Discussion of Head-yokes

[Anne]

The hames of most three pad collars are only 62 cm long and fit only small sized animals. If the animal is large you will have to build a new one. I find it difficult to adjust it to an animal with a wide strong neck. In that case a closed collar works better. I own a young steer (Friedolin), which has outgrown all my harnesses. He is polled. So I cant use a foreheadyoke, which would have the advantage, that it might fit for the longest time, because his head wont grow and change as much as the rest of him! I also like the light wight of the foreheadyoke…

Each yoking system has advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes it is an advantage to have the team fixed together: training, handling, only one chain, heavy pull, two wheeled wagon … . Sometimes it is a disadvantage: walking/ working parallel to a mountain, different sized animals, falling load, …

If you compare different topics: endurance, walking speed, ability for heavy pulling, working single, working as a team,… you will have different results.

Philippe Kuhlmann is working his animals with several kinds of yokes and decides from situation to situation. He uses the three pad collar for his cows, a full padded collar if the works with one ox or a bull in the wood, the head yoke if heis training young animals …
If he wants them to be able to work with different harnesses, he teaches them to work with the headyoke first. If the animal has learned to work with a single headyoke first, it will accept it as well as a collar system. But if it has firstlearned to work with the collar, it will refuse to work with the headyoke.
There are so many details and single situations, that I will have to compare yokes, for the rest of my life! 🙂

[Tim Harrigan]

Thanks, Anne, Elke and Wolfgang. Good points and great discussion.

[Anne]

Hallo Tim,

Let me know, if your plans about comparing different yoke systems are getting concrete. I would be very interested in the results.
If needed, I could probably ship you a three pad collar (or a plan how to build one), a foreheadyoke, a closed collar and a swiss neck yoke called “Halsknebeljoch”.

And I think you should get in touch with Manu Fleurentdidier. He and his group are trying to improve the yoke in France.

http://www.lanouvellerepublique.fr/vienne/ACTUALITE/Infos-Departementales/Joug-contre-joug

[mitchmaine]

thanks from me too, great discussion and very interesting.

[Tim Harrigan]

Anne, thanks, that is a great offer. I will let you know.

[Andy Carson]

One thing that could be done with these tests would be to compare the average and peak pulling forces. I am sure this is useful information (and might be the most useful information possible), but I wonder about the possibility of other tests. I wish there was some way of determining not only the force exerted, but also how “easy” and “comfortable” it is for the animal to exert that given force. From a human example, we all know there are “easy” and “hard” ways to lift a heavy weight and/or pull a heavy load. Sometimes the “hard” ways are difficult short term (like lifting with your arms only versus bending your legs) and sometimes they are easy short term, but can cause long term damage (like beindg you back to lift instead of bending your legs). Long term damage is probably impossible to do anything other than speculate on, but I wonder about shorter term “efficiency” tests. I have seen measurements of oxygen consumption of horses treadmills that were pulling draft loads, and these would certainly tell you how many calories are consumed with these different hitching configurations. I suppose also that some some of blood test for lactate could also tell you if there was alot of anaerobic work going on, which might shed light on how different hitch configuations can help of hinder animal performance. A hitch configuration that resulted in higher lactate levels after equal work, would be less efficient than one resulting in lower lactate levels, despite equal work (for example). These tests are probably too difficult to be of practical utility in the field though… I wonder if anyone out there has thoughts on what types of tests might be done to objectively determine the different efficiencies of hitching arrangements. Particularly tests that would answer the question, “how comfortable and easy is it for an animal pull pull an equal load with different hitching arrangements?” If the loads or pulling forces are indeed different, this observation probably “trumps” the “comfort and ease” test, but if the loads were similar, I think some test would be very interesting (if the test itself was practical).

[near horse]

I wonder about differences in the line of draft w/ the different yokes. Probably helps to have a short thick neck.

[CharlyBonifaz]

Probably helps to have a short thick neck.

if new to the front head yoke one can clearly observe how the animal tries to find the most efficient way to pull/push, that includes variations of line of draft

[near horse]

@CharlyBonifaz 28072 wrote:

the animal tries to find the most efficient way to pull/push, that includes variations of line of draft

That’s pretty interesting that the mechanics of the head yoke allows the animal to “assist” in finding the best line of draft.

[Baystatetom]

From what I have seen of the Canadian head yoked teams that occasionally show up at New England ox draws, the teams are usually herfords or herford/shorthorns. They are short and stocky animals. I think the line of draft defiantly plays into it. I have never seen a mature pair of Holsteins or brown swiss in a head yoke. I wonder how it would work on a tall team. Maritime ox teamsters on facebook has a ton of photos and members. I bet they could add to the discussion.
~Tom

[CharlyBonifaz]

They are short and stocky animals

From what I understand that is the proposed reason why ponies can pull so much more compared to their weight as “big” horses;
in theory: the more the line of draft is level, the easier it should be to pull

[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.

[bendube]

Hi all,
I wanted to bump this discussion back up.
1st- to invoke godwins law I believe the German ban on the headyoke was passed by the Nazis, who passed very restrictive animal welfare laws in the 1930’s. I guess that makes me a fascist for using a neck-yoke.

2nd- To tim- wouldn’t your data at the top of this thread suggest that two oxen in single yokes or collars with traces would work more effectively than two oxen in a double yoke, due to additional draft buffering of 4 chains rather than 1? Do you think or know that these observations would also be true for plowing and other tasks? Would the difference in draft be higher or lower?

Also, for comparing 2 animals in collars vs 2 animals in a standard double yoke, if the load is buffered much better by hitching with traces/eveners, shouldn’t that partially compensate for the fact that the collar is not suitable for “heavy duty work?” If draft is almost 20% lower, that could easily change a “heavy” job to a lighter one.

Thanks,
Ben

[Tim Harrigan]

@bendube 37541 wrote:

Hi all,
2nd- To tim- wouldn’t your data at the top of this thread suggest that two oxen in single yokes or collars with traces would work more effectively than two oxen in a double yoke, due to additional draft buffering of 4 chains rather than 1? Do you think or know that these observations would also be true for plowing and other tasks? Would the difference in draft be higher or lower?

Also, for comparing 2 animals in collars vs 2 animals in a standard double yoke, if the load is buffered much better by hitching with traces/eveners, shouldn’t that partially compensate for the fact that the collar is not suitable for “heavy duty work?” If draft is almost 20% lower, that could easily change a “heavy” job to a lighter one.

Perhaps, Ben, it would be interesting to measure. I think the horse harness would provide more buffering than I would expect to see with a three pad collar or forehead or head yokes, but interesting to measure. I do like the simplicity and ruggedness of the traditional North American neck yoke.

Keep in mind that there was a 20% reduction with a specific set of equipment with a wagon with pneumatic tires. I would not expect that to transferable to all situations and I did not measure as transferable. But we certainly have not explored all the possibilities and some of these things are still on my to-do list. I think you are equipped to measure some of these things so go to work and let us know what you discover.

[oxman]

If you are interested in knowing more about the advantages and disadvantages of the different methods of power tranfer, please contact me.

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