Oxen Clinics

[Kevin Cunningham]

So, I have decided that this year I want to go and get some formal training in driving oxen. Sometimes I feel like I might be the only person in California training a yoke of oxen, at least in my small and very rural part of CA. I have read books and watched DVDs and tried to find as much as possible on the net about oxen. I also get tremendous support from the DAPnet folks, plus I have made plenty of mistakes and had many successes with my steers. But I still want more experience. I have never even seen somebody else drive oxen, except on youtube! I have been eyeing the classes at Tillers for awhile now. They seem like the best place to get a “formal” education in oxen. I am wondering if I should go to the Oxen Basics Class in June and maybe stay for the MODA gathering. Or go to the more advanced Oxen Training class in October, which is shorter.

The reality is that anytime away from the farm is going to be difficult. June is a somewhat better time for me to leave but if I want to stay for the MODA gathering that makes for at least a 10 day trip and that seems hard to pull off with were the farm is at right now. October is a super difficult time because of harvest and the pumpkin patch, but if I can get the best experience then I would do it. Plus, if I travel to Michigan I should visit a friend who farms there, which adds time to the trip, but would make the trip more worth it. Not to mention it is not cheap to fly from Eureka to Kalamazoo!

Anybody have any suggestions?

[Oxhill]

If you are experienced and currently have a team I would think that the more advanced class would fit your needs better than the basic class. However the MODA gathering is a great resource. In addition to the Tillers staff you will have access to several other teamsters and can observe many different teams. If you are experienced then you will have your own list of questions and will have an idea what to look for. You can treat it as a self taught class of sorts. The MODA gathering is normally structured so that you can make it what ever you want. I know Tim Huppe and Dr. Drew Conroy also teach clinics periodically. I have never attended one but if they are teaching it I am confident that it will be beneficial to you. I am sure I probably haven’t been much help in making your decision but I don’t think you will regret attending any of these clinics.

[dominiquer60]

Oxen Basics for the Teamster and Team
August 4 & 5, 2012
A 2-day intensive workshop at Sanborn Mills Farm in Loudon, NH.
Instructors: Tim Huppe and Dr. Drew Conroy
For more information:
Visit http://www.sanbornmillsfarm.org or Contact Tim Huppe at 603-568-7388.

[Kevin Cunningham]

See that also sounds like a great class. I feel like any clinic that I go to I will get loads of information. I do have to make sure I am getting the biggest bang for my buck. I farm full time for a living and therefore don’t have a ton of extra money for something like this, but I see it as an investment in the future. I also live about 30 miles from Cape Mendocino, the most western point of the continental US. I literaly live about as far away as possible from either Michigan or New Hampshire. So that means I am looking at about 1200 -1500 dollars to go to any training (including airfare, etc), and that is no small sum for me. Like I said will get a lot of info and learning from any class but I do want to be sure I am making the right decision.

[dominiquer60]

It is certainly an investment in your future, I would even think that you can write it all off as an educational expense for business purposes. I know I have:)

[Vicki]

Hi Kevin. Any of the clinics mentioned would benefit you. I have taken a tax deduction for the cost of one of these classes.

As oxhill said, you may get more for your time and money from the advanced clinic at Tillers than from the Basics.
You have generations of ox experience to draw from in the Sanborn Mills folks. Couldn’t go wrong there.

I agree with oxhill that the MODA Gathering is a great resource. There are many experienced folks there who use oxen in various ways and contexts and you would be able to see and drive various animals; probably see/use various pieces of equipment/machinery. You’d sure get an array of suggestions, advice, tips, perspective, encouragement from many different experienced people. Meeting others is a benefit. Tillers farms with oxen, and helps others around the globe farm with oxen, and innovates low-capital technologies, as well as keeping a museum of farm tools and machinery. This June we will feature small-scale hay-making. But you can do/try/explore almost whatever you want. You would probably meet international guests and interns there too. The Gathering is free.

I have attended MODA Gatherings since 2000, and have taken advanced clinic at Tillers. Wish I could go to Sanborn Mills. Yes, it’s a difficult choice.

[Droverone]

what happened to James Spencer he was out in california and had a couple pairs of oxen over the years?

[Patrick]

You will not be sorry if you spend the time and money to go to Tim and Drew’s workshop. It is excellent. It is very close to me, but I am confident recommending it to you as well. It is that good.

[Kevin Cunningham]

Right now I am leaning towards going to the advanced class at Tillers in October. They all seem excellent and I wish I could afford to go to them all. I think that I can’t take so much time away from the farm, even though I will miss the MODA gathering. Maybe in the future I can go to MODA. I also have a friend that farms in Michigan and that is a big incentive to head that direction. Definatly a hard decision to make.

[Nat(wasIxy)]

I think you should grab any opportunity to get to tillers or MODA or whatever, you’re lucky to have them!! I worked on my own for years, and was very excited to see how it was done at one of the very few places that ‘do’ oxen in the UK – the Weald and Downland museum. It was good to chat oxen with someone ‘on a level’ and gave me a lot to think about! Still looking forward to going to see the hare krishnas one day when the baby’s out!

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