Draft animal

A draft animal is a domestic animal that the Homme uses for:

the Transport (horse-drawn Vehicle, cart, Sledge);
agricultural work, in particular the Ploughing;
of the various tasks (to actuate machines such as Noria or mill with oil);
the sport and the leisures

History

The animal energy utilization was not done at the same time as its domestication. It should have been waited several centuries before the Man is replaced by the animal in transport or the setting in swing of Moulin S and other installations.

The use of the draft animals strongly regressed since the end of the Second world war in Occident with the development of the Mécanisation (and spark-ignition Engine electricity). It remains however important in the countries of the Tiers-monde and keeps a marginal place in the Tourisme.

With the Madagascar (second half of the 20th century) one developed by crossing a new race of bovine in front of being also used like draft animal. It was named the Renitelo. The use of Charrette to Bœuf in the center of this country was still very popular at the end of the Années 1980.

Attachments

The use of draft animals generally requires the creation of equipment of fastener, the attachment, allowing the animal to tractor draw a load, without being wounded. The oldest system would be the Joug with horns, where in the ancient Egypt, a bar out of wooden was placed between the horns of a bovidé. With time, the bar out of wooden is carved for better adapting to the morphology of the animal and of the holes are realized to make there pass the bonds in Cuir allowing the traction of the load.

The yoke of garrot is an evolution of the yoke with horns which allows the use of animals without horns or whose shape of the horns does not lend itself to the yoke horns. It consists of a bar out of wooden posed on the garrot, with a fastener passing above the shoulders and fascinating support on the Rib cage. The problem of the yoke of garrot is that it crushes the neck of the animal, preventing it from using all its force.

The yokes are used exclusively with animals having the neck in same alignment as that of the Spinal column, which is not the case of the horse. Thus is created what one names the ancient attachment, which consists of broad band out of leather placed on the rib cage. This band is then attached to a bar out of wooden posed on the garrot. Thus the animal tractor draws the load with compressing its chest. The problem is that this attachment is not very effective, because it crushes the chest of the animal, which prevents it from breathing correctly and it thus reduces its pace.

For the horses, the collar of shoulders, known as of the I er century, but which is spread only as from the 11th century, allowed a better transmission of the power of the horse and did not obstruct its breathing.

The Travois is another type of attachment which one can use on the horse, but also on the dog. Used by the Indian of America, it consists of two wood bars resting on the sides of the animal. The two higher ends are joined together, while those lower rest on the ground. Its advantage is that it does not compress the chest of the animal.

List draft animals

Source

general History of the techniques - origins at the 15th century in chapter 5 with the section the attachments , Maurice Daumas, ISBN 2130478611

See too

horse-drawn Traction

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