What to do with the eggs and potatoes ?

Question

Okay so this was prompted by an answer to an earlier question but I have to admit it is something I've wondered about too.

When your horse rears where exactly do you carry the egg that you are going to break on it's head and do you need to use bubblewrap or would cotton wool be okay ?

Also when you have a biter exactly how do you keep that baked potato both hot and available to shove in it's face at the right moment ?

Answer 1

Both questions are kinda redundant IMO as neither method actually works or accomplishes anything. Be better off to boil that egg and carry it and the potatoe along in a zip lock bag to use as a trail snack for yourself ;-).

Plus just how would you hold that potatoe if it was hot enough to actually burn the horses mouth anyway? It would burn your hands. Plus how many horses bite your hands?? I've been bitten several times over the last 35 years with horses and every single time it was either on my back or my leg while my back was turned to them.

Answer 2

Interesting question...  Too bad I missed the first one that obviously go along with this.

I think you are making sense though, if you are suppose to break an egg on a rearing horses head, I would assume you have to do it in mid air, or they won't learn...  HOW they learn from that I don't know???

And the hot potato, I suppose you have to have it ready the whole time too...

Sounds like both of these solutions may be best suited for a chronic rearing horse, or biting horse.  Because you know its coming, where if it is occasional, you would be holding onto eggs and hot potatoes for a while.

POST the question if you can, and let us know how these work out for you.  THEY may be some knowledge to store away for that right horse!

Answer 3

well for the egg, i used this method once. I carried it in bubble wrap and kept it very safe, i also tried a hard boiled egg but that didnt work very well. usually you will know when your horse is going to rear at so just take it out during those times.

With the baked patatoe thing - i have never heard of it. I have always used red peppers, But you have to be quick, you have 5 seconds to retaliate

Answer 4

Most of the answers on here are just plain evil and stupid ! Who the F would stick nails and stump cigs out on a horses nose?...I feel sorry for these animals who are around these people GET A LIFE !! and if you cant handle it then stay away from horses and any animal for that matter.  Non of these methods work there just pathetic, read a book on horsemanship i.e Kelly marks !!

Answer 5

my horse never bites me but one time i thought she was going to bite i just held one finger out and she bumped her nose agenst my finger she was surprised and didnt try it again

Answer 6

Two eggs over easy, bacon medium crisp, hash browns crisp & sourdough toast please.  Also could I some coffee please....

What?  Not what you were talking about?

OH!  I get it....

Someone suggested these moronic ideas huh?  Figures.

Horse that rears:  good whop between the ears with the handle of a crop works.

Horse that bites:  well, I put out a cigarette on the end of a horse's nose when it came at me teeth bared.  Seemed to work.  Have also carried a small sharp nail in my hand, between my fingers to pop them in the nose with.

During the winter the baked potato thing would at least keep your fingers warm when it's cold out, but who wants to dicipline a horse by breaking an egg over it's head & then having to give it a bath to clean up the mess?

This is that Natural Horsemanship thing right?

***EDIT***

A horse cannot rear when you pull it's head to one side?  Really?

Funny, I have seen them rear or start in a circle & fall over when their head is pulled to one side.  Have also seen them start bucking with their heads pulled to one side.

***EDIT***

Oh, little "Juicy" not like my methods.  I'm hurt. ~roll the eyes~  Bet you are one of the "no, no" baby talk my horsey people right? One of those on here asking why does my horse do this?  Why can't I get my horse to do that?

I have been around horses my whole life & let me add, the cigarette was because I had it & I caught the horse coming at me.  The nail did NO damage to the horse. But got the message across clearly.  I guarantee you that my horses are NOT abused in anyway, but I will NOT stand by & allow ANY horse to kick, bite, rear or exhibit one single bad habit or even allow for the attempt.

So, until you have been around as many horses as I have....Keep your judgements to yourself.

READ A BOOK!!!!  That explains a lot!!!!  

LOL!!!!!!  

***EDIT***  

Midnight, I do not recall saying that I "stabbed" any horse with a nail.  Would you prefer I type in crayon so it will be easier for your to read?

Also, if you prefer to risk your horse's & your body to possible permanent injury by allowing or purposefully throwing a horse over backwards, have at it.  I prefer to take the problem in hand & rectify it before it gets to that point.  Funny, never have had to go those extremes with ANY horse I have ever had or been around.  Hooray for me!!!!

Answer 7

Ya know American...if I came up on you out on the trail...and you had eggs taped to your shirt...

I would be giving you PLENTY of room to get around me and on down the trail.  Nevermind the 'grinding gears' in my head trying to figure out what the heck was wrong with you!!  And I'd be laughing all the way home!

The potato thing...great for cold morning pocket warmers...but I don't get how you'd get the horse to bite on them?  My bites have also been on my back or thighs when my back was turned.  Besides the horse would clamp it's lips together if I tried to shove it in there.  I'll stick with aggressive retaliation of poking or anything else that resembles dominant behavior of an alpha herd leader.

I'll stick with a stick or crop or reins on the poll.  They reach alot further than me being leaned over the neck and off balance while I'm trying to aim and let that egg smack in the right spot.  My luck...the horse would move it's head and my egg would be lieing on the ground...and I would be looking at it from a rearing horse.  I'm not against it...but I won't be doing it...I don't think.  Never had to...

I prefer my eggs and potatos scrambled together in a tortilla for a snack...

Answer 8

I have done this. I taped mine to my shirt. I also ride western, one handed. Then I pulled it off & broke it on the poll. You can use a egg or water balloon. Never heard of potatoes.....

****edit****

I agree with BlueSB, the whip works great, too!!!

****edit*****

BB~~ LOL I know!!!! I would think that, that person was nuttsss!! LOL But bet ya would pay to see such things! LOL I would! LOL I had to do it 2xs,  the dam horse only did it when you were out on the trail..... In the arena was good.  I was 22yr too. Now I'll pay someone else to deal with such things. I can't stand that with a horse!!!!!! & I think the whip works better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 9

I'm sorry I don't know the answer.  I have heard of that and I didn't know what it meant either.  But, it is interesting.

I will be watching for an answer.  Good question!  I will give you a star!

Answer 10

Well, I vote for potato salad!!!!!  :>)   Certainly tastier.  Blue Sage has the right idea in the breakfast department.

Answer 11

Why on earth would you shove a hot baked potato in a horse's face? Other than to cause it suffering?!

The cracked egg doesn't work on rearers - if a tap with the handle of your whip doesn't work then you need to prevent or distract the rearer from rearing (you should really do this anyway). A horse doesn't rear for fun, there is an underlying cause - look for this and solve this rather than just punishing the rear. When you feel the horse try to rear, pull its head to the side - it can't rear like this. But honestly, look for the cause of the problem.

ADD: Blue Sage, I have schooled literally hundreds of horses and have NEVER come across one that could rear successfully with its head bent to the side. Yes it may fall over and I'm not ashamed to say that as a last resort I have pulled a repetitive rearer over backwards. They never did it again. And why would you burn a horse's nose or stab it with a nail? There are better, more humane ways to stop a biting horse!

Answer 12

Ok - I had heard of people attempting to do these things as well, and I"ve heard of similar things like keeping a baggie full of hot water to smack 'em with on their heads when they rear.

I personally know of a horse someone tried this with - and the result is that it's actually how very hard to ride for being afraid of getting hurt so badly - they think you've hit them so hard they are bleeding.    The animals is horribly afraid now of anything over it's head.

I would not suggest trying these things - things like this along with things like trying to lay a horse down should only be attempted by very experienced trainers who know the right time to do them with and the right horse.

A horse either rears or bites due to an experience that he finds he must save himself from.  He has maybe learned to rear because he can then unseat his rider and achieve the reward of being allowed to go back to his comfortable paddock and rest.  Maybe he's learned this as a result of being incorrectly asked something he didn't understand.  Repeated asking and forcing maybe confused him so much, he began rearing and learned to escape the confusing request.

Perhaps a horse bites because he's been conditioned he must to keep people away from him, perhaps because he's been inadvertently rewarded for it.

People walk up to horses all the time and put an empty hand under their mouths.  The horse can't see this hand and often figures there's a treat there, and bites looking for the treat - people don't understand and may then hit him which is giving him a treat then beating him for doing someting he may have previously been conditioned to do.  

Here's another one - a young horse sniffs another to identify it.  In order to get the horse to come up to you as a youngster, you blow in it's nose - then he learns to nip because as with humans, there's a point where they put everything in their mouths to see what it might taste like.  You swat, they try to bite to protect themselves and you have a vicous circle to try to figure out how to fix.

You must first determine why the horse exhibits the bad behavior - then work to fix it.  Does he rear because he's scared?  Does he rear because he's confused?  Does he rear because he's gotten released from work somehow before?  Then you can correct what it is.

My first horse got in the habit of lying down when a rider was mounted.  Come to find out, he was only newly started and the rider was trying to get him to collect - until a horse has learned to perform all gaits with a rider (period), one cannot teach the horse to control the speed of the gait.  He was so confused by the rider asking him to go faster while holding him back (telling him to stop) that he learned if he stopped and laid down, she'd get off and give up.  so it took about 2 weeks of working with him to simply get him to stop laying down and move - just move.  Then years to get him to move faster and think it was actually fun to run, then a while later to begin to rate his gaits.  

A good horse trainer can make these adjustments within days or weeks while those of us "normal" owners it takes months of long hard work to over come these things completely.

Not the answer you were looking for I expect, but I feel it's a real one as a real fix than a bandaid like an egg or potato.  Heck, I taught my youngster not to come to my face and nip me - but I wouldn't suggest it to anyone - when she put her face up and tried to nip, I bit her back hard on the nose - although she doesn't nip me after only the first time I bit her back, she does test others to see if they'll back off.  I took a chance of loosing my teeth - and I actually got a mouth full of dirty snot when my teeth closed down.  Thought you'd get a laugh out of that.....

Answer 13

*grin*

Debi...funny you asked this as I was wondering about this same thing last night!

I thought I was being silly....that everyone else must know this answer but me!

Glad I am not alone!