# What is an ox? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 30, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518 "2022-09-30T20:51:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/61 "2022-10-02T12:33:18Z")
Horses or oxen? Yeah, it makes sense that teams of 10 to 12 horses would require skilled drivers while oxen were more easily guided. However, oxen could stampede and one of the reasons for circling the wagons was to keep the oxen in the middle. My ancestors weren’t wealthy or church leaders so it was oxen or handcarts for them. Most of the settlers, both Mormons and other settlers were on really limited budgets. These were dirt or mud trails, often uphill and pulling heavy wagons all day. The wagons weighed 1,300 lbs and they were limited to something like 2,000 lbs of cargo and the food for crossing the plains. Looking at [other sources](http://heritage.uen.org/companies/Wce12e3ec9f140.shtml), Mormon pioneers sacrificed weight to allow fewer oxen. > [@](#): > > Each wagon was pulled by four yoke of oxen or mules and carried about 1,000 pounds of supplies. All the wagons I saw as a child were those used in the Pioneer Day parade, with a couple of riders in empty wagons on paved roads. Two horses were enough for those, Generally people walked because the wagons didn’t have suspension and the lurching and bumps weren’t fun. Also, they wanted to carry as much cargo as they could. Small children were often driven (with whips!) ahead of the main groups. A couple of my ancestors were unfortunate enough to be involved with the handcart companies, and paid dearly for that. Whatever else, having large animals pull the wheat and beddings was much preferable to pulling it yourselves. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/62 "2022-10-02T12:36:59Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > All the wagons I saw as a child were those used in the Pioneer Day parade, with a couple of riders in empty wagons on paved roads. Two horses were enough for those, Yeah - that and movies/paintings. Gonna look for more images. My idea was they “ganged up” multiple teams for ascents and such. What you say makes the trip even more amazing that I had previously thought. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/63 "2022-10-02T12:59:47Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > My idea was they “ganged up” multiple teams for ascents and such. What you say makes the trip even more amazing that I had previously thought. Certainly for really steep ascents, but the trail itself is uphill until the continental divide. The Mormon Trail began at just over 700 ft elevation and went to 7,500 ft. The trek it self was only the beginning. Mormon settlers were sent out all over Utah, southern Idaho, northern Arizona and parts of Nevada with very little to their names, digging irrigation canals in the deserts. One of my ancestors lost both of her legs (below the knees, IIRC) in snowstorms in Wyoming and went on to have a bunch more kids. Tough people and something I certainly would not have wanted to do. My parents both grew up on dirt farms and were closer to the pioneers than my spoiled generation, something my father often reminded me. He did have a rich vocabulary of terms of contempt for my siblings and me. I suppose if you grow up working that hard, it would be difficult to hold your tongue when your kids don’t have the same toughness. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/64 "2022-10-02T13:44:29Z")
From the Donner party reaching [Donner Summit](http://www.donnersummithistoricalsociety.org/pages/exhibits/firstwagontrains.html). > [@](#): > > It was snowing…and in order to get the wagon over the precipitous slopes ten oxen were hitched to a wagon, then it was driven as far as it could go and then a chain was attached that worked on a roller on top of the mountains. With a man on each wheel the summit was at last reached. [see picture at left of Roller Pass as this was called] > Mary Jones 1946 [![](http://www.donnersummithistoricalsociety.org/images/displays/firstwagontrains/wagonrollerpasswagon.png) ](http://www.donnersummithistoricalsociety.org/images/displays/firstwagontrains/wagonrollerpasswagon.png) Clicking on the icon brings up the drawing. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/65 "2022-10-02T16:01:53Z")
People pulling hand carts doesn’t get that much play ▶ n the movies. Along with those people who couldn’t afford horse or oxen there were also the ones that lost wagons and livestock along the way and finishing their journey on foot power. As noted most everybody walked, but they had been doing that most of their lives already. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/66 "2022-10-02T16:12:28Z")
In the Caribbean I’ve eaten both oxtail and pigtail soup. Totally different taste and both delicious. I have a source for oxtail here, but I’ve never seen pigtails for sale. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/67 "2022-10-02T17:35:33Z")
It just occurred to me that since ox are _castrated_ steers that Rocky Mountain _Oysters_ might NOT just come from butchered cattle. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/68 "2022-10-02T18:43:56Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > It’s a steer if it’s being raised for beef, and an ox if it’s used for work. Not just ‘used’ but also bred. Just like we have cows for milking and cows for eating, we had cows [for pulling](https://www.ruralheritage.com/ox_paddock/ox_whatis.htm). A lot of them were also milk or meat breeds and were certainly eaten at the end of their service life – who’s going to throw away a half ton of stew meat? – but they were selected for their sturdiness rather than their milk production or tastiness. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/69 "2022-10-02T19:52:34Z")
It’s a reference to Oregon Trail. Those are the prices in version 5, the one I played, and the one you can now download from a game site to play on Win10 & 11. You could choose among oxen, horses and mules. Maybe in version 1 you didn’t have a choice, but I’m not sure you even shopped or traded for supplies at all-- there’s actually a feature you can exploit in version 5 where you choose business acumen (that’s not the correct term, but I don’t remember what it’s called) as a special skill, then buy up a lot of $11 oxen, and select “trade” for your activity, and sell the oxen for anywhere for $15-20 per. Eventually, you can trade for nearly everything you need, and in addition, have twice the cash you started out with. Makes for a huge score at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/70 "2022-10-02T19:52:45Z")
It’s not used much anymore, but the generic word is [beeve](https://www.wordnik.com/words/beeve). ## Definitions ### from The Century Dictionary. - noun An animal of the bovine genus, as a cow, bull, or ox. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/71 "2022-10-02T20:15:59Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Eventually, you can trade for nearly everything you need, and in addition, have twice the cash you started out with. Makes for a huge score at the end. I never played the game, but I thought everyone just bought a lot of ammunition: > **[Oregon](https://xkcd.com/623/)** > > A century later, the harrowing flight of the survivors from Oregon was dramatized in a popular video game. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/72 "2022-10-02T20:27:54Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > These were dirt or mud trails, often uphill and pulling heavy wagons all day. The wagons weighed 1,300 lbs and they were limited to something like 2,000 lbs of cargo and the food for crossing the plains. And in a few places, you can still see the ruts from those wagons. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/73 "2022-10-02T21:22:00Z")
In Australia they were generally termed bullocks, and bullock wagons were pulled by teams ranging up to 1-2 dozen beasts [also used as the generic “cow” term], handled by a bullocky. Routine and necessary part of the rural world the moment you were out of sight of a railway line. Used for haulage throughout Australia except in desert and very dry, where camels were preferred - bullocks do require decent feed and water. The wagon, plus load and the beasts themselves could easily exceed 10+ tons. No worries on flat clay plains, until it rains. Some examples: > **[Bullock Wagon](https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/5cb7bed1a9c408344c898cfb)** > > From the collection of Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute (BMI Ballarat). Conditions of Use: All rights reserved. Please refer to source page for full media reuse details. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Bullock_team_with_a_wool_wagon_at_the_Railway_Station_in_Mitchell_Queensland_1898.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Bullock_team_with_a_wool_wagon_at_the_Railway_Station_in_Mitchell_Queensland_1898.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![WellHelloThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9dc877/32.png) [@WellHelloThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WellHelloThere)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/74 "2022-10-02T22:41:52Z")
When did anyone call them Beeves? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/75 "2022-10-02T22:59:28Z")
> [beef (n.)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/beef#etymonline_v_8233) > > c. 1300, “an ox, bull, or cow,” also the flesh of one when killed, used as food, from Old French buef “ox; beef; ox hide” (11c., Modern French boeuf), from Latin bovem (nominative bos, genitive bovis) “ox, cow,” from PIE root [\*gwou-](https://www.etymonline.com/word/*gwou-?ref=etymonline_crossreference) “ox, bull, cow.” Original plural in the animal sense was beeves. [Etymology](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/beeve) > [Back-formation](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary#back-formation) from _[beeves](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/beeves#English)_, plural of _[beef](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/beef#English)_. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/76 "2022-10-02T23:01:22Z")
A couple of years back I golfed regularly w/ a young man from Texas. Raised on a ranch and rode rodeo (he was a heeler). I forget exactly what he called their operation, but it wasn’t a feedlot. They bought weaned calves and fattened them up before selling them to feedlots to be finished off. He said most folk called them beeves, but he called them calves. So at least some folk in Texas call them beeves. He had a video on his phone of the castrating process as they did it. They didn’t cut the nuts off. Instead they fastened a tight elastic band around them, which caused them to dry up. After affixing the elastic, he reached in with a knife and hacked a couple of slashes in the scrotum, which he said helped them dry up. Pretty ghastly IMO. Interesting golf partner! ---
**Author:** ![WellHelloThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9dc877/32.png) [@WellHelloThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WellHelloThere)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/77 "2022-10-02T23:20:56Z")
Interesting. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/78 "2022-10-03T00:48:10Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Pretty ghastly IMO. I once worked with a guy who grew up on a Wyoming ranch and did that as well. He refused to “get fixed” after he and wife had enough kids. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/79 "2022-10-03T03:33:51Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > t’s not used much anymore, but the generic word is [beeve](https://www.wordnik.com/words/beeve). Oh, thanks! I was trying to remember that word. > [@Banksiaman](#): > > In Australia they were generally termed bullocks, and that one. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > I had an essay question on a college exam about cattle. I tried to use as many different words for the animal as i could think of. Cattle, bovine, cow, calf, heifer, bull, steer, ox, kine, veal, beef, maybe some others. You can tell how central cattle are to our culture that there are SO many words, with so many shades of meaning, to name these animals. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518/80 "2022-10-03T18:57:24Z")
I wonder how much of that is more so they’d have cattle when they showed up in Oregon without having to herd cattle all along the way? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-ox/972518.md?page=5)