Ox Facts

About the ox

Farmers have relied on oxen for a long list of jobs. They pull plows, haul wagons and carts, carry riders, and trample harvested grain to separate it. Hitched to the right gear, they can also turn machines that grind grain or lift water for irrigation. In forests, they drag logs out during careful, low-impact logging where only some trees are cut.

Castration lowers testosterone, which cuts down on aggression and makes the animals safer partners in the field. Even so, some regions work cows or bulls instead. Oxen are normally yoked two at a time. A single pair might handle light hauling on a good road, but tough loads on rough ground can call for nine or ten pairs hitched together.

Did you know?

• People are believed to have first put oxen to work around 4000 BC.
• In British, Australian and Indian English, an ox may also be called a steer or a bullock.
• Hitched in pairs, oxen can be stacked into long teams when a load gets heavy.