.user allows players to use the main features and is granted to everyone by default. The only command is /deadhorses (aliased as /dh), which supports two subcommands: reload to refresh the configuration without a full restart, and summon to spawn one of each dead horse type for testing. This makes administrative tasks quick and painless.
Configuration Deep Dive
The config.yml file is well-organized and commented. You can toggle features like leashing, vanilla-like taming, food-based taming, feeding-can-age, and armor equipping on a per-variant basis. Each dead horse type has its own food list where you specify the item (with optional damage values) and the taming chance as a percentage. For instance, you might set golden_apple:1 to 100.0 for an instant tame, or keep the default low chances for a challenge. The plugin also includes a privacy note about Plugin-Metrics, which collects anonymous usage data; you can opt out by editing the configuration in plugins/Plugin Metrics.
Compatibility and Spawning Considerations
Since DeadHorses does not handle mob spawning, you will need a separate plugin to introduce skeleton and zombie horses into your world naturally. NetherMobs and UnLivingHorsies are two great examples that work hand-in-hand with DeadHorses. You can also use command blocks or other custom mechanics to summon them. Once they exist, DeadHorses ensures they behave exactly as you would expect a tamed horse to behave, with full leash, ride, and armor support.
Why Your Server Needs DeadHorses
Undead horses bring a unique aesthetic to any Minecraft server, whether you run a fantasy RPG, a survival world, or a spooky Halloween event. The DeadHorses plugin respects existing protection plugins, gives you granular control over every interaction, and even supports client-side visual enhancements for those who want the complete experience. The open-source GPLv3 license means the plugin will remain free and open for the community forever. With a single command and a straightforward configuration, you can turn forgotten mobs into a standout feature that your players will love.
From taming with poisonous potatoes to charging into battle on a diamond-clad skeleton horse, DeadHorses opens up creative possibilities that vanilla Minecraft simply does not offer. Pair it with the right spawning plugin, tweak the food lists to match your server's economy, and watch your players line up to claim their own undead steed.