![Ox skull](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Ox_skull.jpg)
An ox (
: oxen, ), also known as a bullock (in
BrE
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, "English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, ...
,
AusE, and
IndE
Indian English (IE) is a group of English dialects spoken in the republic of India and among the Indian diaspora. English is used by the Indian government for communication, along with Hindi, as enshrined in the Constitution of India ...
), is a male
bovine
Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The evolutionary relationship betwee ...
trained and used as a
draft animal
A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks instead of being slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for t ...
. Oxen are commonly
castrated
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which an individual loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharmaceut ...
adult male
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
; castration inhibits
testosterone and aggression
Aggression is overt or covert, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or other harm upon another individual; although it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reacti ...
, which makes the males docile and safer to work with. Cows (adult females) or
bull
A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions,
includin ...
s (intact males) may also be used in some areas.
Oxen are used for
plow
A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...
ing, for transport (pulling
cart
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people.
It is different from the flatbed tr ...
s, hauling
wagon
A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people.
Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...
s and even riding), for
threshing
Threshing, or thrashing, is the process of loosening the edible part of grain (or other crop) from the straw to which it is attached. It is the step in grain preparation after reaping. Threshing does not remove the bran from the grain.
History ...
grain by trampling, and for powering machines that grind grain or supply
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...
among other purposes. Oxen may be also used to
skid
__NOTOC__
Skid or Skids may refer to:
* Skid, a type of pallet
* Skid (aerodynamics), an outward side-slip in an aircraft turn
* Skid (automobile), an automobile handling condition where one or more tires are slipping relative to the road
* Ski ...
logs in forests, particularly in low-impact, select-cut
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
.
Oxen are usually yoked in pairs. Light work such as carting household items on good roads might require just one pair, while for heavier work, further pairs would be added as necessary. A team used for a heavy load over difficult ground might exceed nine or ten pairs.
Domestication
Oxen are thought to have first been harnessed and put to work around 4000 BC.
Training
![Bullock wagon Promontory Road](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Bullock_wagon_Promontory_Road.jpg)
Working oxen are taught to respond to the signals of the ''teamster'', ''
bullocky
A bullocky is an Australian English term for the driver of a bullock team. The American term is bullwhacker. Bullock drivers were also known as teamsters or carriers.
History
Bullock teams were in use in Sydney, New South Wales in 1795 whe ...
'' or ''ox-driver''. These signals are given by verbal command and body language, reinforced by a
goad
The goad is a traditional farming implement, used to spur or guide livestock, usually oxen, which are pulling a plough or a cart; used also to round up cattle. It is a type of long stick with a pointed end, also known as the cattle prod.
The ...
,
whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
or a long pole (which also serves as a measure of length: see
rod). In pre-industrial times, most teamsters were known for their loud voices and forthright language.
Verbal commands for draft animals vary widely throughout the world. In North America, the most common commands are:
* ''Back'': back up
* ''Gee'': turn to the right
* ''Get up'' (also ''giddyup'' or ''giddyap'', contractions for "get thee up" or "get ye up"): go
* ''Haw'': turn to the left
* ''Whoa'': stop
In the
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
tradition, young castrated cattle selected for draft are known as ''working steers'' and are painstakingly trained from a young age. Their teamster makes or buys as many as a dozen
yoke
A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, us ...
s of different sizes for each animal as it grows. The steers are normally considered fully trained at the age of four and only then become known as oxen.
A tradition in southeastern
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
was to use oxen (often
Sussex cattle) as dual-purpose animals: for draft and beef. A plowing team of eight oxen normally consisted of four pairs aged a year apart.
Each year, a pair of
steers
Steers is one of South Africa's most recognizable quick-service restaurant brands. The company is well known for serving burgers and chips. Other menu items include chicken burgers, ribs as well as ice cream and milkshakes, among other things.
...
of about three years of age would be bought for the team and trained with the older animals. The pair would be kept for about four years, then sold at about seven years old to be fattened for beef – thus covering much of the cost of buying that year's new pair. Use of oxen for plowing survived in some areas of England (such as the
South Downs
The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. ...
) until the early twentieth century.
Pairs of oxen were always hitched the same way round, and they were often given paired names. In southern England it was traditional to call the near-side (left) ox of a pair by a single-syllable name and the off-side (right) one by a longer one (for example: Lark and Linnet, Turk and Tiger).
Ox trainers favor larger animals for their ability to do more work. Oxen are therefore usually of larger breeds, and are usually males because they are generally larger. Females can also be trained as oxen, but as well as being smaller, are often more valued for producing
calves and
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...
. Bulls (intact males) are also used in many parts of the world, especially
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
and
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
.
Shoeing
Working oxen usually require shoes,
although in England not all working oxen were shod.
Since their
hooves
The hoof (plural: hooves) is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny keratin covering. Artiodactyls are even-toed ungulates, species whose feet have an even number of digits, yet the rumi ...
are cloven, two shoes are required for each hoof, as opposed to a single
horseshoe
A horseshoe is a fabricated product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human toen ...
. Ox shoes are usually of approximately half-moon or banana shape, either with or without
caulkin
A caulkin (or ''caulk''; US spelling "calkin" or "calk") from the Latin '' calx'' (the heel) is a blunt projection on a horseshoe or oxshoe that is often forged, welded or brazed onto the shoe."Know Foot Know Horse", knowfootknowhorse.com, ...
s, and are fitted in symmetrical pairs to the hooves. Unlike horses, oxen are not easily able to balance on three legs while a
farrier
A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves, if necessary. A farrier combines some blacksmith's skills (fabricating, adapting, and adjus ...
shoes the fourth.
In England, shoeing was accomplished by throwing the ox to the ground and lashing all four feet to a heavy wooden tripod until the shoeing was complete.
A similar technique was used in Serbia
and, in a simpler form, in India,
where it is still practiced.
In Italy, where oxen may be very large, shoeing is accomplished using a massive framework of beams in which the animal can be partly or completely lifted from the ground by slings passed under the body; the feet are then lashed to lateral beams or held with a rope while the shoes are fitted.
Such devices were made of wood in the past, but may today be of metal. Similar devices are found in France, Austria, Germany, Spain, Canada and the United States, where they may be called ox slings, ox presses or shoeing stalls.
The system was sometimes adopted in England also, where the device was called a
crush or trevis; one example is recorded in the
Vale of Pewsey
The Vale of Pewsey or Pewsey Vale is an area of Wiltshire, England to the east of Devizes and south of Marlborough, centred on the village of Pewsey.
Geography
The vale is an extent of lower lying ground separating the chalk downs of Salisbury ...
.
The shoeing of an ox partly lifted in a sling is the subject of
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...
's painting ''Shoeing the Ox'',
while ''A Smith Shoeing an Ox'' by
Karel Dujardin
Karel Dujardin (September 27, 1626November 20, 1678) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Although he did a few portraits and a few history paintings of religious subjects, most of his work is small Italianate landscape scenes with animals and peasan ...
shows an ox being shod standing, tied to a post by the horns and balanced by supporting the raised hoof.
File:Ox shoe.jpg, A single left-hand ox shoe of the type used for large Chianina
The Chianina () is an Italian breed of large white cattle. It was formerly principally a draught breed; it is now raised mainly for beef. It is the largest and one of the oldest cattle breeds in the world. The ''bistecca alla fiorentina'' is ...
oxen in Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
File:Karel Dujardin - A Smith Shoeing an Ox.jpg, Karel Dujardin, 1622–1678: ''A Smith Shoeing an Ox''
File:2008.04.18.VorrichtungZumBeschlagenVonOchsen.DorfmuseumMoenchhof.33.JPG, Ox shoeing sling in the Dorfmuseum of Mönchhof
Mönchhof ( hu, Barátudvar) is a town in the district of Neusiedl am See in the Austrian state of Burgenland
Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiščanska'') is the easternmost and ...
, Austria; a pair of ox shoes is attached to the near left column.
Uses and comparison to horses
![Sixten](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Sixten.jpg)
Oxen can pull heavier loads, and pull for a longer period of time than
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
s depending on weather conditions.
On the other hand, they are also slower than horses, which has both advantages and disadvantages; their pulling style is steadier, but they cannot cover as much ground in a given period of time. For agricultural purposes, oxen are more suitable for heavy tasks such as breaking sod or plowing in wet, heavy, or clay-filled soil.
When hauling freight, oxen can move very heavy loads in a slow and steady fashion. They are at a disadvantage compared to horses when it is necessary to pull a plow or load of freight relatively quickly.
For millennia, oxen also could pull heavier loads because of the use of the
yoke
A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, us ...
, which was designed to work best with the neck and shoulder anatomy of cattle. Until the invention of the
horse collar
A horse collar is a part of a horse harness that is used to distribute the load around a horse's neck and shoulders when pulling a wagon or plough. The collar often supports and pads a pair of curved metal or wooden pieces, called hames, to whi ...
, which allowed the horse to engage the pushing power of its hindquarters in moving a load, horses could not pull with their full strength because the yoke was incompatible with their anatomy
(yokes press on their chest, inhibiting their breathing).
See also
*
Aurochs
The aurochs (''Bos primigenius'') ( or ) is an extinct cattle species, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. With a shoulder height of up to in bulls and in cows, it was one of the largest herbivores in the Holocen ...
*
Bullock cart
A bullock cart or ox cart (sometimes called a bullock carriage when carrying people in particular) is a two-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen. It is a means of transportation used since ancient times in many parts of the world. The ...
(ox-cart)
*
Bullocky
A bullocky is an Australian English term for the driver of a bullock team. The American term is bullwhacker. Bullock drivers were also known as teamsters or carriers.
History
Bullock teams were in use in Sydney, New South Wales in 1795 whe ...
(ox-driver, teamster)
*
Ox (zodiac)
The Ox ( 牛) is the second of the 12-year periodic sequence (cycle) of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar, and also appears in related calendar systems. The Chinese term translated here as '' ox'' is ...
*
Ox in Chinese mythology
Oxen, cows, beef cattle, buffalo and so on are an important motif in Chinese mythology. There are many myths about the oxen or ox-like beings, including both celestial and earthly varieties. The myths range from ones which include oxen or composi ...
*
Ox-wagon
An ox-wagon or bullock wagon is a four-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen (draught cattle). It was a traditional form of transport, especially in Southern Africa but also in New Zealand and Australia. Ox-wagons were also used in the United States. T ...
(bullock wagon)
*
Oxtail
Oxtail (occasionally spelled ox tail or ox-tail) is the culinary name for the tail of cattle. While the word once meant only the tail of an ox, today it can also refer to the tails of other cattle. An oxtail typically weighs around and is ski ...
*
Ridge and furrow
Ridge and furrow is an archaeological pattern of ridges (Medieval Latin: ''sliones'') and troughs created by a system of ploughing used in Europe during the Middle Ages, typical of the open-field system. It is also known as rig (or rigg) and fu ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Cattle
Pack animals
Working animals
ca:Bou