Working the Oxen from behind - starting with a rope

[Guest guest]

Interestingly enough I saw a video of ploughing in Gita Nagari (some years

ago) where there were 6 oxen pulling a two furrow plough and all directed

and the plough controlled by one man. There were no ropes or harness just

relationship, voice commands and well trained oxen.

 

With nasal harnessing it is normal to plough with one person and one team. I

In most cases you would not need to consider bigger teams of 4 or 6 oxen

unlss you were planning to use a gang plough. If your land is heavy clay you

may need extra oxen even for a single furrow plough.

 

ys syam

[Guest guest]

Dear Prabhus,

 

PAMHO. AGTSP.

 

I have found that the limiting factor in accomplishing the desired result

of having a first class team who can be worked from any side with voice

commands is the working of the oxen everyday. At one time at Gita Nagari

it was asked of Paramananda how often we should work the oxen. He said

"You breath everyday, you should work the oxen everyday". To develop that

utmost relationship means association in accomplishing practical

activities. Practice makes perfect, wether its chanting japa, offering

puja, cooking, writing or distributing books or working with oxen. When I

go to India I always watch the oxen and teamsters in the different parts of

India. Its amazing that in some parts of India almost all of the oxen have

nose ropes and are driven from behind with reins and in some parts hardly

any oxen have nose ropes and are driven from behind with voice commands

and usually the driver has a short stick which he sometimes uses but allot

of the time only needs to raise his arm sometimes with a command and

sometimes(usually to pick up the pace) no command.

 

Back in the day at Gita Nagari there was a young lady named Sita. Sita was

a small person and spoke very softly but worked all of the oxen to a very

efficient degree. When she gave her team commands you could barely hear

the command but the team and teamster were so in harmony that she was

accomplishing amazing amounts of work by herself and her team of choice for

the days work. For awhile she was responsible for most of the firewood

supply being delivered from the forest to the saw at the ox power unit .

She worked monday through Friday hauling loads of logs and on Saturday

helped run the 5 oxen needed to run the ox-power unit to buck up the logs

into the specific lengths for each of the fireplaces on the farm. Small

lady, small voice, big connection with oxen,big job accomplished with all

involved having a good time.

 

Paramananda prabhu told us that the team is only as good as the teamster.

 

My first big realization with the oxen came was in a 10 acre field of fresh

mowed clover/grass mix hay. I had been off again/ on again working with

the ox program for a couple of months at Gita Nagari. It was my days

assignment to take a team and "ted" this field the day after it had mowed.

As soon as the dew had burnt off the hay I had my team out and we were

serving together in this gloriously scented hay field. It took us most of

the day with no contact from any other person, politics, or whatever. Just

me and the team working together in this huge field of clover perfume.

Besides feeling that this was going to be great hay for the herd and would

make great feed to make great milk for Radha Damodar, I kept thinking that

if Srila Prabhupada were to come walking over the crest of the field he

would be pleased to see the oxen working in the service of Radha Damodar.

After all Srila Prabhupada did ask the question............"How are you

working the Bulls?" At the end of the day the oxen and I were tired but

happy and I had been given a taste of nectar which changed my life.

Paramananda prabhu used to say to us with a big smile BULLS ARE THE BASICS.

 

yr servant,

Balabhadra das

 

Visit us at: www.iscowp.org

 

 

> [Original Message]

> Noma T. Petroff <npetroff (AT) bowdoin (DOT) edu>

> <Dasgopal (AT) aol (DOT) com>

> Cc: Cow (Protection and related issues) <Cow (AT) pamho (DOT) net>;

<Kalavatidevi108 (AT) aol (DOT) com>

> 1/30/2004 2:10:04 AM

> Working the Oxen from behind - starting with a rope

>

>

>

> -

> Dasgopal (AT) aol (DOT) com

> Monday, January 5, 2004 5:16 pm

> Re: Developing a cow-herd friendly community

>

> > The focus would definitely be on produce, (veggies/grains) and use of

the

> > oxen. For practical reasons I was thinking we would work the oxen

> > from behind as was previously the custom in Alachua.

>

> My experience working an ox

> > from the side was ok, but that was only for fetching firewood in NV.

> > Working from behind

> > reduces the need for an extra teamster to work the plow. I have noticed

that

> > in the US the shortage is on people, not oxen. The old pictures of

Alachua

> > showed multiple sets of up to six oxen being worked by one person each.

As

> far as

> > I know, where ever oxen have been the primary form of draft animal

(meaning

> no

> > horses or tractor to back the program up), they have been worked

> > from behind.

> > Again, thats just as far as I know. But the need for one human per team

is

> > real and great for any program in the US to work. What do you all

> > think?

> > Ys Gopal

> >

> > -------------------------------

>

> Earlier I wrote that it seemed as easy to drive the oxen from behind

whether

> one used voice commands or a nose ring (or rope). This was based on old

photos

> and videos of oxen being worked at Gita-nagari.

>

> But now I'm thinking that with voice commands perhaps the practice of

having a

> second person to drive the oxen is much more widespread than I realized.

>

> I just got from BerryBrook Ox Supply a copy of "Working Oxen" a slim but

> informative volume by Martin Watts. In it, I found this following passage

> about driving oxen in the 9th century in England:

>

> ******************

>

> Ox teams of more than two animals usually needed at least two people to

operate

> them, particularly if the job in hand was more complicated than simple

road

> hauling. Typically, one person would operate or manage the implement, and

> anohter would walk alongside the animals to keep them going. AElfric (c.

> 995-1020) described the ploughman in early medieval England:

>

> I work hard; I go out at daybreak, driving oxen to the field, and I yoke

them

> to the plough. Be it never so stark winter, I dare not linger at home

for fear

> of my lord; but having yoked my oxen and fastened the share and coulter,

every

> day I must plough a full acre or more. I have a boy driving the oxen

with a

> goad iron, who is hoarse with cold and shouting. And I do more also. I

have to

> fill the oxen's fins with hay and water them, and take out their litter...

> Mighty hard work it is...

>

> ***************

>

> Elsewhere in the volume are other references to a boy who drives the oxen

while

> the farmer steers the plow. He is called a "stubble boy."

>

> One interesting thing is that on the very next page is an illustration

from

> Australia about 1930, showing a massive load of wood hauled by 14 oxen,

which

> are driven by just one man.

>

> Another illustration from England about 1897 shows a single plowman

driving a

> 6-ox team with no reigns and no helper.

>

> So it appears that the use of someone to occupy the position of a

"stubble boy"

> was and still is quite common where voice commands are used. My feeling

from

> AElric's description above is that probably the equipment was not ideal,

nor

> were the oxen very well trained if the boy had to shout himself hoarse.

>

> (It is also interesting to note that the ploughman was in the position of

> sudra, because he says that he works "in fear of his lord." This is

different

> from the independent vaisya farmer Srila Prabhupada describes.)

>

> So, while the use of two people when ploughing with voice commands was

common,

> there appear to have always been examples where the plowing was done by

one

> person alone. I think a key feature involved was the expertise in

training,

> and also the needs of the specific teamster. In some cases, maybe it was

a

> good idea to bring his son along in the field as a helper.

>

> However, where the objective was to have only one person doing the

ploughing,

> that depended on training.

>

> With voice commands, there are two ways of training. One method uses a

lead

> rope at the beginning, and then later, once the oxen are sufficiently

trained,

> the lead rope can be abandoned. I think that both Balabhadra and Drew

Conroy

> have demonstrated the first method.

>

> Once you reach the stage of training where the leadrope can be given up,

the

> results can be impressive. In the new Training Oxen video by Drew Conroy

and

> Tim Huppe, Tim Huppe's four daughters are each shown with a team of oxen

they

> have been training. The youngest girl, about 8 years old, has a 3 month

old

> team. The oldest daughter, about 17 years old has a 2 year old team.

>

> One section shows the animals doing an obstacle course. The ox team pulls

a

> light cart. They have to make some fairly tight gee and haw turns around

some

> obstacle cones. At the last phase, the team has to keep the wheels of

the cart

> on a 6 foot board (2 meters) which is only about 6 inches wide (15 mm?).

>

> When it comes the oldest daughter's turn, she drives her team to the

start of

> the course. (She is on foot, not on the cart.) She has no lead rope, only

a

> small goad stick. Drew Conroy takes the stick away from her and has her

take

> the team through the obstacle course by voice only. Which she does

without any

> errors.

>

> When she completes the course, he gives her back the stick, and tells her

to

> complete the course with no words, using only the stick. She does that

> perfectly also, but when she uses the stick, she doesn't even touch the

oxen.

> She uses it like a magic wand. Just by seeing how she waves it, the oxen

know

> what to do.

>

> In his book, Drew Conroy, discusses driving a team from behind. Note his

> hints:

>

> *****************

>

> A team that is trained to drive from the side and respond to basic

commands may

> easily be taught to drive from behind. Small calves may be taught to

drive

> from behind as easily as from the front or side, without reins or ropes.

Older

> animals require more restraint becuase they are more eager to run away.

Begin

> this training in a confined area and get the team sufficiently tired

beforehand

> so they will not be inclined to run away.

>

> Initially the team may confuse your request to move ahead with your

movement to

> the back of the animals. Work the animals on a trail, path or farm road

> heading toward home. Most teams are eager to return home and will

readily trot

> along. Once they get the idea, try them going away from home or in the

field

> following a furrow or freshly cut swath of hay.

>

> Driving your team from behind comes in handy when you are working in a

woodlot,

> mowing hay, plowing or using other farm machinery. Without reins, you

have to

> rely on voice commands and/or a long whip. Training to drive without

reins

> should not be done in an area where the animals might possibly run away,

> destroy property or injure people.

>

> In other parts of the world, many teams are trained to drive from behind,

> guided with reins attached to a halter, to a bridle with a bit, to the

nose or

> even the ears. A halter is the least severe form of physical restraint, a

> bridle with a bit may create problems with cud chewing. I do not

recommend

> using the nose or ears, commonly seen in Africa, becuase doing so makes

the

> animal head shy.

>

> Using No Physical Restraint

>

> If you can direct your team without a yoke, halters, lead ropes, or other

> physical restraint, you have achieved a high level of training and trust.

> Animals that follow willingly or obey directions without being physically

> forced to do so have gained the trust and respect of the teamster. The

> teamster in turn has established a unique relationship with the oxen.

Having a

> team that willingly follows is helpful in catching animals in pasture and

> walking the team to water. 4-H teamsters walk teams without restaints to

> demonstrate their ox training abilities.

>

> ********************

>

> The second way of training voice commands starts without using a lead

rope.

> I'll discuss this in a separate letter. These are two different routes

to the

> same end.

[Guest guest]

Dear Syamasundara Prabhu,

 

PAMHO. AGTSP

 

You saw those videos at my house the summer you visited the states and New

Vrindavan. At Gita Nagari at the time of the filming of that video we were

working 14 oxen and we were cultivating 75 acres of corn 25 acres of grain

usually split between wheat and oats. We annually put in 3 acres of

potatoes and had a 5 acre organic garden. Besides this we hayed 50-75 acres

split between alfalfa and different grass mixes.

 

The ground was a clay loam and we tried to do as much of the farm work with

the oxen. The plowing with the oxen was done with six oxen pulling a

double bottom plow with 14 inch plow shares. We plowed 6-8 depth for the

most part and 6 oxen were most definitely needed with that set up and soil

type.

 

In the video the teamster is a devotee named Vaisnava who was a very good

teamster who I was fortunate to learn allot from. He also was one of the

builders of the gear head at Gita Nagari.

 

yr servant,

Balabhadra das

 

Visit us at: www.iscowp.org

 

 

> [Original Message]

> Syamasundara (das) (Bhaktivedanta Manor - UK)

<Syamasundara (AT) pamho (DOT) net>

> Noma T. Petroff <npetroff (AT) bowdoin (DOT) edu>; <Dasgopal (AT) aol (DOT) com>

> Cc: Cow (Protection and related issues) <Cow (AT) pamho (DOT) net>;

<Kalavatidevi108 (AT) aol (DOT) com>

> 1/30/2004 5:10:03 AM

> Working the Oxen from behind - starting with a rope

>

> Interestingly enough I saw a video of ploughing in Gita Nagari (some years

> ago) where there were 6 oxen pulling a two furrow plough and all directed

> and the plough controlled by one man. There were no ropes or harness just

> relationship, voice commands and well trained oxen.

>

> With nasal harnessing it is normal to plough with one person and one

team. I

> In most cases you would not need to consider bigger teams of 4 or 6 oxen

> unlss you were planning to use a gang plough. If your land is heavy clay

you

> may need extra oxen even for a single furrow plough.

>

> ys syam

[Guest guest]

Very beautiful account! Thanks for sharing it with all of us.

 

ys

hkdd

 

-

Iscowp <iscowp (AT) earthlink (DOT) net>

Sunday, February 1, 2004 10:42 am

RE: Working the Oxen from behind - starting with a rope

 

>

> Paramananda prabhu told us that the team is only as good as the

> teamster.

> My first big realization with the oxen came was in a 10 acre field

> of fresh

> mowed clover/grass mix hay. I had been off again/ on again

> working with

> the ox program for a couple of months at Gita Nagari. It was my days

> assignment to take a team and "ted" this field the day after it

> had mowed.

> As soon as the dew had burnt off the hay I had my team out and we were

> serving together in this gloriously scented hay field. It took us

> most of

> the day with no contact from any other person, politics, or

> whatever. Just

> me and the team working together in this huge field of clover

> perfume.

> Besides feeling that this was going to be great hay for the herd

> and would

> make great feed to make great milk for Radha Damodar, I kept

> thinking that

> if Srila Prabhupada were to come walking over the crest of the

> field he

> would be pleased to see the oxen working in the service of Radha

> Damodar.

> After all Srila Prabhupada did ask the question............"How

> are you

> working the Bulls?" At the end of the day the oxen and I were

> tired but

> happy and I had been given a taste of nectar which changed my life.

> Paramananda prabhu used to say to us with a big smile BULLS ARE

> THE BASICS.

>

> yr servant,

> Balabhadra das

>

> Visit us at: www.iscowp.org

>