Padded Collars versus Yokes

[Crabapple Farm]

So this topic has been popping up in several threads recently, so I thought I would give it one of its own, as it seems to merit it.

As a New Englander (to lay out personal bias upfront) I use and like the traditional yankee neck yoke.

With harness, the one report I saw from FAO about a study comparing efficiency of yokes versus harness didn’t show or adequately (in my mind) describe what yoke was being compared. I think it safe to say that what I am using is not the same yoke as what is commonly used in Africa, which is where FAO was focussing.
So if they were comparing Swiss three piece collars to african withers yokes, and the collars were shown to be better, so what? Drew Conroy and others have made themselves popular in parts of africa by showing them New England yoke design too.

The reason, in my understanding, why oxen require a three piece collar rather than a one-piece collar similar to horses is that their shoulders move as they walk. I haven’t done a study, but it seems like harnessing power at a non-moving point (head or neck, for example) is going to be more comfortable.
Forget surface area – I would rather pull with a one inch belt around my waist than a six inch padded strap across my thighs.
But I’ve never worked an ox in a collar, so I can’t compare except in theory.
-Tevis

[Howie]

We had a young man with a pair of Jersey/Hostien oxen which were great pullers. In our 4H club. His dad grew up in Germany with the three pad collars. He and his dad built a beautiful pair of three pad collars for the oxen.They could never get them pull near as much in the collars as they would in the New England yoke that I made for them.

[Gulo]

As i said in another thread, i just made a set of collars for our water buffalo team. They were trained in a yoke, and it was time to carve another, but I had read the arguments and they made sense to me. The buffalo seem very comfortable in the collars, we’ll see how they do on some real weight when they get old enough in a year.

I would not hesitate to go back to a well made New England style yoke and compare at that point, in fact, we’ll probably use both and compare. IThe yoke is certainly a much simpler system. I guess it makes sense to say if your yoke is causing soreness, calluses, or other issues, you need to experiment with collars, or at the very least a more carefully made yoke. If not, no problem, perhaps.

“Dr. Ox” – Drew Conroy – also points out that one of the reasons the collars aren’t much tried here is traditional prejudice. I hope those examining the merits of both systems will be able to recognize their own prejudices, and put them aside.

[fabian]

I do believe, that the 3-pad-collar is not ideal for heavy draft. It presses invitably (?) the shoulders together.
In one of our gathering we had a saddler as guest, who came from East-Germany and who knew the times, when oxen were used for really work in the woods. And he said, that the oxen pulled a heavier load with the forehead-yoke than with the 3-pad-collar. Neck- and withers-yokes were not in use in a bigger number in Germany. Therefore we can only compare the collar with the forehead-yoke.

[Howie]

If you let a bovine decide what to push with it will always be the forehead.
Maybe they are smarter than we give them credit for.

[Carl Russell]

I have never used the three pad collar, but have both head yoke, and bow yoke. The power of the ox as far as I can see, is in the lift between the front legs and the neck. Using their hind end as a counterbalance, they extend their head ans neck upward. With this image in mind, I would have to say that any device using the shoulder would probably be fine for light draft, but it would not take advantage of the ox’s ability to lift. The shoulder collar works for the horse because they lift with their hind end, extending their hind legs, and lifting their front end off the ground. The ox just doesn’t have that much strength in their back.

All this pertains to heavy loads.

Carl

[Gulo]

We made the hames of our collar system heavier than the ones i’ve seen in pictures – deeper front to back. We don’t use 3 pads, we use doubled-up horse collars over the necks and the collars clamped over the middle of these. We have had them dragging several hundred pounds for maybe a total of a kilometer, with rests. I would say that with the hames tight, it definately does not press the shoulders together.

I have yet to see a picture of a team of oxen in a collar system pulling anything other than a wagon, which seems to me pretty light work. On the other hand, neither do i think it would be a fair evaluation to pit collars vs yokes in a pulling competition. Maybe they can pull more in yoke, but if they only have to pull a few feet it doesn’t tell you much. Maybe in a real work situation, even if the collar system allows for less power (contrary to what i’ve read, but let’s assume this for argument), they might still be more comfortable and less likely to produce sores, calluses, whatever. Don’t know yet – just some thoughts.

[Carl Russell]

Gulo, I know it’s like comparing apples and oranges, as I have never seen a padded collar on working cattle. I was just theorizing based on what I know about cattle lifting heavy loads of logs with a bow yoke.

Carl

[bivol]

hi!

a little late to get into conv. now, but i’d like to add that old oxen working in bow yoke have that distinct low head position, cause they learned to work (many hours) in a position that pushes the neck down, cause the yoke does, when it tucks into shoulders.
so, if they push back up, they must be spending a lot of energy over the years, energy that could be spent on actual pulling of implements.

the only real drawback of the collar i see, is that one can’t hitch and fix a pole to a pair of oxen working, say, on logging, so no logging arch, unless one improvises with a padded whiters yoke, but still…

gulo, do you have any pictures of your collars? i’d like to see how the collar is fixed do it don’t slip back or front. do you use some system to fix it into place?

[Nat(wasIxy)]

@Gulo 4164 wrote:

they can pull more in yoke, but if they only have to pull a few feet it doesn’t tell you much. Maybe in a real work situation, even if the collar system allows for less power (contrary to what i’ve read, but let’s assume this for argument), they might still be more comfortable

Yep – agree.

I think cattle can pull *enough* in collars – I’ve seen loads of pictures of cattle in collars ploughing – that’s heavy work!

I prefer a head yoke to a neck yoke; I agree that it makes use of that pushing power they have. But they don’t push and fight like that all day, whereas they might be pulling logs all day. So even if you get more power in a burst from a headyoke, I’d still rather less power and more comfort for longer in a real life working situation.

Also, my ox is dehorned so no hope of a headyoke. 😀

[Vicki]

This is a great discussion; thank you all. The bottom line I suppose is: does it work for what you want to do with your oxen and can you make it with the skills, materials, and tools you have?

Adding to the discussion:

Howie makes a good point about the collar vs. yoke in competition, and I was there and witnessed it (if that was Timber and Jack which were limmy holstein crosses I believe.)

I witnessed poorly designed yokes in Uganda and helped introduce better-designed dropped hitch bow yokes there, and explain the dynamics of it and why you can get more work from the animals with attention to design, fit, and line of draft. Yes, the FAO study was probably collars vs. beam-and-skein yokes.

About heads down, I don’t think that is always the case with the best competetive bow-yoked oxen. Improper angle of draft, not necessarily the yoke style, can pull heads down. Getting the angle of draft just right is something I am always trying to learn and improve.

I’ve been led to believe that the slight lifting that occurs with yoked oxen, either bow or headyoke, is not wasted energy at all, but is actually advantageous in starting heavy dragged loads, which historically is a major task for oxen in North America. Where oxen were used primarily for wheeled work, other harness systems might be “better.”

I know Howie uses a staple which allows for the ring to attach either more forward or backward on the yoke beam, thus affecting line of draft and the amount of “crank” on the bow yoke. Other mechanisms are used too to adjust draft angle with various yoking designs, like the curved piece of wood used with headyokes, the name of the piece I can’t recall.

I am curious about how one adjusts line of draft with the collar, and how you hitch to the load with it.

Yes, I am prejudicial toward the bow yoke for myself because that is the tradition of my region and my ancestors. It is tried-and-true for what we do here today with the kinds of cattle we have. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the best everywhere for everyone, or that I’d never try something else.

Tillers works to scientifically and experiencially study these things and improve animal traction systems. Their veretical evener is one innovation. There’s more to it all than just style of harnessing.

[bivol]

I am curious about how one adjusts line of draft with the collar, and how you hitch to the load with it.

well, i’ve seen, though not commonly used on 3 pad collars, that one 3-pad collar had holes to adjust the hight of the hitch-point. that collar didn’t have the back-strap to go under tail, i guess the holes were used to hitch at optimum hight and cause no slipping…

the bow yoke or collar dilemma, IMO, should be seen through the actual work the cattle will be preforming. if they have lots to pull out, logs, sleds, stoneboats, or break carts on hills, than i’d always use a bow yoke, or i’d design a yoke as we used to use here, like in romania, etc…
the collar i would avoid…

if i’d have cartwork, or plowing, the collar would be the choice…

the “support structure” is also important, like saddlers, harness makers, and such. i know of one man that makes horse harnesses, and could fix me a collar, or repair it, but he lives hundreds of miles away.

maybe oxen could choose the system they like better themselves?

for example like this; when i take my cattle to yoke them with a yoke, i always lead them to the same spot in the yard, to the left of the stall door. when i harness them with a collar, i lead them to the right of the stall, when they come out. when i take them out to yoke/harness them, i always tell them the same word as command, say “hitch!”.
and after they work in both systems, i push them out instead of leading them and say the command, and see which way they like better.:cool:

i used to do this often to determine if my dog wanted to go continue walking or return home;)

though i wonder if that could teach them bed habits, like picking a harness they like, as opposed to the one better suited for work…

[Howie]

Any time an ox pushes by his own intuitive he will push with his head. This should tell you something.:)

[Tim Harrigan]

But, Howie, what choice does he have? Back into it?

[bivol]

@Howie 11406 wrote:

Any time an ox pushes by his own intuitive he will push with his head. This should tell you something.:)

examples from all around the world show cattle being worked with head yokes successfully.
pushing with the head is their natural way of deploying force, but how much this system (designed for relatively short duels) is really efficient in working conditions imposed by humans is another matter.

even if we consider other means of capturing power from the forehead, like the german forehead yokes, there stay long hours of balancing their power to the forehead and, constantly moving the point of push.

so, their natural tendencies may not provide the best (even if sufficient) solution to an unnatural behavior we demand of them.

also, the comfort point is important. they can pick a harnessing system after what fancies them in a given situation, like long working hours, even if it wasn’t their natural tendency to transmit their power that way.

[Author]

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