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Nat(wasIxy)
ParticipantMowing with oxen? I have to subscribe! 😀
ParticipantI would say though Ed that I’m sure your steers will calm down with age – they are at their most curious and playful at the yearling stage. They’re not mature until they’re past 4 at least.
ParticipantInterestingly, the guy at Weald & Downland who I visited the other day finds his cows much easier to get on with than his steers. I’ve not done as much with Peach as with the steers, but I have to say I find the steers better to work with and wouldn’t pick another cow out of choice, Peach was just special and an experiment! Me and Peach seem to have a little bit of a competition going on, I dunno if it’s because we are both female, and therefore both in with a chance of being matriarch, and we’re both dominant characters 😀 She certainly pays me much more attention than the steers do, picking up the tiniest of movements and cues and reacting very quickly. This goes either way – when she’s being good, she is sweeeet….when she’s bad, she’s very bad!
I find Angus acts up with me more than other people, but there’s nothing behind it he’s just joshing around being silly, it’s not a power struggle – but he seems to sense when people are nervous or unsure and will calm right down and be good as gold! However, I wouldn’t leave him unsupervised with anyone – don’t trust anyone that far! Or him!
ParticipantIt is indeed a flokati rug!! 😀 We do produce sheepskins, but we sold out, so I used the next best thing…Good idea about the driving saddle, will get one.
Your ox sure showed you! lol
ParticipantIt is literally only the weight of the baskets though – this was her first time!
ParticipantI don’t specifically know of any breeders close to me, but we have them in the country, along with polled and traditional, which also have horns.
ParticipantShe’s about a year now 🙂
ParticipantI’ve never used a yoke, as I’m ignorant when it comes to woodwork and I wanted to encourage free movement and therefore speed in my oxen (not mention I’m working singles, and some dehorned!) – seems to have worked so far, almost a little too well. I think incorporating elements of a yoke using this system would certainly improve the strength of a collar, although the germans have ploughed with them for years and I doubt I’ll ever need to do heavier work than that.
I’d better get one made!
ParticipantThe padding could be like the wide pads on my three pad collar, and therefore miss the point of the shoulder altogether – it would essentially be like the hybrid offspring of a single yoke and a 3pad collar. I think it would be a lot simpler to make than the 3pad though.
Participant@sanhestar 23797 wrote:
You have to be on the lookout – there are two ES breeders in England and the number of English Shepherds is on the rise. Coming back to the homeland.
I’m guessing these are imports though? This is not a breed that was recognised here and died out – definately think it’s a misnomer! Their ‘homeland’ is america!
ParticipantGlad to see that Ike is adapting!!
ParticipantI really love this idea – putting a spring in to cushion it is genius, too! Sadly, my biggest ox has no horns and I can’t think of a way to make it work 🙁
Oxen ‘carry’ big wooden yokes – I can’t see a pole on a collar being a problem?
ParticipantSorry to dig this up but I love all these different harnessing styles!
With this one (the eastern single yoke) could it not be padded to increase surface area/comfort? and for a lesser muscled animal, would a narrower one not be OK – it woul then be just like a horse collar, a U shape, expect missing the bit just in front of the throat 😀
ParticipantWaddya know…I’m english and have never even heard of an ‘english shepherd’!? 😀 Perhaps they should be called american shepherds lol
ParticipantAm I right in thinking the yoke is layers of wood (glued?) together and then cut out? Or have I read totally wrong!? 😀
Good idea using the britching, think I would too. My lad has no horns anyway (very sad)…
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