[Sca-cooks] Cow harness

[Holly Stockley]

Actually, historically "ox" as a term is not gender specific.   Bulls, steers, and cows were all known by that term when used as draft animals.  Though most often steers are used, since they are a happy medium between the (relative) docility of cows with the strength of bulls.  One of my technicians has some calves she intends to break to harness and use as oxen - both are cows.
Femke

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> Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:30:01 -0500
> From: kiridono at gmail.com
> To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org
> Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Cow harness
> 
> I'm not sure...as I've never known oxen to be used, as I said, as draft
> animals.  I only remember seeing my grandfather, uncle and father castrate
> calves.
> 
> Kiri
> 
> On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 12:31 PM, Terry Decker <t.d.decker at att.net> wrote:
> 
> >
> > If you will recall "Sweet Betsy From Pike;" "with two yoke of oxen..."  In
> > the US, draft cattle are oxen, beef cattle are steers.  Since we haven't
> > really used draft cattle for almost a hundred years (since heavy wagons went
> > motorized and horses and mules were more often used for farming), the term
> > usually pops up only in special circumstances.  I also seem to remember
> > steers are castrated as calves, but oxen are castrated after sexual
> > maturity, but I am not sure of the accuracy of that statement.
> >
> > Bear
> >
> >
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