[Vicki]

You are all having so much fun riding your steers! I have wanted to but never did.

Jay Frenz of Cattaragas County, NY had a big Guernsey he rode for show. Jay had a special saddle made; just a leather seat with padding, no stirrups, to help keep on because the steers are so slippery. Sounds a lot like the bareback pad. Jay used a fence or corral to get up on the ox.

[Vicki]

Some weeds will actually increase with early cuttings because the canopy is opened up to let in more sun. Same reason why your clovers take off after an early cut. Queen Ann’s lace is one that will take advantage of early cut grass. The grasses and weeds have their life cycles and maturities, just like various garden vegetables.

[Vicki]

Steve, you will probably have to make your own. Here are some resources:

http://www.tillersinternational.org/oxen/resources_techguides/YokingandHarnessingSingleCattleTechGuide.pdf

http://storybrookeripples.blogspot.com/2011/03/flexible-three-pad-collar-for-ox.html

http://storybrookeripples.blogspot.com/2011/03/adjustable-three-pad-collar.html

Three Pad Ox Collar: Rural Heritage, Holiday 2004, Volume 29, Issue 6, Pages 42-
46,; Hames for Three Pad Ox Collar: Rural Heritage, Winter 2005, Volume 30,

You might also consider using a single ox yoke. I do. Simpler to construct and quite efficient.

Hope this helps.

[Vicki]

Are they black and long-legged stock? I love my big old-style dexter oxen but they are twelve and won’t last forever. Now most of the dexters seem so puny and not well-temperamented. I am looking for a good herd for future calves…

[Vicki]

Just my opinion as a small-scale beef cattle raiser: go with grade or cross-breds if you want to raise meat for yourself and a few customers. Crosses will have hybrid vigor. They tend to be smarter, hardier, better dispositioned, thriftyness, and usually look pretty too. I have friends who went registered angus; they are difficult to get bred and their temperament is awful.

I love a hereford crossed with a heritage breed like the Milking Devon or with a charolais or simmental type mutt. Even a beef x dairy like the old style baldies holstein x hereford) are nice in my experience.

If you’re not trying to make money selling fancy club or show calves, why go registered?

I do admit I am NOT partial at all to modern pure angus cattle.

[Vicki]

I saw a bow break during a heavy-class ox pull at Fryeburg, ME. An exciting moment. Wonderfully, calmly, skillfully handled by the driver who was Brian Patten if I recall.

[Vicki]

Great discussion, and thanks for the pictures of the forehead yoked oxen.

Bud Klunich, a Maine headyoke oxman, lived with us one summer and I was able to see his oxen working in them. I do believe it is very efficient; seems the oxen can get better or easier lift for starting the loads in the Canadian-style headyoke. We made a single headyoke for one of my oxen. It took that six-year-old ox only a half hour or so to adjust to the headyoke after having been only in neck yokes previously, and he worked well and seemed to enjoy cultivating single wearing it rather than the neck yoke.

One disadvantage to me using headyokes, over the need to periodically re-carve the horn boxes, is the curved piece of wood needed to adjust the line of draft at the staple of the headyoke. I have some pics fron the MODA 2006 Gathering of that I’ll try to find.

Tim: Chris Davison in GA, and Patti Redfield, are headyoke users, mentored by from Bud. They may not be as far to visit and study as central Maine. I’d love to visit them; we should plan a joint trip.

[Vicki]

Howie has said that old-timers told of bending longer more mature ox horns by shoving a feshly baked loaf of bread right out of the oven, onto the horn. After the steam softened the shell, it was bent. Sorry, I haven’t seen the video yet–computer slowness.

[Vicki]

Are you coming to Tillers? Oh do for the Ox Drovers Gathering! I would love to visit you and see your cattle and old breeds in Croatia. The closest I’ve been was in Albania shortly after the fall of Hoxa regime. Country folk outside Elbasan were plowing with an ox and a wooden plow. Poppies in the fileds in early spring.

[Vicki]

I have read that cattle do form friendships and i have observed it in my 13 years of keeping cattle. They form bonds with other cattle and with people, and they do remember and recognize them for years, perhaps for life. Sometimes it makes it sentimentally difficult to sell or send one for slaughter.

[Vicki]

Bivol, thanks for these interesting posts. I love those simmentals! I enjoy seeing the “older” type of cattle, breeds before they were super-specialized like they are in the U.S. Seeing cattle working inother places with other kinds of equipment, too. I saw one of those kinds of yokes on ebay recently, but to see one being used is great.

[Vicki]

The purpose of the vertical evener is, according to my understanding and experience, to adjust the angle of draft to the rear team so they can pull efficiently along with the lead team. By observing whether or not the evener is vertical, you can observe if the rear team is slacking or is taking most of the draft.

Historically they used drop chains from the rear team’s staple to the draft chain in order to keep the rear team’s heads from being pulled down unnaturally in the line of draft from the front team. The vertical evener accomplished this, but also because of the center pivot hole allows the force to even out more between the teams–at least that is how my brain understands the physics at this time.

To “soften” the start, Brandt Ainsworth used a garage door spring on his chain when teaching his first oxen to pull competitively. Brandt and his dad were experience horse pullers; this may have been a “trick” horse people used, which he tried when he was learning about oxen.

[Vicki]

Hello fabian. Can you bend PVC bows? It is simple by heating the PVC after filling with sand, either over fire or I’ve used a paint-stripping heat gun. Then fashion dowels to fit in the vertical sides of the PVC bows. The dowel reinforces the PVC well on the sides where some of the draft pressure is absorbed from most of it on the neck seat, while the bow at the bottom holds the bow in place in the traditional manner.

We used this design in Uganda. Others here in the USA have used this too. Maybe someone can testify to the long-term effectiveness of this design?

Hickory and ash ox bows are made by Clark’s Bending–Amish craftsmen–of Baltic, Ohio. They may very well ship to you. Then build your yoke around the bows. Many yoke makers here in the states use Clark’s bows because it is simpler than making your own with a steamer and jig.

It’s good to hear you working those cattle and always thinking of design, applications, etc.

[Vicki]

You should see me in a smoking. Then I’m much more handsome than in the clothes at the pics

No doubt, Wolfgang! Likewise, I look prettier in a frock than in my overalls. Hey, are we gonna get kicked off here for cyber-flirting? –just kidding…

[Vicki]

Lovely! Handsome cattle (and driver) and I’m coveting that cart. Thanks for the pictures. Pretty country.

[Author]

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