Up close and personal with oxen: how a family sabbatical unfolds in surprising and magical ways

**A post from a trip we did to Nicaragua in 2011, by then addicted to the idea of family sabbatical.

We got up close and personal with a pair of oxen yesterday in order to understand the beast just a bit better than we did at the start of the day. 

As it does on family sabbatical, we couldn't have predicted how it would turn out other than we will definitely go into the purchasing decision with a great deal of prudence because we want your generosity to go a long way.

We learned that horn size matters. One oxen got spooked as we crossed the 'highway' and broke loose. More on how the story ended below.

And off he went.

As we had watched the oxen be yoked earlier that morning we reflected on the fact that we were watching the same method come alive that had been used by the Greeks and Romans.

From Roman mosaic captured from Ancient Coins for Education.

 We learned an oxen travels at .3 mph which doesn't seem fast but there's a reason they're called 'the living tractor'.

Their steadiness, strength and stamina sure beats your own two feet. 

We took turns walking because we felt bad about making the oxen work carrying our weight. Don Pablo's son insisted they weren't tired (it's true every time I checked they weren't sweating) but we walked on and off anyway. Each step sure adds up, especially when the ox-cart ride turns into a 3.5 hour affair! 

We learned how to chop wood with a machete. 

Don Pablo son was a good teacher. He'd learned to yoke oxen starting when he was four and moved on to the machete when he was seven. When I asked if he'd ever been cut he showed me his hand lined with scars and raised his pant leg to show pitted scars along his leg pointing out the big one that had to be sewn up. 

 

Lucky for us, Betsy and J made it out with no blood to show for it.

We learned that Don Pablo had 10 children, had worked as a fruit and veggie vendor until he'd suffered a stroke and since then, had spent the last 25 years training oxen.

 He estimated he'd sold more than 60 pairs of oxen. I asked Don Pablo's son if his dad still cut with the machete and he said, 'Oh yes. And when we till the soil for planting, we're out all day. He's happy working.' 

Don Pablo 'backing up the oxen' into a shady parking spot.

We learned that life expectancy is not long for oxen in Nicaragua,  7 or 8 years was the estimate. We've heard of 12 years in more extraordinary cases. Not sure how the pair in the following picture will come out- they were hauling amps and a ton of musical equipment!

We had read that it wasn't hard to train oxen but that 'it takes commitment to work regularly, as well as patience and consistency in what you ask, and proving yourself a good leader by making sure your animals needs are met. When their needs are met, oxen are patient, hard working draft animals, and will not balk at toiling at your side all day long.' LINK

Although we all cringed at the whip Don Pablo used to 'encourage' the oxen, it was clear that the oxen were willing and steady partners. When we arrived, the oxen had been munching on corn. When we went to cut wood we noticed Don Pablo slipping them a bag of bread and water. He led the oxen with low calls and grunts and exerted little physical energy if any. And when it came time to snare the runaway oxen in the end it was Don Pablo who walked over to it and led him away.

Speaking of running away. . .

When we realized the ox had slipped out of the yoke and was no longer attached to the cart, it left Betsy's family and ours in the back of the cart with Don Pablo's 17 year old son holding half the yoke.  As we awkwardly made it down a big bump on to a dirt road,  I held Baby-O close and in a moment of panic I cursed my recklessness (an ox-cart ride had seemed a good idea to get to know oxen better while serving the dual purpose of giving some money to Don Pablo) for now I pictured us rolling over. I needn't have worried as is the mantra for family in tow. We survived the transition and Don Pablo's son ran faster than I thought was possible straight up a big hill after the galloping oxen (I didn't know such a thing was possible either). 

Talk about a spectacle. There we stood, Betsy and I with our 5 children between us with our mouths gaping open as the oxen came tearing back towards us now dodging trucks, vans and motorcycles that ply this 'highway'. Up the opposite hill it went with Don Pablo's son chasing after him. 

We went and huddled by a coconut 'stand' which was really just a house whose daughter's sold us coconuts to drink. At least we were out of the way.

J perked us all up when he informed us that now a 'really young kid is helping'. Sure enough as the oxen appeared again a young boy stood on one side of him while Don Pablo's son, now with a rope, came on the backside. 

Off the oxen roared past the boy until he was finally spooked by a big truck into retreating just enough for the boy to corral him. 73 year old Don Pablo shuffled out to the road tied him up and watched as his son led the ox away while the line up of traffic looked on. 

STILL notes keep coming- from Michigan to Washington over the weekend I've heard from you  and I THANK YOU! We'll settle up when we get back and I'll let you know what will happen with the oxen.