The following day, I used a chunk of ash wood from the end of one of the stool legs and turned a quick replacement. It seems to work and we're back in business.
Why mention this in a blog about oxen?
The same day, I had Brutus, Cassius and Zeus all out to work. They hadn't been out in a week, but I don't think their bad behavior could really be attributed to that. I think I dropped more than the clamp that day.
Most misbehavior in the oxen can be traced back to my driving them badly. Cassius and Brutus are in some kind of power struggle in the yoke. Cassius is ornery, wants to walk ahead by a step, stop 2 steps ahead, and swing his horns at Brutus, who responds with a fair bit of fear.
But, how I respond makes more of a difference than what either of them do.
Today, we started a little better, then I found myself getting frustrated and too heavy-handed, so it was time to make a new handle, so-to-speak. 30 minutes of whispered commands, less and less use of the crop, and, finally, voice-commands-only and we were working pretty well. In the end, I let them go back to the hitching post after they slowly walked 40 feet to me with only a voice command to start and stop. Neither "handle" is fully done, but the principle is pretty consistent: try to limit mistakes. When you make them, work on a fix.
I'm trying not to dwell on either mistake, but that's a story for another day.
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