The story in the Indianapolis Star here defines the term "epizootic," basically a pandemic or epidemic outside of the human species, and explains how, in 1872, Indianapolis had to return to using mostly oxen to pull wagons due to an outbreak of a horse flu.
Also, the story here in an Illinois newspaper details how oxen were used in large teams to break the prairie.
In both cases, the writers compare when oxen were used vs. when horses were used. As in most things, one is not always superior, but oxen prove useful in contexts where steady power and disease resistance matter.
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