Oxen?

[Phillip]

Anyone use cattle as draft animals? Wouldn't mind sharing your experience would you?

[jwal10]

I had a set of Shorthorn oxen from 1975 to 1978. They weighed over a ton each. I used them for logging and other farm work for a year before the bicentennial to get them built up for the trip that followed the Oregon trail. We pulled the original wagon that was rebuilt in Independence Oregon that had made the trip in 1849 and 1959 that went from Independence Missouri to Independence Oregon. We started at the East Oregon border to Independence Oregon. I used them for other wagon trips until they got lame and too fat. It takes a lot of feed for all that beef. They went to McDonalds BIG Macs.

I have several pictures somewhere I will try to post....James

[G. Seddon]

Wow, bet you've got some stories to tell! Please share the photos.

[dlskidmore]

Several teamsters over at the Draft Animal Power Network. http://www.draftanimalpower.org/foru...al-power/oxen/
They don't post a lot, but there are a lot of very knowledgeable people there.

I'm hoping to have some working steers some day myself. I want to try the program where you work them as steers a few years, give them a little time to fatten up, and then butcher. I've heard the flavor of the older steers is very good.

[jwal10]

I can't seem to access my pictures on photobucket right now. I have posted them here in the past but haven't found them either. Any way I grew up using horses and oxen. Much rather use horses. Oxen are slow and poor use of feed. I understand getting something from the time and expense put in but I would rather eat the horse meat. A nice little team of stout horses or a single for most applications is much better. Much more versatile. Ride or drive a horse. Oxen need you to lead or drive, they were fun as a kid but really, very uncomfortable. Oxen are really only good to pull heavy loads, not to get around much....James

[goodhors]

Well, "back in the day" oxen were the common choice because they were cheaper to feed, could stay fatter than horses without grain. Cheaper to folks going West to new lands. So were able to move bigger loads, less cost to buy oxen, less spooky to handle and drive than horses, easier to feed by grazing them in camp along the road West. And most folks had no problem eating cattle if they got hurt or you were really hungry, than they did horses.

Freighters who needed to get to destinations quicker, used mules and horses to pull wagons of goods. They could afford the higher cost of equines, because they turned a higher profit selling their goods to Outpost trading stations, Military Forts, with no other source of getting products. Equines did cover the ground faster than oxen in a day's drive, but you needed to supplement grazing with grain, to keep up their working abilty in handling big loads. Mules were very popular draft animals, took abuses of wagon train work better than horses most of the time.

Oxen are still popular for the old-time reasons, fed on grass keeps costs cheap, strong to move loads, and always edible. Oxen activities are still very popular in New England. Some lovely animals doing traditional oxen work on jobs in Old Sturbridge Village in New England, and other oxen in Williamsburg, Virginia if you like to see working animals. Both places using Heritage breeds, or cross breds of those breeds. Randall Linebacks in Sturbridge when I was there 3 years ago, and some Red Devon, Shorthorn, Randall Lineback crosses in Williamsburg, also 3 years ago. Colorful, PRETTY oxen to watch at their jobs. Body styles quite different than the popular modern breeds.

[arnie]

my grand farther was a real teamster and horse farmer . getting a team of mules or horses was like the modern truckers getting a peterbit over a ford . wel trained oxen worked on voice commands and were steady (not easily spooked) once trained refresher training after a season on pasture was unnessary but it took lots of time to train them having to start a team in a yolk as calves .they were slow and most farm equipment was set up to be used by horses though jobs like pulling a stone boat or farm sled released the driver to help load or logging they didn't have to hold on to the reins they were also preferred in plowing rocky or stumpy fields where slow power was a plus .the Devon and shorthorn were the dual porpos breed the cows being milked and a yolk could be made at home so was the only choice for a poor farmer with moer time than money ; where as horse harness had to be bought and the maintainance cost farrier and feed came with a horse. though oxen could be shod they could not handle much travel on hard roads limiting them to on farm use .though my grandfather never drove a truck or tractor as they came into use on these smaller farms and roads the size of his horses and mules went down as they were only needed for smaller steeper fields and gardens; roads steadly improved for trucks till horses too were unneeded on the roads and just used at home on small farms
the faster and more versatile horse or mule

[fullmetal]

i was interested in this as well, it seems to me that even if i used them for nothing more than pumping well water that a meat cow should be made to earn its keep. it would (i would guess) make for a leaner meat as well.

[dlskidmore]

Could be tougher. Give them a little retirement before eating.

[goodhors]

Guess it would depend on how hard you used him. Cattle pastured on big fields, with hills to climb and then back to the barn for water, spread the fat thru the muscle, for MUCH better meat. This effect is called "marbling", fat is not just layered under the skin. Here, the 4-H kids are encouraged to do daily exercise with their steer project, to spread the fat thru the body muscles. The steer with fat lumps on his tail is NOT going to win or place as well as the well-exercised animals. A daily mile walk is suggested as a good amount, which makes for a LOT of kid walking, to get the steer fit and conditioned, good to handle on the halter rope when they show him.