[Tim Harrigan]

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

[Tim Harrigan]

Carl, really nice demonstration and instructional video. Add video creation to your list of demonstrated skills and abilities.

[Tim Harrigan]

This is not something that I have given much thought to. If you look at some of the pictures of pulling oxen that Oxhill just posted in the Oxen section you will see really well defined muscle action. Regarding the smoothness of power delivery, if you go back an look at some of the draft measurements I made you will see clear pulsing as the team steps into the load. I am not sure if it is a smoother delivery though a chain with a team that a single with a singletree. With Will and Abe I thought is varied depending upon if they were stepping forward in phase, which would accent the pulse, or out of phase i.e. where one began the forward stride when the other was completing it. That would minimize the pulsing. The out of phase would have the chain and yoke act more like a class II lever with each member of the team alternating between being the force and the fulcrum. The pull that Will provides single through the singletree is pretty smooth, although I have not measured it.

[Tim Harrigan]

Great pictures, Andy. Wow!

[Tim Harrigan]

I agree, that is the reward they get for coming up for yoking, and then when the work is done, although in the winter I also give them a cup or two of corn/soybean mix when they come up. No grain afterwards though. Will is good at stretching and turning his head to make sure I get the right spots, and if I forget to brush his chest underneath he kicks at it a few times to remind me.

[Tim Harrigan]

@Ixy 33057 wrote:

Good tip about no grazing – I was wondering about drilling through the outside edges of the yoke and passing a rope around both their backsides to hold it on?

That would probably create more problems than it solves. I would just make sure they behave.

[Tim Harrigan]

Carl, great video. I like the easy way you swing around and hook to the log while carrying the single tree. I can do better calling Will around while I hold the single tree, that is a part that I have not tried to refine since we started working single. Thanks for the demonstration. Nice control while you keep on the high side. Tim

[Tim Harrigan]

@dominiquer60 33040 wrote:

My beef had no horns and were great for pulling anything without wheels. Here is a picture of one of Howie’s Devons in a single yoke with britching, the link is the third one down next to harness http://softchalkconnect.com/lesson/files/2PEXjrOsLHiz5k/TexttoSelf6.html.

I am sure you will be able to get around not having horns.

I agree, unless you need them to back up a cart or wagon they can get by without horn just fine. I would, though, be careful to not let them graze in the yoke, particularly when they are young and you are training them so they do not drop their heads and figure out that they can unload the yoke. That could be a tough one to unlearn.

[Tim Harrigan]

Andy, your comments relative to production remind me of some of the discussions that some of us who work in the woods with draft animals have had regarding production. The thing to keep in mind is that when working with draft animals it is not a race. You have to learn to listen to your animals and respect their ability accomplish the task at hand, and that can change from day-to-day. Tillage with draft animals is slow and steady, not continuous work near their load limit. So continue to ask yourself what you are trying to accomplish, not just what do you want to accomplish. If you want to disk the ground, why? Can you disk at three inches and accomplish the same thing as disking at four inches? You have seen my draft measurements, you know what the implications are for a days work. Springtooth harrow? Good weed control/seedbed finishing tool, can you accomplish your seedbed goals tilling at 1.5 inches versus 3 inches? Same with MB plowing. Just ask yourself why? Why 6 inches? Why not 4 inches? I know plowing at 6 inches might look better, but so what? Why is that important? I always tried to make the work easy for Will and Abe and they would move the big loads when I asked. Don’t try to find the load that will stick them and then back off. Start on the other end and hope you never make the mistake of sticking them or even discouraging them.

[Tim Harrigan]

Andy, sounds like there is a lot going on with that team. Do you give them a couple of cups of grain when you bring them up for brushing and yoking? You need to get over the chasing around thing. Sounds like a couple of weeks of just the stoneboat but longer distances until they start to get in shape. They probably have not worked at all for many months.

[Tim Harrigan]

Welcome to the forum. You will find that there are a lot of intelligent, perceptive and articulate draft animal practitioners that willingly share their knowledge and skills to advance the community of practitioners. I think you will fit in real well.

[Tim Harrigan]

Thanks, Erika, looks interesting. I was not aware of that archive.

[Tim Harrigan]

@Baystatetom 32799 wrote:

reporter was more impressed with my kids carrying buckets then my steers and wagon

Tom, maybe it is more common to see a team of oxen than to see kids working these days.

[Tim Harrigan]

@jac 32794 wrote:

.. and if i did rebuild what size bar would you recommend with it …

John, seems like it would be a 18 to 22 inch bar. You can probably find specs for it on the web.

[Tim Harrigan]

Andy, at this age a low quality hay is fine for them. I don’t mean crappy hay, but a mature grass hay. For planning and feeding purposes you can figure about 50 lb/day each and adjust from there as you see fit. That is 2.5% of body weight and allows for some waste. They can probably satisfy their nutritional maintenance requirements with 25% less of your hay which is probably a high quality hay. They really do not need any grain at this age, but a small amount, 1-2 lbs/day will not hurt and they will think they are getting something.

Cattle are basically professional eaters so when they are on pasture you will want to restrict access to new pasture, and if you feed round bales free choice it is better to have just low-quality grass hay. High-quality hay is more digestible so it moves more quickly through them. They will tend to feel hungrier and get fatter at the same time. The rumen is pretty efficient at converting even low quality hay to energy.

Anyway, it sounds like those steers are doing a good job training you. They are teaching you some bad habits though. Feed me now! Feed me more! Like a fat boy loves cake, that’s pretty close.

[Author]

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