Single ox in shafts

[Crabapple Farm]

I’m putting the final touches on a new single yoke (New England Neck Yoke) to start training my boys to work single. I have a couple of things currently with shafts, and am thinking about making a one-ox cart with shafts too, and I’m wondering about the shaft-ox-yoke connection.
As I see it, there are two options: I can hitch like with horses:traces to singletree, straps on shafts running over a back pad
OR I can make longer shafts that can be clipped directly to the yoke.

Advantages of the former: don’t have to modify existing shafts (presumably, haven’t actually seen how the oxen fit in them). I think I have necessary harness bits to make it work. Presumably a back pad would be more comfortable for carrying the weight of the shafts of a not-perfectly-balanced loaded cart, though with Oxen I’m not sure how true this is.
Advantage of the latter: simpler hitching. Could dispense with harness and britchen altogether, since the shafts would prevent the yoke from rolling.

Anybody have any thoughts on which is the better way to go?
-Tevis

[Carl Russell]

Tevis,
I think with shafts, you may find that a britchen harness will come in handy anyway, affording shaft loops, back-pad, and hold-backs. Then you won’t have to modify the shafts.
Carl

[Rod]

I will be interested in what you come up with as I have a Dutch Belted steer calf which I plan to train and use as a single. I made a neck yoke for him to use until his horns grow out and then I like and am going to try a forehead yoke as has been discussed else where on this site.

This will require the britchen strap, shaft loop setup to pull a cart if I use one with him. Let us know what you come up with.

[Howie]

The best way that I have found is a strong pair of shafts with an eye on top and one an the bottom. The strap from the saddle fastens to the top ones. A belly band fastens to the bottom ones. A chain or strap from the yoke fastens to the top ones and the hold backs from the britchen fastens to them also.

[Crabapple Farm]

I’d been leaning towards harness with britchen, back pad, etc. anyway, thanks Carl and Howie for continuing me in that direction.
I hadn’t thought of short chains to the shafts, I’d been picturing running traces back to a singletree.
What Howie describes sounds like a similar geometry to a D-ring harness, with the two eyes on the ends of the shafts functioning as the D-rings. So next question: where should that point be best located on an ox?
I’m assuming that the traces should form a straight line with the shafts, and both back pad and belly band should be snug enough to keep them there. Should the back pad to belly band line be at the heart girth, as close to the front legs as possible without interfering with movement? Or some point further back than that? Where on an ox’s back can they most comfortably carry weight? My assumption is that it would be as close to the shoulder as possible.
-Tevis

[Howie]

The saddle should be back just far enough so as not interfear with the shoulder action. The traces will line up with the shafts when he puts his head down to lean into the load.
Put the eyes back on the shafts about a foot. Depends on the steer, you might want to use a longer steer some time.
I think this set up will work just as good with a fore head yoke. I have never used a fore head yoke but I hope to try one. They look right.

[Rod]

I am building the single ox cart shown in this link. It also shows a novel way of yoking which could be modified somewhat to make it more comfortable. Something to think about and discuss.

http://www.atnesa.org/challenges/challenges-joubert-cart.pdf

[sanhestar]

This looks interesting!

[Howie]

Rod

The shafts in the picture are to low. If the steer has trouble in a sharp turn he will trip on them. Just make the sides of the cart about 6 inches higher.
I would go with a back pad and shaft loops, that way you could use any type of yoke you wish with it.
Boy if that isn’t one of my britchens, they done a good job copying it.

[Rod]

Howie

The shafts where they leave the cart are 36″ high now. Do you think that is too low? The way I am going to build it, it will have removable shafts. and a reciever at axel level so it can also be pulled behind a forecart.

[Howie]

I would believe that 36 inches would be high enough. It could be just the camera angle but it looked like the shafts were down on his legs, they should be near the level of the britchen.

[Howie]

Rob

I just looked at your web-site. I am sure 36 inches will be enough for a Dexter or Lowland. That ain’t no Dexter or Lowland in that picture.

[Rod]

Howie

My steer calf is a Dutch Belted.

[Howie]

Rod
I have never owned any belts but I have a friend that has a pair of twin steers and they are doing great. They came out solid black.

Howie

[Rod]

The place where I got mine had a solid black one also. The one I have is real sweet and seems top learn quickly. Only had him a week.

[Author]

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