Horse Update

The Horse Update is a major update labeled as 1.6. It was released on 1st July 2013, and adds many new features such as horses, leads, coal blocks, carpets, resource packs and a new launcher.

Development began shortly after 1.5.2 was released. Eighteen development snapshots were released, from to. Twenty-eight iterations of the new launcher have been released so far during this time period, from 0.1 to 1.0.11. Nearer the end of the snapshot cycle for the 1.6 update, Mojang focused primarily on fixing bugs, rather than adding new features.

The official name for the update - the Horse Update - was only released a week prior to the 1.6 prerelease on the Minecraft update tumblr (which is viewed in the launcher).

Mojang released the 1.6 pre-release on June 25, 2013. This added an easter egg where mobs named "Dinnerbone" or "Grumm" were flipped upside down.

Notable features
A new Minecraft launcher was implemented in this update, with improved LWJGL code and the ability to auto-update.

This update features the addition of horses, donkeys, and mules: tamable mobs which can be ridden upon and bred, which come in a variety of colors.

Horses can be fed with hay bales and other food items, and equipped with a saddle and horse armor to ride and protect them. Leads can be used to walk or tie up any mob to a fence. Name tags allow any mob to be named with the exclusion of villagers and prevents them from despawning.

Carpets were added to cover a floor without raising it an extra layer, like snow cover. Coal blocks have also been added and can be used for compact coal storage and provide more fuel than the coal used to create it alone. Hardened Clay was also added, and can be dyed with the 16 available colors, giving decorative Stained Clay blocks that don't burn up like wool does.

Video
Watch the overview video below to learn more about the 1.6 update.