ox training in Cuba - 1996 SFJ article

[Guest guest]

-

Dasgopal (AT) aol (DOT) com

Sunday, February 1, 2004 10:50 pm

ox training in Cuba

 

> This is some interesting information I found regarding training

> full grown

> oxen in Cuba - They started training 100,000 at a time due to fuel

> and tractor

> part shortages.

 

For an excellent overview of the role of oxen in post-Soviet Cuba, you should

probably get ahold of the book edited by Fernando Funes, "Sustainable

Agriculture and Resistance: Transforming Food Production in Cuba."

 

The most relevant part is Chapter 9 by Arcadio Rios of Havana's Agricultural

Machanization Research Institute. He gives a complete table of figures of

draft animals for each decade. It's interesting to see the inroads of Soviet

petroleum and technology in Cuban agriculture -- which stops abruptly with the

collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990.

 

The thing which impresses me is that by 1990, Cuba had the most highly

industrialized agriculture in *all* of Latin America. But within 7 years, they

were able to revert mostly to ox power:

 

1960 500,000 oxen

1970 490,000 oxen

1980 338,000 oxen

1990 163,000 oxen

1997 400,000 oxen

 

Might be applicable to oxen that have been in

> pasture for a

> long time as well (like in Alachua or NV).

> ----------

> Farmers' recommended methods for training of animals (Cuba 2001*)

> The training process should follow the following steps (according

> to local

> criteria):

> . Tether with a long rope in a pair to graze, drink, rest and

> other

> activities. The idea is to accustom them to the smell, presence

> and movements

> of the

> other animal.

> . Fit a nose-ring and attach to the yunta (team) partner to

> accustom the

> animals to move together for all activities during several days.

> . Yoke the animals daily and leave them with the yoke for several

> hours

> whilst they move freely, eat and drink.

> . They need to be slowly adapted to the yoke, to voice commands

> and guides.

> . Finally light work must be practised for short periods. This

> will gradually

> increase the training process until the animals are completely

> broken in.

> . Animals should be specialized for a specific task, for example

> walking oxen

> for carts, a yunta for pulling heavy loads, for plowing and crop-

> care jobs,

> etc.

> ---------

> Having the animals connected sounds a little dangerous (we once

> had one older

> cow strangle herself when she panicked being tethered for the

> first time). I

> supposed one would need to be available and keep a watch on them.

>

*****************

 

But as wonderful as the Cuban shift back to ox power is, we need to keep in

mind one thing: This is an atheist government, which does not worship Govinda,

the pleaser of the cows.

 

Consider the following statement from Srila Prabhupada:

 

************************

 

For the cowherd men and the cows, Krsna is the supreme friend. Therefore He is

worshiped by the prayer namo brahmanya-devaya go-brahmana-hitaya ca. His

pastimes in Gokula, His dhama, are always favorable to the brahmanas and the

cows. His first business is to give all comfort to the cows and the brahmanas.

In fact, comfort for the brahmanas is secondary, and comfort for the cows is

His first concern.

 

>>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 10.8.16

 

********************

 

Let's think about what Srila Prabhupada is saying here: For Krsna, comfort for

the brahmanas is secondary, and comfort for the cows is His first concern.

 

Just think of the lengths that any temple will go to provide comfort for a

visiting spiritual leader. Then consider that for Krsna, it's even more

important to provide comfort for the cows.

 

So, think about this, and then review the Cuban government's instructions for

training oxen. The fact is, for them comfort for the cows is the *lowest

priority* in their criteria for training oxen.

 

So we should really think about that before we attempt to emulate their exact

methods.

 

One big problem is the tactic of yoking the oxen together and letting them

wander around in the pasture for several days. Here's a quote from Les Barden

"Training the Teamster":

 

***************

 

I take exception to some of the celebrated methods of introducing young steers

to yoking which have been historically recorded and passed along. A practice,

such as yoking steers, tying their tails together, then turning them out to

pasture for a day or two, is cruel and counter-productive.

 

Steers need to be under strict control and discipline whenever in the yoke.

>From the first, they must be taught that in the yoke they move only when and

where the teamster commands. Every precaustion and restraint must be employed

to ensure that when the bow pins are in place, the teams is strictly under

control. The team should not be allowed to read for feed and should never know

it can run away.

 

******************

 

I have to consider that the above passage is written by an old time New

Englander who was no doubt a meat-eater. For me, if even a meat-eater says

that a certain practice is unnecessarily cruel to oxen, then I know for sure

that it would not be acceptable to Krsna, whose highest priority is the comfort

of the cows.

 

My other great concern is the way the Cuban method seems to rely on using nose

rings. Here's an excerpt from "Oxen in Cuban Agriculture" by Eve Iversen,

which appeared in the summer 1996 issue of Small Farmer's Journal:

 

***************

 

At the end of various lectures (Havana, Feb 1996) a film festival was held.

Many participants brought video tapes of the work underway at their

institutions. I brought "Bred for the Furrow, Draft Animals in Agriculture."

It was a 35 minutes instructional video on the use of horses, donkeys, mules,

and oxen in agriculture. It is distributed by the University of California

Division.

 

I never expected the controversy that broke out. In Cuba, the head yoke is

firmly tied to the horns, and a nose ring is used for control. The Cuban

farmers in the audience could not understand how American farmers could use the

neck yoke. The biggest questions were "How do you stop a cart on a hill?" and

"How do you back up a cart?"

 

There was disbelief when the teamster in my film controlled her oxen with voice

commands. In Cuba if the nose ring tears out, the ox is sent to slaughter,

since he is considered uncontrollable.

 

Short of bringing an American ox team to Cuba, there was no way to settle the

argument over the merits of the head yoke vs. the neck yoke, so the matter was

left to be discussed at another meeting...

 

*********

 

As Hrimati Prabhu can no doubt elaborate, Rolf Minhorst ("Modern Harness for

Working Cattle") gives a thorough account of the shortcomings of the head yoke

ranging from discomfort of the oxen (Germany prohibited the head yoke in the

1920's to prevent cruelty to animals) to the fact that scientific experiments

have indicated that it is one of the least efficient devices for pulling a

load, since the maximum strength of the oxen lies in their neck, not in their

head.

 

In sum, it seems that the Cuban methods outlined above are mostly in the mode

of passion -- Let's subdue these animals quickly, and may considerations of

their comfort be damned. If they can't be quickly trained, let's slaughter

them. Furthermore, as Gopal Prabhu notes, some of the practices are in

themselves dangerous to the oxen.

 

So, while I admire the Cubans for converting to ox power, I don't think this

represents the attitude we would want to use to train Krsna's oxen. Instead of

relying on the development of trust and respect between teamster and oxen, it

seems to rely mostly on brute force.

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi

[Guest guest]

>

> 1960 500,000 oxen

> 1970 490,000 oxen

> 1980 338,000 oxen

> 1990 163,000 oxen

> 1997 400,000 oxen

 

I suspect the presnce of a lot of guys who had been teamsters in 1970 still

being around helped the transition.

[Guest guest]

-

Mark Middle Mountain <gourdmad (AT) ovnet (DOT) com>

Monday, February 2, 2004 0:49 am

Re: ox training in Cuba - 1996 SFJ article

 

>

> >

> > 1960 500,000 oxen

> > 1970 490,000 oxen

> > 1980 338,000 oxen

> > 1990 163,000 oxen

> > 1997 400,000 oxen

>

> I suspect the presnce of a lot of guys who had been teamsters in

> 1970 still

> being around helped the transition.

>

 

Exactly. The "Greening of Cuba" video shows several of these old-time

teamsters. For years as Cuban agriculture became more and more industrialized,

their old ways were looked at with disdain -- then after 1990, they became

practically heros. In the film, you can see that they feel fairly gratified

and vindicated.

 

ys

hkdd