Carrot on a Stick

"Carrots on stick!. Get on your pig and tell it where to go!."

- The Pretty Scary Update Promo Poster

A Carrot on a Stick is an item that can be used to control saddled pigs.

Use
To use a carrot on a stick, the player must first saddle a pig. The pig will then move in the direction that the carrot on a stick points to. It is not possible to have the pig swim into water. Hitting the pig will make it move randomly as if it were hurt. Also, if the player holds a carrot on a stick, all pigs (saddled or not) will follow the player. Pigs can climb ladders and vines allowing for vertical movement besides jumping. The player cannot ride pigs through portals. The pigs will slowly eat the carrot, eventually leaving you with a fishing rod. You'll have to re-craft the carrot on a stick before controlling the pig again.

To make the pig run faster, the player can right click while holding the Carrot on a Stick. This is called "boosting." Each boost costs 25% of the Carrot on a Stick's durability. If the Carrot on a Stick has less than 25% of durability, the boost cannot be used. After a boost is used, the player may switch to another item while retaining the boost. This allows the player to charge mobs with a sword or strafe while charging a bow, for example.

The speed of a mounted pig is at 4.00 m/s, boosting it doubles the speed to 8.00 m/s. These speeds are unaffected by potions of swiftness. The boost takes 5 seconds to warm up and lasts 40 seconds. Therefore, it is possible to travel up to 340 blocks on a single boost without holding the Carrot on a Stick.

Crafting
The carrot must be placed at a diagonal below the fishing rod, hence making it possible to craft a Carrot on a Stick using the inventory 2×2 crafting arrangement.