eastern yoke in germany

btw unicorn hitch

???please explain…..

how does an eastern design of a single ox yoke appear in central europe, and just there?

Heinrich Steinmetz in his book “Kuhanspannung in Deutschland” (1936) explains, that double withers yokes took a foothold in the beginning of the 19th century in Pommerania. The Prussian government however already in 1907 forbid the use of these yokes.
So I’m not sure how it got there, but it didn’t last long for the negative effects could be obviously seen.
elke

unicorn hitch means two animals are hitched one aside of another, and a third in front.

true 😉
yesterday I couldn’t see the first? picture, and with the picture below it didn’t make sense; today there seems to be another one up front … from China? can’t see that one either……
sorry, I am too blond for computers 😮

harnesses for cattle were only invented after the withersyoke; people realised padding might be an option, or an increase in touching surface, so the padding spread on downwards from the withers along the shoulders…….
elke

I agree Fabian, more important than padding is the surface area and WHERE the pressure of draft work is applied.
for any that might have an interest, here are some thoughts about harness theory from a perspective of animal anatomy :

In cattle, the neck is about the strongest part of the body. by strong i mean “able to move a lot of weight” and also “able to take a lot of pressure and abuse”. In horses, the back and shoulders are very strong and “tightly made”.
In contrast, the bovine back is flexible …. and there is also a lot more loose connective tissue under the bovine shoulder compared to the horse.
( as a pathologist, it’s my part to take horses and cattle apart every day, so i feel pretty confident in saying that! )

anyway, the differences in the neck , chest and shoulder between the two species goes a long way, i think, to explaining at least some of the differences in harnessing technique.

another way to explain differences in harnessing techniques, of course is socio-economics. Historically, oxen were used in relatively undeveloped areas, right? and they are still used in the poorest areas of the world, because they CAN be harnessed with very simple technologies, the kind that you can make yourself even if you only have a machete in your tool box.

if you are rich enough and educated enough, you make a carefully designed harness from wood, leaher and metal, or a beautifully fashioned neck yoke or a head yoke……and the animals would certainly work better
but the majority of oxen working today are not owned by rich people.
those skinny harsh looking yokes on oxen in Nigeria and in India, and Nicaragua are not used because they are efficient or comfortable for the animal, but because nothing else is available.
that’s the work that Tiller’s International and other groups are trying to do; to improve animal draft power technology world wide. i have been thinking about this topci a good deal, since the International Conference on Oxen at williamsburg Va, a month or so ago. it was an inspiring convention and made me want to go volunteer somewhere! but philosophizing on this forum will have to do for now. (sorry!)

@CharlyBonifaz 4137 wrote:

padding is necessary in places were the body doesn’t provide any naturally

elke

I forgot to write this .;)
The forehead-yoke must be padded of course.
The neck-yoke does not need any padding (my opinion) for the neck has “padding” enough.