Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1873-02-14
Rearing and Training Of Oxen
From the American Stock journal.

and horses for farm labor is not so
well understood as it should be by
our western farmers. We were
brought up among the granite hills
of New Hampshire, where little or
no agricultural labor is or ever has
been imposed upon the horse. The
OK is the universal beast Of burden
for farm labor, while the horse is in
the main used only as roadster.
We have seen enough both East and
West, to establish the economy of a
more general use of oxen on the farm
here at the West.
There are few undertakings so
shamefully bungled in many parts
of the country rs the proper train
ing of oxen. These useful, doclle
and steady working animals are very
often the objects of cruel thrashing,
bullying and starving. Now, to
train an OK to the best advantage is
a matter which requires both deli
cacy and patience, and these are
qualities too seldom found in those
to whom the care of 4 young steer
is intrusted
Steers, which are to be trained
for work, should be selected when
calves, and ted and handled from
their earliest days with an estab-
Iished object in eiew, namely, to
make them docile, and to put on
muscle against fat.
When wcaned and put out to pas
ture they will do better upon old
pastures than rich clover, as long
as they find sufficient picking to
keep them constantly growing. For
the first and second winters they
will grow well on good straw, but
should be supplied moderately with
turnips, and an addition of a small
quantity of grain will be found to
be very beneficial. 1t is greatly up
on their early feeding that will de-
pend their growth, the set of their
limbs and the gradual development
of muscle. 1t is an important point
to break steers young. They are
thus rendered more docile, will
learn to apply their strength with
more effect to the draught, and if
properly taught, may be trained SO
that their natural pace will be great
ly improved. To perform this, how
ever, they must be at first lightly
driven. There is no more certain
way to render the pace Of the OK
crawling than the common habit Of
putting them, when young, to heavy
loads. 1t is too often the way among
our farmers to say, when they come
with a heavy load to 4 bad hole:-
"Take out the horses and put in the
young steers"
The patience of the OK is proven
bal, and his perfect training is
simple matter, if his patience be
met by the same virtue.
He should be governed by mild
ness, and gentle usage, and should
gradually be accustomed to his
work. A young steer, intended to
be used as beast of draught, should
be constantly handled, and be taught
to look upon man as a daily com
panion and friend. If he be kicked
and buffeted for the slowness of his
actions, he only looks upon man as
his enemy, and then that stubborn
ness which is so often found in the
OK is brought out, and when once it
has become the ruling nature Of the
animal nothing in the world will
cure it. The innate stubbornness
should never be brought out in the
OK, and need never be, if all appear
ancc of cruelty and brutality are
carefully avoided in our treatment
Of him. Let him be early tied in
the cow-house with the yoke or
substitute upon him. He will then
become accustomed to the use of
his harness. When first put to
draw he should beplaced alongside
of a steady old OK, without forcing
him to his work. If he draws back
from the yoke, he should be urged
forward with gentleness and firm
ness. Pat him and encourage him
by voice.
If very obstinate, starve him, and
feed him only after work; use all
means rather than the CAD.
If thus broken in at two years
old, they will be very little trouble,
but it must be borne in mind that
they are not then at their full
strength and they should be worked
carefully and only put to compare
lively light work. They must not
be strained or overheatcd. If they
be carefully worked the exercise
will be good, their muscles will de-
ve.op more fully, and they will be
far more valuable as team when
they reach the three year old stage,
ana from then to six years old, than
if they had been allowed to run at
large for another year.
l do not think it advisable to
keep oxen working after six years
old, as they will lessen in value af-
ter that age, for they will fatten to
more advantage when in their sixth
or seventh year than they ever will
after.
Aged oxen may have, as asserted
by many farmers, the advantage in
strength, but they certainly lose
whatever quickness of step they
may have been noted for as they
advance in years.
The following plan Of teaching
an OK to pull may not be known to
all your readers. / have certainly
never tried it myself but have heard
it highly recommended as an cffcc-
tual method.
The animal is harnessed by yoke
or collar, and fastened by which
ever of these is used to cord or
chain, which runs in ring and to
which weight is appended at the
manger; he is thus enabled to APP
proach or retire from his manger
at pleasure. Another weight is
hung to his chain or traces by the
center of a whippletree, and rests
upon the ground, behind him, the