The Organic Experimental Engine (oxen)
(Page 7 of 9)
May/June 1973
By John R. Scarlett
Our team came to us shod, but have thrown most of their shoes and are doing well without them. Sometime, though, we would like to build a sling (there's one in the museum in Tunbridge) and learn to shoe Paul and John for work on ice and hard-packed snow.
RELATED CONTENT
Winter, by the way, is the ox's most comfortable season because of his great body heat. We're told, also, that as long as a steer can get his head above snow he'll keep going, whereas a horse will flounder. We haven't been able to test this so far ...last winter John and Paul encountered only knee-deep drifts and had no difficulty.
DRIVING
By long custom, the only control an ox driver has over his team is his voice. In other words, he must rely on the psychological conditioning of the animals and the day-to-day relationship he develops with them. We learned six commands: forward ("here", "giddyup", or whatever you prefer), left ("haw"), right ("gee"), "back", "back haw", and "back gee".
Most drivers carry whips (a twisted hickory whipstock with leather lash is a luxury but de rigueur among ox drivers), but they are normally used just to touch the team lightly to remind them of the direction in which to move. Some handlers prefer a goad—a stick with a short nail in the end—but the practice is generally frowned on. (John Dana of Hyde Park, Vermont sells ox team accessories such as whips and horn tips, and Harold Gardner of Williamsburg, Massachusetts is supposed to be one of the best makers of twisted hickory whipstocks, which cost $5.00 to $7.00 new.)
Several drivers we spoke with recounted owning teams who obeyed voice commands given from behind, with the handler up on a wagon or at the handles of a plow. This is unusual, however, and some people would count as a disadvantage the fact that—unless you have a very handy span—you must walk as much as they do. That's the way we get along anyway and, so far at least, Liz and I value the exercise and the experience of working head to head with John and Paul.
Normally you walk next to the outside shoulder of the nigh, or left, ox (looking from the rear). Since the right (off) teammate is farther from the driver and tends to get less attention, he's often more aloof ("offish") and can at times be uncooperative ("hawky").
You might think you could prevent offishness by regularly reversing the animals' positions, but apparently it's as difficult for a team to learn to change sides as it is for them to adjust to being driven from the rear. Nevertheless, we did see several spans that could work successfully after the animals were switched back and forth between the nigh and off locations. Ordinarily, though, the nigh ox in off position would be frightened to find no partner on his right flank, and the off ox would likewise be startled and confused by a presence on his right . . . and they'd be unable to respond correctly to the commands for gee and haw. Owners of reversible teams obviously value their flexibility, which is especially useful if one steer dies and the driver is forced to seek a new mate for the animal.
Page:
<< Previous 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 | 7 |
8 |
9 |
Next >>
