back to conditioning

[Andy Carson]

The boys had 2 days off because of bad weather and some repairs I had to do to the fencing. They are hard on things that are not electrified! Got back to work yesterday. They were strong, and are now pulling about 150 lbs of rocks with about the same effort as they were pulling the empty stoneboat a week ago. They were moving fast, though, and were quite naughty. The nigh ox got over the chain twice when we were out. I am trying to figure out if this is accidental or intential as he might have figured out it gets him out of work while I fiddle with them to get the chain where it ought to be. They have started to go faster up hills and when headed towards the barn. I am trying to curtail this, but I think it is nice in the way that it demonstrates some level of comfort with the yoke that wasn’t there before. The off ox is still faster than the nigh. I alternate try to slow him down and trying to speed up the nigh. Slowing the off seems to be slightly more effective, but it requires alot of pestering in his face. I tried a couple harder whops to see if I could do this less frequently and he would get the point, but he seems to forget the whops just as fast as the pestering. I had been hitching them up by walking them in front of the stoneboat and backing them up to the front. I am having some trouble “aiming” thier butts properly, and they seem to spread thier butts apart when asked to back for a longer distance. This is something to work on, but I found it much easier to walk them over the chain and haw them into position. I also have to work on “whoa” more. I tend to just walk when out with the boys and this doesn’t give them a chance to practice stopping. All in all, it was a good time with some progress and also some challanges. The body went forward in a couple day without work, but the mind slid back…

[Tim Harrigan]

Those boys must think they are in boot camp.;)

[Andy Carson]

@Tim Harrigan 33143 wrote:

Those boys must think they are in boot camp.;)

Yeah, it feels like boot camp all around. The boys did great today. I discovered that my chain jumper knows to get back on his side if you just make him pull through it. I was also reading back through old ox posts and saw a tip to push from behind your nigh ox’s shoulderif he is the slow one in the team. Good tip Carl, it worked like a dream. After pulling the rocks on the sled around for a good while, I took off the rocks just to see. Boy, was the sled easy then. Quiet a lot of progress they have made in a week. I am proud of them.:o

[Andy Carson]

The boys pulled about 300 lbs of rocks around today and did it well. They have doubled their pulling power since “boot camp” began, which is great. Now, if they double it again, then we can really get to work! 🙂 Seriously, though, they did great today. All except for my off ox is too fast again. Is evening out the team a common problem?

[Tim Harrigan]

@Countymouse 33219 wrote:

… All except for my off ox is too fast again. Is evening out the team a common problem?

Not sure how common it is but it is probably one of the reasons some folks will start with 3-4 calves and then end up with the two that work best together. I know my Will and Abe had different natural gaits, and I think I discussed this with Vicki one time about one of her teams as well. Abe was the dominant one in the pasture because he was bigger but Will was quicker—quicker step and quicker mind. In the yoke Will always wanted to be six inches ahead of Abe. I always worked at evening them up by tapping Will on the knees and Abe (off) on the butt and telling him to step up. It worked out OK, but their natural gait was always dominant if I did not stay after them. It was most obvious when they were fresh and Will wanted to move out, not so much when they were tired.

With oxen we really have less options to even them up, it seems, than with horses. We have no physical restraint with oxen, horses can be bucked back. So we ask them to resist their natural tendencies and that takes a lot of effort on their part.

You learn to work with it. When they were starting a load I would call on Abe first to get him started, Will would be right into the yoke and they would start pretty even. If I called on Will first, Abe would be too far behind for an even start.

Like most things it tends to get a little more complicated over time. Because Will was a little smarter and quicker I would usually call on him to be responsive when I was riding on the sled or boat, or directing from the back end of a 16 ft log, so he kind of ended up pushing and pulling on Abe a bit to clue him in. In the last few years I noticed that they would haul out a bit, not bad, mostly when Will wanted to move faster than Abe. I think Will just started thinking it was natural to drag Abe around a bit and Abe decided it was easier to resist than put the scoot on and pick it up. It was never a big problem, most folks would probalby not even notice, but is shows that one thing can lead to another over time.

You might find it easier if your nigh ox is the faster of the two, might be a little easier to back him off.

[Baystatetom]

My off steer has been a step ahead of the near one since day one. I have moved my staple a inch to the off side and it has made no difference. The slow near steer seams to be happy to lag back and let his partner do all the work. If I try and prod him along all three of us end up running. Like Tim says call on your slow one first so they at least start together, once they are moving its less of an issue. My near steer always seems to know when I need him though. A big log coming up hill for instance he picks it up a notch and pulls hard. I have finally decided as long as I get the job done its not worth worrying about. I did try and tie a halter to the load chain with some success but I always had to readjust it if the chain came unhooked or if I lengthened it or shortened it for some reason.
~Tom

[Andy Carson]

@Baystatetom 33271 I have finally decided as long as I get the job done its not worth worrying about. [/QUOTE wrote:

Probably good advice, they are doing the job, so perhaps I will leave on to walk a half step ahead and see if it leads to any problems. I am not in a show…

[Tim Harrigan]

Andy, I would make an effort to keep them even, but don’t worry about it too much if they are continuing to make a good effort.

[Andy Carson]

OK, I’ll keep doing my best. It is hard to find a balance between having the boys work exactly like I might imagine while also allowing the m some leeway and freedom when they are accomplished the task i ask of them. When they are not going well, or doing well, it’s easy to find fault and correct it (well maybe not easy to correct, but easy to see what needed fixed). When they perform the task asked in a method I would not have imagined, or think is ideal, I tend to cut them slack. It’s probably a tough balance for alot of trainers and I can see the argument on both sides… I think that having them more even would be an improvement, though, and something I will strive towards in a balanced way (Esp when they are going well otherwise).

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