Rural Heritage April/May 2026

team and some of the basic training they had received. The progression from halter training to yoked training was recent and ongoing, as I still worked with my steers on halters as individuals at the time. I explained that it was important to use visual, physical, and vocal cues while training and driving a team of working steers so they can interpret what you are asking them to do. Visual cues are the first that a team will respond to as your body position indicates whether you want the team to move forward, haw (left), gee (right), or backwards. My “nigh” steer, Joe, was very perceptive and responded well to my body position from a young age. When standing next to his shoulder, he could perceive if a teamster wanted to walk in a straight line or to turn. At this age, my team could be driven without vocal cues and often without the physical input of a goad stick. It is helpful to give a team as much communication as possible so they can perform the tasks you have asked them to, efficiently and without confusion. The next cue they respond to is physical, which is the input from a goad stick. I used a lot of physical inputs at the beginning of training in the form of pushing on their sides along with giving a vocal command so they could make a connection between commands and movements. Finally, vocal cues are the least effective or immediate, but, as a team becomes better trained, they will respond more to vocal commands and will need fewer physical inputs. After explaining some of the behavior basics, I demonstrated driving my team. Using the commands get-up, haw, gee and back, I showed how my team responded to my body position, commands and the stick. The students, many of whom had never driven a team of steers before, were able to take turns driving my team. I was pleasantly surprised by how well my team responded to being driven by others and how polite they were. Some steers will take advantage of a teamster who is inexperienced, but Joe and Mack were patient and responded well to body position despite sometimes being given the wrong verbal command or being driven differently than I had trained them. It was evident throughout the day that my team became more relaxed and comfortable with the group of 30 people and all of the new sights and sounds.

5-year-old team of Kerrys, Liam and Lorcan, were also present. As they were a fully trained team, they were more valuable for students to be able to learn how to drive, whereas the training and stamina of my team was somewhat of an unknown. After an hour-long ride in an open air, do-it-yourself trailer, my steers arrived somewhat hungry and high strung. Before any students arrived, I hitched my team to a light tire and took a short walk to get out some of their energy and help them settle into the new environment. For about an hour, my team was able to eat some grain, drink water, graze and lay down before students arrived. They were very relaxed and did a good job adjusting to their new environment despite their age and experience level, which would have indicated that they would be more prone to spooking. When students arrived, they were eager to meet the calf team and try their hand at driving them. For students who had never worked with oxen before, my 4-month-old team was less intimidating than the older 3,000-pound, 5-year old Kerry team, known for its somewhat high strung disposition. I yoked Joe and Mack and gave a brief spiel about the background of my Joe and Mack tied to the open-air, DIY-trailer constructed by Tom Osmer, the author’s father.

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