Next Generation of Ox Drivers

Sam and Bingo, black yearling steers yoked together, walked beside Molly, who controlled her 1,000-pound pair of steers with a goad (a 2-foot baton) and her voice. She called, "Haw," motioned with her goad, and the pair of steers walked to the left. She said, "Whoa," swung the goad stick in front of them, and the team stopped. Molly was at the Miles Smith Farm summer camp, preparing her team of working steers to compete in the 2025 Sandwich Fair log scoot competition.

Eleven-year-old Charles and his brother, Theo, are helping train two bottle-fed calves, Ben and Jerry, to work in a yoke. The plan is to enter Ben and Jerry in the Sandwich Fair log scoot competition in October. By then, the calves should weigh 200 pounds each.

"Ox" is an occupation, not a breed. Technically, the young animals like Sam and Bingo are "working steers" on track to become full-fledged oxen at age 4.

My love affair with oxen began in 2012 when all of my cattle had jobs. The bulls breed the cows, the cows give birth, and the steers go into the beef program. I'd have been happy to turn my Miles Smith Farm in Loudon into a petting zoo, but selling beef made the farm viable. But I did find special jobs for two steers.

I trained Scottish Highland steers Topper and Finn to work together in a yoke, and in 2024, I entered them in the Sandwich Fair's log-scoot competition. The two steers weighed a total of 3,600 pounds, had enormous horns, and didn't wear halters. I walked ahead of them to guide them along a narrow path lined with cones. At the end of that path, I called "Gee" and directed them along another.

I wasn't controlling them with a lead rope, yet they obeyed my commands. I moved with them using my body, goad, and words.

Before the fair, during one training session, they wouldn't turn right. I lost my cool and started yelling. Topper walked away, pulling his yoked partner, Finn, with him. Topper hadn't misbehaved; he wasn't paying attention, and when I started yelling, he decided to leave.

Nobody likes an angry boss. Oxen trust a calm leader.

When I pat them and show gratitude for their cooperation, they'll look at me with soft eyes as if to say, "Glad we pleased you, boss." Training oxen requires confidence, consistency, and positive reinforcement through praise and encouragement.

As we navigated the obstacle course, I waved my goad and used body language and voice to ensure they were paying attention before we changed direction or stopped. We completed the course just under the five-minute limit and tied for first place, but because our time was slower, the other team won.

Now, it's my mission to work with young people so they can experience the joy of working cattle. A 15-year-old girl controlling a pair of 1,000-pound steers with just a goad and her voice will build her confidence. She'll learn that being a leader is not about yelling or fussing. It's about being calm and assertive. It doesn't hurt if she can move gracefully, with her goad held just so, as they learn to work together, the leader and her team.

This year, I bought two calves from Huckins Farm in New Hampton for my campers to train. The campers named them Ben and Jerry, and they'll train them to work together in a yoke. Ben and Jerry already walk on a lead rope, and we've put a yoke on them. The children have three months to train this young team to compete alongside Sam and Bingo at the Sandwich Fair in the log scoot competition. I'm eager to see these young teamsters and their teams in the ring.

We still have space available in our summer camp for kids aged 8-14 who are interested in working with calves. Critter Camp is held in July on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon and is run by the non-profit Learning Networks Foundation. 

More information is here: https://www.learningnetworksfoundation.com/summer-camp/.