[Rod]

The Vet was here today for a sick calf so I had him listen to both oxen,s lungs. He said the one that gets winded (Rock) has lungs that sound rougher than the other one. He doubted lung worms because no coughing and otherwise they both look the picture of health. I e-mailed the folks I bought them from to see if they had any similar problems. Will let you know if anything else develops, I hope it’s nothing because these are sure a nice pair of oxen.

[Rod]

Howie
How far back on the pole do you put the chain?

[Rod]

Hi vicki

Good questions and thoughts.

[Rod]

I ma mostly feeding them to train them to come when called plus we are not on pasture yet and my the hay I have for them is not that great.

Over fed and under worked is my problem also.

[Rod]

Those could be the case for sure except for the dominate ox thing . He is the dominate one, maby he is worn out from hogging all the grain.:)

[Rod]

That photo and a second one are both shown in the photo section, shows a good view of each ox. The off ox is smaller but not by much.

[Rod]

The nigh ox

[Rod]

I don’t know about the calf pneumonia as I bought them as adults. They were both treated with Ivomec a month ago. I have to look on the bottle to see if that does lung worms. The puzzle which makes me doubt the temperature is the faulty is the other ox is fine under the same conditions.

[Rod]

The last three are good possibilities which I will check. I doubt the condition possibility because I was not pushing them that hard and his mate was fine. They are both about the same condition.

[Rod]

Not overly fat and otherwise seems healthy enough.

[Rod]

I can sympathize with the desire to ride sometimes and am slowly working with my oxen so that I can do that, especially going up the hills to some of my fields. I have horses but prefer the oxen because it seems to me they are safer, more laid back, patient and much easier and quicker to yoke and unyoke making them more practical for small or short duration jobs. Oxen are also easier to keep, more rugged, and less demanding that a horse with less health issues to be aware of.
I think the use of reins on a halter or even nose rings for some animals could be a practical help even if used on occasion and if added to the oxen’s gear would still make the oxen a preferred choice for all the reasons stated above. I agree that driving them without this added help is easier (less gear to deal with) but less secure from runaways and I wonder about the precision of control that is sometimes needed in tight spots without this help. Folks with flat farms and mostly open work areas for projects may not see this need as acutely as those with hill farms, old legs and tight quarters to negotiate.

[Rod]

Thats it! nice whip.

[Rod]

Nice. Where do you hang them when you have a yoke on and the collars off?

[Rod]

Thanks Bivol, that was extremely interesting. Their does not seem to be very much written about oxen and ox driving, especially with the work and human interest side of things. I read everything I can find but it’s not been that much. So thanks for doing that and for keeping our oxen threads alive.

[Rod]

Hi Old Kat

I use a tongue on my sled (same thing). Mine are 9′-6″ for Halfingers and my ox team. I bought a forecart and the tongue was 10′ standard. Another way to determine the length is to measure the distance from the draw bar back to the end of the horses and add 2 or 3 feet.

Mine are mostly wood except for one I made from 2″ box tube x 1/8 wall. I am not sure about this one in bending but will find out. I have a wagonette that came with a steel pole. This unit is made of double pipe, one of which slides inside the other so you can adjust the length, a nice feature and it allows you to use thinner stock as it’s mostly doubled up. I think its 2-1/2 or 3 inch diameter and has holes where you can drop a pin in the adjust the length..

[Author]

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