"Training and Working with Oxen"

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Lauren's Story

I met all kinds of helpful people: Drew Conroy and Howie Van Ord, Dick Roosenberg, and all of the wonderful people too numerous to name that make up the MODA. I went back two more years to help out.

I worked with all breeds of oxen there, but really liked the Brown Swiss as far as temperment and speed. "Pokey", Drew calls them. I was forturnate enough to find the OLD style, more beef type at Admeir Dairy in Yarrow, since moved to Salmon Arm, B.C. It was in blizzard conditions, of course, when I brought them home. There had been a virus at the dairy and one of my calves died from it. I had to wait until Otter was born, 2 1/2 months later and then 3 weeks after that until the weather was better to bring him home.By that time, Doc was used as my "all terrain vehicle" and was really well trained. Otter was put in the neigh ox position so I could work closer to him, and they really worked well together. Dan made all of the ox yokes in the woodshop and the iron in the forge we have. If I ever train another team, I would switch the Neigh and Off ox positions back and forth so they would work either position. I never thought of it as Doc was so much larger. I trained horses for 22 years and knew better: always work on both sides of the animal so all bases are covered.

The only other problem I had was to trim their feet. We made the trimming stand according to all of the literature I found. But, Doc was so large, when his last hoof was just finished, he gave a lurch and the pipe that held the belly straps in place began to turn and the stand caved in on him, resulting in and injury for which I probably should have had him put down. For 2 months, he could hardlly walk. Then on Easter morning, when I had decided to put him down, I walked him out to the front pasture and noticed that he was walking much better.Rest and limited exercise and much time later, he is much improved. In muddy and uneven ground, he still swings his rear leg out and hesitates when he walks. But, at other times, he runs and kicks up his heels and feels much better.

Doc and Otter pull our 14 foot freight wagon and go to the Comox Valley Fall Fair, where we have a display of the first yoke and the present one, a size 12. Also some newspaper articles on them from the Times Colonist in Victoria, and some Tillers brochures to pass around. They are a huge draw for the fair.

I am so excited that you have put together a website for oxen enthusiasts. At our home "Dunroven Oxen Farm & Forge" where we have a B&B and Sea Cottage, our guests love to learn about the oxen and work in the forge. We like to say we bring Hands on History to life. Some weekends, we have 30 to 40 visitors come through.All ages enjoy learning about how the pioneers did things and a much simpler way of life.

I hope that we can convince others to train their own teams of oxen. It is an adventure that they will find nowhere else in life , and that very few experience.

Take care all,
Lauren Ledig Klingbiel

Update to Dan and Lauren's Story:
October, 2008

Our first two oxen, Doc and Otter were only 9 years old when we had to "put them down". What a kind way of saying it, eh?

In 2001, Doc had fallen in a hoof trimming chute and had twisted his hips. He had recovered and wasn't in pain, so he continued to do light work and parades. When he was nine and weighed around 3,500 pounds, he saw Otter running around the pasture and tried to keep up with him. He fell and couldn't get up and was obviously in great pain. I knew it was over and made the decision to end his suffering. Both of us had tears in our eyes. Anthropomorphic? Not if you'd have looked into his eyes.

As many long time teams do when one ox is taken away, the other ox reacts. Otter went from being calm to frenzied and he put his head down, pawed the dirt and ran towards anything that was in his eyesight. We had to put him down as well. A double tragedy for all of us.

We made the decision to begin all over again after much soul searching. We brought home 4 calves, two were Holstien-Brown Swiss cross (Diamond and B.C.) and the other two were purebred Brown Swiss, (Bull and Dozer). After working with both teams, I had to decide which team to keep. Both teams responded well to commands. One calf out of each team would come right up to us and was easy to work with. One calf of each team was the opposite; shy and hesitant. They all had the same contact and training. Go figure. The crossbred team seemed a little faster when asked to do things and the purebred team a little pokier.

The deciding factor in which team to keep was when we loaded them up to go the Comox Valley Fall Fair in August of 2006. The Brown Swiss team loaded right in like they always did. The crossbred team looked askance at the trailer and at me as if to say, "What is THIS?? We never saw a trailer before?" They had practiced loading the same number of times as the other team.

We sold the team before we returned home. Funny thing is that in my mind I had chosen the crossbred team to keep. They were more correct in the feet and more matched in size. When I thought of which team I would miss more, oddly enough, it was the Brown Swiss team, Bull and Dozer. Maybe because Doc and Otter were from the same bloodlines. Everyone that knew the teams told me that they had hoped I would keep Bull and Dozer.

It was the correct decision for me as this team has not only loaded every time without question, but continues to calmly do what is asked of them and lets our guests work with them as well. They can be in either nigh or off position and it doesn't matter; something that my first team didn't do. They are very patient with beginners. They look at me as if to say, "Do I have to mind him/her?"

At this time, I'm deciding how to weight one of Dozer's horns. Unfortunately, they don't go up and circle back like most all Brown Swiss horns do. No, his are straight out and barely curving forward and down. It makes me wonder if there was a Hereford somewhere in his ancestry. Horn weights can be tricky as the horn keeps curving after you remove the weight.

When people stay with us, we offer basic lessons in our coal fired blacksmith forge and they receive a diploma. The lesson takes around 1/2 hour and they make a gift to take home. If they want to learn about oxen and actually drive Bull and Dozer, they can do this too. They decide what they want to accomplish. Some guests want more experience than others. The basic forge and oxen lessons are free with a two-day stay and more in depth lessons vary in price according to how much time is spent.

We have added a 5-year-old dapple-grey Registered Percheron mare to our menagerie. She is rideable and has a beautiful fast walk. In the near future we will work with her on draft horse basics. More for me to learn, it looks like.

Our website explains what we are all about: http://www3.telus.net/oxenfarm

At the ever rising cost of hay, and the fuel and ferry costs of bring the hay home, I wonder how long we'll be able to keep all of our draft animals. They are an integral part of my past, having a Mennonite background. Guests honestly love the "HANDS ON HISTORY" we offer here and have told us stories of their Grandparents and draft animals. The past DOES live on, at least here it does.

Lauren