[Vicki]

You’re a brave man to switch sides with those big older oxen! I had a fast/lagging pair of big shorthorns; even my dexters do that to some extent if not working hard. I’ve found that after 20 min. or so, and getting into moderate to heavy steady work, both these pairs evened out on their own. I would rather have the fast one off; that’s usually the lagger. Then I can coax the lagging nigh. Yoke comfort can be a factor. I see that the deeper belly helped. Maybe the lunging off doesn’t like the neck seat. I had a Maine oxman reshape the neck seats on my yoke to be much more elliptical than flat, and those shorthorns evened out much more.

Keep us posted on how it’s going.

[Vicki]

I’m convinced that cattle are primarily visually cued, with voice being secondary and taking more conditioning. No doubt voice conditioning comes from a different portion of their brains. I was told that you can watch for cattle to grind their teeth/lick their lips a little, and that is the point when they are switching over in their brains from instinctive cattle-mind to actively thinking about your commands and learning. From experience, I think there is truth in this.

I like working without talking, but it’s good to practice voice alone to keep it on the forefront of their brains.

Regarding oxen stopping when the teamster stumbles, it’s not always the case. We had shorthorns who drove very well and were good workers, but they did run a little when my husband slipped and fell in the woods; perhaps becasue they weren’t trained as calves by us.

[Vicki]

I learned from Howie to gently scrape flakey or yellowed dull horns with a piece of broken glass from head outward. You don’t want to take off too much shell. Use medium fine sandpaper after. Coat with olive oil, veg. oil or lard.

I usually scrub my oxen’s horns in summer weekly with shampoo on scrub brush, rinse well, coat with oil. I like to keep the stains off the white horns and I think they like the scrubbing at the base; keeps flakes and dandruff from building up. I keep the hair trimmed back in summer too.

[Vicki]

Wow. . .I’m so glad you both got out of that OK. You were so calm to think what to do next.

Telling your story will help the rest of think ahead, to, “What if that happened with my animal? What would I do first, next?” etc.

Like emergency responders-police, fire, EMS-spend lots of time mentally rehearsing various tactical scenarios. A form of “daydreaming” preparation.

[Vicki]

Tim, Tom, and dl: I appreciate your comments. This site and some of these threads are so valuable and interesting!

Being able to know when you are operating in your capabilities and knowing when to walk away–that’s great advice. That’s why I leave many hang-ups to come down on their own with heavy snow or wind. My older oxen are pretty unflappable, but I don’t really know what I’m doing in the woods like others of you do. I’m fine with that. We keep working and trying new things, but with a lot of caution. Learning, trying, and enjoying the work with oxen is very satisfying; having just passed my double-nickel birthday, it’s quite wonderful and rejuvenating to keep working and attempting to progress and improve!

I know from experience that these oxen will stop on a dime any time I slip or fall down in the woods. No worries of getting run over.

I usually am alone when I’m working in the woods, and I remember to bring my cell phone nowadays. There is good service there. Another reason for me to err on the side of caution, being alone with the oxen in the woods. My husband is along if we are actually felling anything.

I don’t know what a “dead man” function is.

[Vicki]

Another great video, Tim.

Anyone want to address safety issues in pulling down hang-ups and “widow-makers”? Some leaners I’ll pull, but I’ve been reluctant to approach others, not sure how they might fall or flip.

[Vicki]

No personal experience. But a woman in Alberta Canada trained a big steer to work alongside her horses. She sent a photo of herself driving the mixed team from a sled. The photo is in the April ’08 issue of the Midwest Ox Drovers News. The ox was wearing a collar. If you want, pm me and I’ll get you in touch with this woman.

[Vicki]

Just my experience over about 13 years: My hereford pink-nosed and pink eye-lidded cows are old and live basically out-doors, and I do not see any problems with them. The oldest is going on 15. I watch for bumps or warts. The old matriarch cow did develop a wart on her eyelid when she was a ripe old age, which the vet and I assumed was cancer, but it went away and I had her another two years without incident. Granted, I am in NE Ohio in a major snowbelt, where we have more cloudy days than sunny ones.

riends say they avoid white faced cattle because of pink eye susceptibility, but I’ve never had pink-eye on my farm, either.

The baby calves do get sun-burned noses in the summer, and I hate to see it but don’t know what to do about it. I’ve seen the skin flake and peel off. It just burns one time, then I never notice any more sunburns on any of them.

[Vicki]

It would be great if you could get Howie’s Pat and Willie; they did not sell at auction. But whatever you get, you will not regret a visit to Ox Hill Devons!

[Vicki]

Howie was looking for a new home for his mature Devons. I don’t doubt he and Andy would help you learn to use them, if they are still available. I’m a bit farther west in Ohio. Some other ox folks near Meadville and I could probably help you out some too.

[Vicki]

Bay, I’d be interested to hear the outcome if you do indeed switch your steers’ sides in the yoke. I wonder if the off steer’s lagging and head down is due to respect/intimidation from the dominant nigh. If so, we’d expect him to do the same even if you switch them.

I have a little of that going on in my team, where the off keeps his head lower and will lag, no matter what I seem to try. Under longer heavier work, they do even out well, happily. Working single, the off is great and has no weakness, so I wonder if he simply prefers a different bow depth or neck seat than the yoke gives him, or if he’s trying to stay farther away from the nigh ox.

[Vicki]

Thanks to everyone for this stimulating thread. Carl, that yoke is a beauty! I’ve noticed that old yokes, especially eastern ones, tend toward more rounded neck seats, more rounded both front to back and side to side, and deeper bellies. Yokes, even old yokes, I see from the midwestern region tend to be flatter in neck seat–even in the side to side arc–and have less belly.

I have wondered if this difference was influenced by a difference in the type of work, type of landscape, and/or type of cattle that were predominant in old New England vs. the midwest. Or is the difference due to a difference in skills and priorities between settled New England guys and farmers settling the new regions of prairies and plains? A well-respected yoke maker and I were atlking about this and he theorized about the difference between an oxman over a long winter in New England taking lots of time and care to fashion a yoke, and settlers on the move or just arriving in new lands, being in more of a hurry to make a usable yoke with less sophisticated tools and from different types of trees.

Any thoughts, anyone?

[Vicki]

This keratin-cysteine-UV light dynamic is very interesting!

Now consider dairy Holsteins, which in most parts of the USA spend most or all of their time indoors, out of natural sunlight and its UV rays. Are their hooves generally softer or more brittle than working Holsteins living outdoors? Is that related to the wetness or dryness of the environment?

Andy: let the scientific method begin. . .

[Vicki]

Wow, gorgeous! Oxen look real nice too. How nice you can use something your father kept. (I am seriously coveting that cart!)

[Vicki]

I’ve trained three jerseys and they were smart and cooperative. Can be friendly to a fault as Tom said. Early lessons in “manners” and respecting your space are real important with bottle calves, especially with Jerseys which seem to want to be joined to your hip. My Jerseys tend to holler for human contact; moo if they catch a glimpse or a sound of you, which can be annoying. I had a shorthorn who did the same, though.

Get calves YOU like. I think Jerseys can be fine for what you want to do.

I believe the polled gene is dominant over the horned gene. So to get a chance of horned offspring, parents needs to have at least one recessive horned gene.

[Author]

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