Edwin is named after a seventh-century Northumbrian king. He has lived at
Bede's World since 1997 with his friend, Oswin. Edwin can be distinguished
by his horns, which are forward curving and blacker at the tip than Oswin's.
He is a male Dexter oxen, a breed which is originally from Ireland and can
be traced back to the predominately black cattle of the early Celts. A Mr.
Dexter who came to Ireland in 1750 developed the breed, using the best of
the mountain cattle in the area. The breed was introduced to England in
1882. The Dexter is the smallest British breed of cattle, and were chosen
for the farm because of their similarity in size to Anglo-Saxon cattle from
the evidence of cattle bones found on archeological sites. The breed is
hardy and easy to keep and has three colours, mainly black but also red and
dun (a light brown).
Oxen were used to pull carts and ploughs in the Anglo-Saxon period, and
Edwin and Oswin are trained to work as pair in harness. Oxen can be trained
in a manner similar to horses, using repetition and reward. It is customary
for cattle to always be harnessed on the same side; this makes their
training hand handling easier. Edwin is always on the "near" (left) side. If
they know their names, they can respond to individual commands, and a good
oxen "teamster" will use the animal's name frequently when handling,
grooming or feeding it. A long pole can be used, not to hit them but to
train them to turn or move over at the touch of the pole on their sides.
The harness used for cattle is simple. Edwin and Oswin have a withers yoke,
which fits at the base of the neck, and on the farm you can see the yoke,
cart and plough, all of which were made on site using traditional tools and
techniques, to fit with the evidence from Anglo-Saxon manuscript
illustrations.
The use of oxen gradually declined in favour of horses in the eighteenth
century for a number of reasons, including the superior speed of horses and
the fact that they could work out in the fields all day with a nose-bag or
oats as fodder. Cattle have different digestive systems and need bulky food
and time to digest it. A few teams remained, and there has been a gradual
revival of interest in the use of cattle, both as a hobby and on
demonstration farms, but a team of oxen is still a rare sight in Britain.
Edwin eats grass, hay and straw, and also enjoys cereal feeds as well as
vegetables grown on site.
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