[Tim Harrigan]

Elke, that is impressive. I do not shoe mine but my first reaction was 99% of the time they would need to be in stocks. Mine don’t help much when it comes to holding up their feet, particularly the hind feet. I think with all the fussing around to trim the foot and fit the shoe that I would really prefer to work in stocks though. I will put a couple of pics of oxen being shod in the ‘working cattle’ category of the picture gallery if anyone is interested.

[Tim Harrigan]

I think it is a combination of training, common sense and the situation you are in. I often want my team to stand when I am working on fence or other things when there is no place to tie them. So standing has been an emphasis for me. We have had a few go-arounds over the years but they will stand for long periods even when I am quite a distance from them. I still occasionally hide behind a tree and watch them to make sure they do not move when I tell them to stand. And they do not try to graze while they are waiting. But that is out in the woods/pasture where there are not many distractions for them. As the potential for distraction increases I draw the line a little closer. If the regret for having them jump out of line is high I may ask them to stand but I am not going to test them by hiding behind a tree. Because few of us have the time to spend to get our team sharp and responsive in all the things we would like them to do we need to set priorities. I think you need to choose the things you want to be comfortable with. If you want to do fairs or parades start early and go often. Thats not my thing, but they will stand for an hour in the woods whether they can see me or not. I want them to be sharp with the things we do every day.

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