The Organic Experimental Engine (oxen)
(Page 3 of 9)
May/June 1973
By John R. Scarlett
Though we're still very far from expert, we now know a lot more about oxen than we did a few months back, and we'd like to pass on some of our own experience plus what we've learned from veteran drivers.
RELATED CONTENT
BREEDS
Though steers of any breed (or combination of breeds) will make work animals, the characteristics of the various types of cattle can be important. For instance, dairy cattle such as Ayrshires and Holsteins have longer legs and weigh less than beef Devon, Black Angus and other beef producers. Longer legs mean more leverage but not necessarily more strength. In fact, several of the strongest teams we saw were the strikingly white and massive Charolais, a beef type. Likewise, debate persists on whether horses, which have longer legs than oxen of any kind, are therefore stronger.
Differences among breeds also occur even within the category of dairy cattle . . . the beautiful long-horned dairy Devons, for example, are considerably smaller than Holsteins and Brown Swiss. As long as the oxen in a team are about the same size, however, yoking different kinds together presents no problems.
Do breeds of cattle vary in intelligence as well as in physical makeup? Though we've heard drivers discuss this point, we suspect that an ox's I.Q. (however you define it) hinges more on training and handling than on breeding. The fact is that some teams and their drivers can do a lot more than others, and do it more easily . . . and we're convinced that there's more behind this truth than mere genetics.
Of course, the most obvious difference between breeds is color . . . a fact that's handy for identification but otherwise insignificant except as a matter of personal preference. For instance, Liz and I live in Holstein dairy country and didn't want a black and white team that might be mistaken for dairy bulls. We like our span to stand out as oxen. John and Paul—bred on a New Hampshire dairy farm—are red Durhams mixed with a little Brown Swiss.
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