Plow Oxen

A staple of agricultural practices across The Thirteen Kingdoms since as early as 4500 AoA, Plow Oxen are strong backed bovine creatures often used for plowing, transport, and threshing grain. Typically a castrated male cow, oxen tend be more docile than non-castrated bulls which makes them far more suitable for close work with their human handlers.
Best practices for plow oxen involve "yolking" the animal (sometimes in pairs) with a heavy harness which is connected to a convex metal blade to plow fields prior to plantation. In some rare occurrences, plow oxen can even be paired up to as many as a dozen oxen at once, typically for transporting exceptionally heavy equipment short distances to forms of transport better suited for long distance travel (such as Locomotives.
Oxen are trained to responded to either verbal or physical stimulation to follow simple orders, typically from a specified handler. Small whips are often used, however they are thin and light enough to not cause the plow oxen more than a mild annoyance.
Oxen of course are used outside of The Thirteen Kingdoms and Human agricultural practices, as other species often have need of the strength and reliability of the great beasts. Some groups of Kinderstärke even use the great beasts as mounts, however those creatures bear little physiological and behavioral resemblance to their more agriculturally focused bovine cousins.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Dairy Cow

Scientific Name

Bovine

Lifespan

18 - 22 Years

Average Height

4 Feet, 4 inches

Average Weight

1400 lbs

Average Length

8 feet, 5 inches