[fabian]

Hey, Marko, nice to see that you are still alive !

[fabian]

you will find it here:

http://www.draftanimalpower.com/showthread.php?3791-quot-running-like-a-V-quot&p=24008#post24008

[fabian]

It’s a pity. The video is not available in Germany, because of the copyright of the music in it.

[fabian]

@Droverone 34276 wrote:

to all the bow/neck/shoulder yoke devotees,please remember

“No matter how far you’ve gone on a wrong road, turn back!” [turkish proverb]

The question after hundreds of years with both systems is still: WHICH system is the “wrong road” ?
But I do not want to feed this unnecessairy discussion……

[fabian]

The most difficult of training was to get her halterbroken. We bought her from a dairy farm and she was used to be tied but not used to be lead with a halter. When that worked, I walked with her through the forrest and the fields teaching her the commands.
The next challenge was not only to teach her to pull, but to teach her HOW to pull because to that time I used the forehead yoke, the common system here, in the past a „working-cow-area“. Meanwhile I use the American style neck yoke and it is much more easier to teach them to pull. May be that this depends on the fact that the cows are used to be captured in a fence while they get fed. This winter I trained a 2,5 year old cow and she never declined the bow around her neck.
After 2 times walking with the yoke she pulled at the 3rd time the empty sled and then I increased the load.
The commands do my cows learn when I bring them without a load or being yoked to pasture. So it’s a permanent training.
Another challenge is the cows get away from their calves (even mother cows) . I myself had never problems with this. But my neighbour, who is a professional mothercow farmer, always wonder that I get my cows away from the calves. I think it’s a kind of confidence : They know that they always come back to their calves. I onlx had one time problems, not with the cow but with her calf: calf was born in July, never been apart from it’s mother. When I hitched up first time in winter, the tied calf nearly hanged up in the barn. Luckywise I noticed it before leaving the yard. This video was taken at that day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K6k194Siik
When the calves are used to be left alone for some hours from early age it is not a problem. But remember my „golden rule“: Rumen filled, udder empty.

I hope that I could help you a little bit and encourage you to do your work with a cow.

Wolfgang

[fabian]

My golden rule for training my cows is:
“Rumen filled, udder empty”

[fabian]

1. I trained my first cow when she was nearly 4 years old. Now she is 16 and the best I ever had.
2. We have in Germany a book from the 1930’s which says that a farm smaller than 17/18 acres is more economically worked with cows than with oxen or horses.
3. If you don’t have so much work it’s better (my opinion) to work with cows because they do not only the work you have to do for them but also produce milk and a calf every year. This is a profit more for you. AND it keeps the cow slim. Most oxen I have seen up to know which do not work often and hard, were to fat for being healthy or it was a big challenge for the teamster (with a lot of effort) to limit the diet for them. The cows can graze as much as they want: with a calf beside and even without work they remain in a good condition.

Wolfgang

(sorry for my clumsy English)

[fabian]

I said it here more than one time: I always drive my horned team with britchen because I want to make work for them as easy as possible. These britchen do not cost the world (about 44,– $ each) and work well in breaking and backing a waggon/cart.
And with britchen it makes no difference whether horned or not.

[fabian]

Did you try what happens when YOU step through the puddles ? Will they follow you then ?

[fabian]

@CharlyBonifaz 29837 wrote:

when I stumbled over my own feet and fell, they did stop immediately

may be that I’m wrong but my experience is that they must not be trained for that behaviour but do it “automatically”. Perhaps it’s because WE ware the “leading animal” in the team.
But IF it is so, nature did well to fix this in the animal’s brains.

Wolfgang

[fabian]

I use the German word for “Attention” when starting the team or after a little bit longer time without a command.
while pulling straight forward it seems sometimes the cows are dreaming. The word “attention” wakes them up. 🙂

Wolfgang

[fabian]

Few weeks ago I tested the new yoke with the team, carrying a familiy through the fields.

[fabian]

@bivol 28503 wrote:

so, it’s official now 0.0… i remember reading once on this forum that oxen can pull more with American neck yoke than with with 3-pad collar, i was a bit skeptical, but now i guess it places the neck yoke on #1 as best design (though i doubt Rolf Minhorst will agree).:D

Dr. Minhorst is in high grade convinced of the 3-pad-collar that he does not see (does not want to see ? ) its shortfalls and the advantages of other hitching systems.
I agree with Drew Conroy who says that EVERY system has its advantages and disadvantages.
I saw only few pics with bovines in 3pc which did Dr. Minhorst accept complete (too small, too deep hitchpoint, too high hitchpoint, too big aso.) so that I came to the result that the 3pc is only a hitching system for real experts. The injuries a 3pc can cause, are immense. So (and because it is the local hitching system) I became a proponent of the forehead yoke. It is no problem for even the foolishst oxdrover to use it on cattle without causing injuries.
But the simplicity of hitching led me to the american neckyoke. One grip and the team is hitched to a cart, waggon aso, one second grip and the team is unhitched. In the wood you have only to use one chain or one pole, not 4 chains, 2 singletrees and one evener when using a harness system.
BUT : the neckyoke ALSO needs much know how about the right fit if you don’t want cause injuries on your cattle. THAT’s for my opinion one of the greatest shortfalls of the neck yoke. I think that the number of injuries you can cause with a neck yoke and the number of injuries you can cause with a 3pc are more or less similar.
Assumed the teamster HAS the know how about the right fit and he HAS hard work for his oxen, then he should use the system which captures the power of oxen best. And referred to the statement of the oxlogger in the pics this is the neckyoke. About the forehead yoke he can’t say anything, because he can’t use it: his oxen are dehorned. I like horned oxen more but dehorning his oxen makes sense because he logs in difficult terrain and he wants to spare his oxen a further obstacle in the tight wood.

Wolfgang

[fabian]

@bivol 28471 wrote:

Wolfgang, how are other people excepting these yokes? are they happy?

The oxlogger says that the ox pulls more with the yoke than with the three-pad-collar

@bivol 28471 wrote:

is there more interested people?

There are not many oxen here around

@bivol 28471 wrote:

is that hornless Rotvieh cattle, or Limousine?

The oxen are Limousin/Red Holstein crosses

@bivol 28471 wrote:

waah, too many questions from two pictures!

There are THREE pictures !

@bivol 28471 wrote:

about coming to Germany this summer: unfortunatelly i wont be able to visit you nor Elke…:(
some unexpected things happened in family, and i had to give the money i saved. i tried to send you a PM, but i think it failed, so i am telling you (and you too, Elke) in this way. i’m sorry for the inconvenience and for telling you this late!

That’s no problem.

@CB

@CharlyBonifaz 28472 wrote:

pretty well, speaking for my own self; he IS the best American neck yoke maker this side of the pond…..:cool:

you can not judge this because you don’t have a yoke of my “production”

[fabian]

yes,, Marco, i made it (call me “neckyoke-spreader”). But the drop is not as deep as it should be. The next will be better !

[Author]

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