How does an egg solve a head-tossing problem?

Question

I once overheard a guy at my barn saying that to stop a horse from tossing it's head or a horse that holds its head too high, you smash an egg on their head while your riding. Apparently they think that it's its own blood and will never again dare to fling it's head. My mare (Morgan) holds her head abnormally high. I know it's partially due to her breed and her head is supposed to be held up a little high, but she has actually given me a bloody lip once, and I have it on video! I'm planning on trying this sometime this week, anybody have any feedback?

Answer 1

What ever you do, make sure you are consistent about it. When you give a horse an inch it will take a mile. Don't let her walk all over you like that. Granted some days will be better than others, so she doesn't have to be perfect but she should at least end the day better than she started.

Answer 2

my horse used to have a problem with rearing so i took and kept an egg in my hand and when he reared i smashed it on his head (it doesnt hurt them) and horses dont know what it is and it doesnt fell too great so it took about a box of eggs and a week and my horse hasnt reared again

Answer 3

This move is an evasive one..the mare's never been properly bitted up and no doubt has been "yarded" on quite a bit.



When was the last time this mare had her teeth looked at..a painful arcade will definitely contribute to head tossing.  A bit clanking on her teeth would be extremely uncomfortable.  

You do need a trainer who can put her through a bitting process and work with some of the evasiveness.....No doubt she doesn't know WHERE to pack her head.

An egg?  Would rather have bacon and eggs for breakfast and not waste it on her head....

Answer 4

ok so if that works on keeping their head lower how do i get my horse to raise her head? she can do because i have seen her but she always has been allowed to keep her head too low. like the poll below her withers kind of low. ive tried tightening the reins but its not a very comfortable way to ride for either of us.

Answer 5

this is an old wives tale, mostly used for horses that rear - the idea behind it was that to smash an egg on their head would make them believe that it was blood trickling down their head and would stop a horse from rearing, but modern thinking now has proven this to be the wrong thing to do - particularly in your case where its just high head carriage.

By cracking an egg over a horses head - it is now thought that this will make a horse lose trust in its rider as obviously you'll have to be on her back when you do it - and she'll associate that with you being up on her and is thought to be quite dangerous as many horses react badly to it and can bolt or freak  out - and remember you'll only have one hand on the reins due to having to crack the egg with the other one!

For high head carriage I recommend you start working with the likes of draw reins to encourage her to carry her head low.

For rearing horses - they now say to slap a horse hard on the belly with a plank of wood when they go up on the back legs - in the wild this is the part of a body where a predator would attack a horse - and its a very vulnerable area - horses soon realise its better not to rear - thus not exposing this part of them

hope this helps!

xx

Answer 6

You guys are giving the horse way too much credit for reasoning this out. Do you really believe the horse thinks, "Oh c**p, I held my head up too high and now I am bleeding to death...better not do that again!"?   For as long as there have been people trying to ride horses, they have tried to apply human logic or trickery to them.  Give it up!

Answer 7

Try a standing martingale. I wouldn't try the egg, water, or especially bucket. To get her to listen she needs confidence, trust, and and a strong bond. You don't want her to think she is bleeding. You want her to do it in a proper way.

Answer 8

This is an old wive's tail and doesn't really work. Horses aren't stupid and it makes a mess.

What I did for my horse was introduce a standing martingale. Also, to build the muscle on the neck which is nessecary for a lower head carriage, I took a weatern headstall with the long reins, took the reins between her front legs and up around her girth to tie above her withers. DON'T do this too tight if you do. It will be painful and not effective. This is just a good way to get them used to working with a lower head carriage, so start not too tight, and work up to it. Horses who carry their heads high naturally have a lot of muscle at the bottom of their necks, from holding their heads up, and are flabby at the top. So I did this with my mare so she could build the proper muscle. Also, don't lunge off the bit if you do this, stick a halter over it and lunge off of that. Good luck!

Answer 9

I think that the egg is a c**p shoot!  Try riding with either a standing or running martingale or tie down.  If you can push her rear end into her front end and drive her rear into her nose, with time you should see an improvement.  Also make sure that your saddle fit etc is correct and that your horse is not reacting to pain!  Another thing to check is that your bit is right!  Some horses will lift their head to take the pressure off their mouth!  If you have the wrong bit or it is set to tight, she may be lifting her head for that reason.  Or, if you have a high port in your bit, she may be reacting to that!  Cover all your bases before you try wacking her in the head with an egg!  You may cause even more problems with that method!

Answer 10

wat u do is every time your horse shakes his head u crack the egg on his poll and this makes them think they have hit their head on something and it is bleeding! make sure u are consistent otherwise it wont work!

  hope this helps

Answer 11

I would not recommend this method at all. It is old style, and works against the horse. You want the horse to work with you because it respects you not because you smashed an egg on her head. It was originally made to make the horse think it was bleeding or hurt from there poll, because there poll is the most sensitive part on there body. If I were you I would do lots of flexing, one rein stops, and a few other exercises. That way she lowers her head because she is soft and supple, and give tot he bit, not because you hit her over the head with an egg.

If you would like to use my approach you can email me at [e-mail]

Answer 12

I have never heard of that?

Answer 13

i have heard of alot of people using this method and from what i hear it works, but dont use an egg, thats gross, instead use a water balloon.

good luck!!!

Answer 14

I don't reckon the egg thing is the way to go, although I have heard of it before, my horse is part arab, so she naturally holds her head a little higher than some, and it can be frustrating, my horse is only young, so i'm still in the groundwork and small amounts of riding stage, I was riding her a fair bit but decided to change my approach, to allow myself to understand her better, so at the moment i'm putting the roller on her with the side reins, to allow her to give in to the bit and be soft, she is slowly learining to tuck her head, and lower it as well as being alot softer on the bit, i only do this for about 10-15min no more then 20min, and not everyday, as i don't want her to get bored. but i have noticed her head lowering. hope this helps a bit.  

Answer 15

The egg is supposed to be a cure for a horse that rears, I 've never heard it suggested for a head tosser but whatever - people are good at making silly suggestions. I've never seen it done and have never actually talked to anyone who's done it so as far as I know it belongs in the realms of equine myths.

If you stop to think about it - isn't it more likely to totally freak your horse out ? _ if she thinks she's bleeding she's going to revert to fight or flight ? Either way it would make an awful mess that someone has to clean up - who wants a horse that smells of rotting eggs ?

I think the best idea is to get her teeth checked out and once you have the all clear on them I'd invest in a running martingale and a couple of lessons in fitting it and using it.  

Answer 16

The old egg trick is for rearers. Not the answer for your mare. You'll probably just end up scaring her.

If your horse has a high head carriage all you need do is put a sheepskin noseband on her.  You can get them from any tack shop. She has to lower her head to see over it and to see where she is going.

Simple ideas are usually the best (and keep your eggs in the fridge where they belong)

Answer 17

My horse also had a problem with rearing, and some told me something similar, but it was with a water balloon.  They said that in theory the horse  will think that he hurt him self and the water (or egg yolk) would feel like blood, and it will stop him from doing it again.

If the horse is high head because of its breed, then the muscles in the horses neck that hold it up are strong. So i don't know if this egg thing will work in your case.  Have you tried a standing martingale.  The martingale will help retrain the muscles in the horses neck so he will not hold it as high.  I have seen it done with a saddlebred, that was ridden huntseat.  It took a coupple months but she did start holding her neck lower.  You could see how the muscle defintion had changed.  

Answer 18

I suggest riding with a bucket full of water and when she hold her head high just pour the bucket all over her, then she'll think she's bleeding really badly and she'll keep her head down forever, because that's how horses think....duh