[Oxhill]

I don’t have the DVD yet but it is advertised with English subtitles. Bestbuy.com and Amazon.com both have it. I don’t know what brick and mortars would carry it.

[Oxhill]

Ben

Keep us posted how this works out. We have a “Thüringisches Stirnjoch” that I would like to reproduce. As Chris offered I can share any measurements you might be interested in. It is very light and simple and would work very well for cows doing normal work. I think something more robust might be needed to harness the full effort of a big steer.

Elke

I see some have a couple of positions to move the straps so as to make them narrower. Do they typically come in various sizes? Is size of great importance?

[Oxhill]

Thank you sir!

@bendube 37896 wrote:

Do you know what edition of SFJ that article appeared in?

Sure. Winter 1991 Vol 15 No 1. The article is on page 37 and titled The Evolution of Draft Cattle Harness In Germany. It talks mostly about how the three pad collar came about and why he feels it is superior. I think he overstates the criticisms of yokes but it is still a good read.

[Oxhill]

Bendube: If that publication is online could you post a link?

In a SFJ article by Rolf Minhorst he cites a study by the German government in 1930. Of 7.1 million dairy cows of various dual purpose breeds 2.3 million were also being used as working cows. For farms up to 7 hectors or roughly 17 acres it was more profitable to work the cows rather than use dedicated oxen or horses. He states that the cows would be worked in turns to avoid overburdening them and that it didn’t influence fertility or the quality of the milk. Any reduction in milk volume was compensated by the use of their labor.

I have a bunch of links on working cows I will dig up.

[Oxhill]

@bendube 37785 wrote:

Given that so many homesteaders and smallholders keep a family cow or two, the use of cows for traction seems to be extraordinarily under-rated in the US.

Yes it is. What breed of cow are you training?

[Oxhill]

This controversy is such a shame. Death is a part of life and will come for us all. Hopefully we will all be allowed to pass without becoming a stepping stool in someones political agenda.

Who is VINE to interject themselves into the situation? This is a very personal decision and one only the school should make. The people who have worked and cared for these animals day after day are more qualified to act on their behalf than anyone else.

Donating the injured ox to VINE would have been the easy way out. It also would have been irresponsible and cruel. Why force an injured ox to endure a frigid winter and frozen ground to indulge VINE’s selfish sensibilities? Does he owe them anything? GMC should be commended for standing by their old friend and taking the responsibility of seeing him through to the end. GMC should be supported in their time of loss rather than attacked and vilified.

As far as the question asked by Christine H. Historically an advantage that oxen had was that they could be eaten in the event of injury and that they increased in value during their working life. An old saying is that “an ox will grow until he is seven and then get big.” Meaning his frame will grow until seven and then he will just put on weight. I think that it is why it was common to work an ox hard from four to around seven or eight and then fatten and sell or butcher them.

I raised an ox for sixteen years from the time I was eight till I was twenty-five. In the end he became arthritic and I had to make a decision about his future. Making him suffer with arthritis through a frigid winter walking on uneven frozen ground was not an option. He was my friend and owed me nothing and I felt it would be selfish to do that to him. Would he be honored most by being euthanized and buried or by being butchered like so many oxen before him? That was a very personal decision. One only I could make. One in which I was supported while I made it. One I guess I should be thankful that I was not threatened, attacked and vilified for. In the end my father walked my friend through the process at the local slaughter house and ensured that he was treated with the respect he deserved. My only regret is that I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Thanks again Dad!

[Oxhill]

@bendube 37516 wrote:

Dr. Minhorst will have an english version available next year. Until then, we have google translate, which reads it as “Modern Tableware for working cattle.”

He didn’t tell me that. Thats good to know but I can’t seem to get the Euro cash he requires without ordering a larger quantity anyhow.

[Oxhill]

HERE is a pitcher of my sister moving a pig pen with two singles. Without the use of an evener making sure everyone is doing their part is an issue but no more than working two teams. I am not sure how well an evener would have worked in this case since they are very different sizes.

[Oxhill]

Excellent!

Does your brichen have a spider on top to hook your heel chains to when not in use?

[Oxhill]

If only you knew an old man who has plans for a shoeing frame squirreled away someplace! 😉

[Oxhill]

You could do the same thing with a single shoulder yoke, single Canadian head yoke, collar or the forehead yoke as CharlyBonifaz suggests.

I have many other images of American cattle in collars so it was common. A few are from New England but most are from the south or Minnesota/North Dakota/Western Canada area. I would guess late 1800s to very early 1900s.

[Oxhill]

@Oxhill 37408 wrote:

Someplace I have an old image of four oxen abreast pulling a wagon using two double yokes.

Found it!

[Oxhill]

Here are some images you might like.

I suspect it is more flexible as you can easily put together different combinations if they are trained well enough. No reason you couldn’t work four abreast each with a different style of yoke or harness. One glaring disadvantage would be the need for more equipment and more complicated hitch.

Hopefully some of the EURO teamsters will chime in!

Someplace I have an old image of four oxen abreast pulling a wagon using two double yokes. Ray Ludwig has a picture of a similar hitch in his book.

[Oxhill]

Thanks again Anne! Per his reply yes he is selling a PDF for 20euro.

[Oxhill]

I agree but you have to do some basic training before you start pulling and a yoke isn’t required for that part.

[Author]

Posts