Working Steers

[DianeWV]

Well, I thought I would post about my unintentional, unplanned "project" that I have been now working on for almost a year. It all started last summer when I had a surplus of milk from milking. I ended up getting 4 calves to bottle feed. Even though I have been around cattle most of my life, never bottle-fed calves before. So, thankfully and lady-luck on my side, the calves flourished. They were from good stock.

Weeks went on.....I began scratchin' my head, what was I going to do with 2 of them who were bulls that we steered out. LOL! Out of the blue one evening, I came in and said: Those two steers are now named Amos and Andy. I am going to train them to be working steers and then hopefully trained oxen. My husband quit choking from laughter and said, Oh God, I wish you the best of luck darlin' LOL!

So I began my journey. I didn't know jack squat about working steers. Never saw a pair of working steers/oxen in my life. But I began looking as much info up on the net as possible and ended up buying Drew Conroy's book on Oxen Training. I soaked it up, cover to cover. As we all know, experience and just getting your hands dirty is the best teacher.

Of course, I began training them single on the basic commands and then they were ready to be put together. I made a very crude, simple homemade yoke which they started on. Well, to make a long story shorter, Amos and Andy have done a wonderful job. I am very proud of their progress. They have advanced steadfastly. I have worked them doing several jobs on the farm.

Here's some pictures of them. I have some better pictures of them working, but I am in those pictures, so I don't want to post those. LOL! Just want to show you the steers.

This picture is of the little calves last summer(only 4 of those are bottle babies:




Those bottle calves late last Fall. Amos and Andy are in the center.


This picture shows the crude, simple yokes I made to train them with starting out:







Amos and Andy today!






Dragging the garden this Spring:





So all in all, I am really pleased with them. I forgot to mention after loading you with all those blasted pictures, Amos and Andy are now 1 year old and they are Holstein x Milking Shorthorn.

I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. LOL! This has been one of the most rewarding things that I have done. Lot of time, sweat, frustration....but my goodness, what a joy I've experienced. Thanks for letting me share.

[MaineFarmMom]

I'm thoroughly impressed!

[travlnusa]

Impressive is not the word, but I can not think of a better one.

Be proud.

[empofuniv]

What beauties!

I know nothing about working steers either, but those are sure fine looking.

Gonna be entering them in fairs and such?

Pam

[Old Vet]

You did things right in training them. I have worked oxen before and when they get big enough you will have the best pair of oxen in your state. Most people think they are too slow for working but they can pull more than any horse team can.

[Danaus29]

Thanks for sharing. I like it!

[Windy in Kansas]

I thoroughly enjoyed your post. Thanks for making it and sharing the photos and story with us.

What happens if you yell gee and haw at the same time?

[billooo2]

Thanks for sharing!!! When I lived in New England (Maine and New Hampshire), most of the county fairs had oxen pulling contests......and they were a popular 4H project. I have often thought of training a pair of calves......I am glad that it worked out so well for you.

[mr.breeze]

That is a great story,great pictures,it would nice if you could post again on how their training progress ,take care.

[PrincessFerf]

AWESOME!

Question.... are the yolks supposed to be that tight around their necks? (it looks different from other pictures I've seen) Is the device supposed to set more on their shoulders/chest? (just curious about what you've learned)

Thanks for sharing this!!!

[Bret]

Nice work.

[DW]

Do you get them a bigger yoke when they get bigger? This could be good project for my hubby...he wants mules.

[Wags]

Thanks for sharing! What a great story & pictures!

[7thswan]

That is Great! Thanks. What's the Hubby say now?

[DianeWV]

Originally Posted by 7thswan

That is Great! Thanks. What's the Hubby say now?

That made me laugh. Husband is happy. LOL! Last summer, things were really busy. And here I go, taking on something new! LOL!

I appreciate the nice replies. When I set my mind to do this, I wasn't sure what to expect or what the end result would be. But this past year, I have learned so much. I still have so much to learn yet. Amos, Andy and I have covered alot of ground. We still have a ways to go. I do think that we have a good solid foundation. Some things proved to be more time-consuming and difficult than others.

Backing. Backing up proved to be difficult for me. Getting the animals to back up a few steps is one thing, but getting them to back up consistently for several feet is another. We worked long on this. Thought we had it whipped, then I hitch them up to a light cart, they balk. Frustrating. At times I thought I was back to square one. But we worked through it. Now, with the back command and a tap to the knees or brisket, they are consistently backing.

I had some problems initially with right turns. This is a little more difficult since the steers are turning away from you. When Andy was in the off-postion, I had some difficulty in slowing him down. The off-steer slows while at the same time, the nigh steer speeds up. In the yoke, this forces the off-steer around in a right turn. This was really awkward for me. When Andy wasn't slowing down enough, that would push Amos over, and in turn crowd me. Not good. Then Amos would really have to speed up in order to pivot Andy around. Through time, I finally got the hang of it. It took some time and work, but we finally got it together.

We'll just keep at it. Take what we've done and learned, and keep building from there. Amos and Andy work well together, I'm thankful for that. Keep things low-key and calm. I good neck-scratchin' for the steers goes a long ways! LOL! In the up-coming weeks/months, I will periodically come in and up-date to let you know what's happening. Thanks again.

[rambler]

Very cool.

I might suggest getting rid of those horns sooner rather than later?

You might like the look, but..... They keep growing, and a friendly 1000+ lb animal with long pointed horns can hurt you (or each other) real bad without ever meaning it....

Very cool, enjoyed the pics and story.

--->Paul

[Welshmom]

WOW!

Diane, that is one of the neatest things I've seen. I really admire your spirit in just deciding to try something completely unkown to you, and really making it work despite it being very challenging!

You deserve a big hand!
Thanks for sharing all the great pics of Amos and Andy as well, it is a real treat to read.

[manygoatsnmore]

That is so cool! Congrats on taking on a challenge and rising to meet it.

[Maura]

You did a real nice job with the yokes. You should be proud of yourself. Maybe you could create a little side job for yourself, as an oxen trainer!

[Ken Scharabok]

A publication you'd likely enjoy is Small Farmer's Journal (quarterly, large format). Published out of Sisters, OR. Basically devoted to draft animal farming. Frequently has articles on oxen.

agrarian@smallfarmersjournal.com.