Gaetan
Hatching
- Jun 24, 2015
- 3
- 0
- 7
Hi,
My goal is to organize treks with a yak on the Via Jacobi, the Swiss part of the Camino de Santiago. About this I have the following questions:
1) 1) Will it be necessary for the yak to wear hoof boots or be shod?
There are hoof boots for horses and ponies and some can also be used for oxen but not, as far as I know, for yaks. Assuming that hoof boots are more appropriate, which ones would you recommend?
If it must be shod, could you indicate to me farriers having an expertise for such work? Even if they were in America, this could be useful as they could send me proper shoes.
At what age should the yak be shod?
2) 2) Should the yak be a castrated male or would a female or a bull also be conceivable? If it must be a castrated male, at what age should it be castrated? According to the website http://www.zugrinder.de/en/training-cattle.html: “Dependant on the age at castration (from a few weeks to over a year) oxen either developed a rather cow-like appearance (slim but very tall, long horns and a cow-like face) or developed more muscled bull like characteristics. The later castrated oxen remained quite spirited compared to the early castrates, which were more sociable and easier to handle”.
Does the timing of this intervention also have an importance regarding the further physical and behavioral development in the yak?
3) 3) If I bottle-feed it, will it make a big difference?
4) 4) Are there yaks that are a lot more difficult to train than others? If it is the case, would it be a good idea to bottle-feed several of them and later to choose the best one?
5) 5) As the temperature can be high during the summer, could this be a concern for the yak?
6) 6) Is it possible to have a single yak for this?
7) 7) Would hybrids be interesting in this context?
8) 8) Where is it possible to find pack saddles and the equipment to carry loads for yaks? Is what is used for horses suitable for yaks?
9) 9) Since I plan to sleep 6 days per week in a tent, could this cause problems with farmers when the yak grazes their grass?
Many thank in advance.
My goal is to organize treks with a yak on the Via Jacobi, the Swiss part of the Camino de Santiago. About this I have the following questions:
1) 1) Will it be necessary for the yak to wear hoof boots or be shod?
There are hoof boots for horses and ponies and some can also be used for oxen but not, as far as I know, for yaks. Assuming that hoof boots are more appropriate, which ones would you recommend?
If it must be shod, could you indicate to me farriers having an expertise for such work? Even if they were in America, this could be useful as they could send me proper shoes.
At what age should the yak be shod?
2) 2) Should the yak be a castrated male or would a female or a bull also be conceivable? If it must be a castrated male, at what age should it be castrated? According to the website http://www.zugrinder.de/en/training-cattle.html: “Dependant on the age at castration (from a few weeks to over a year) oxen either developed a rather cow-like appearance (slim but very tall, long horns and a cow-like face) or developed more muscled bull like characteristics. The later castrated oxen remained quite spirited compared to the early castrates, which were more sociable and easier to handle”.
Does the timing of this intervention also have an importance regarding the further physical and behavioral development in the yak?
3) 3) If I bottle-feed it, will it make a big difference?
4) 4) Are there yaks that are a lot more difficult to train than others? If it is the case, would it be a good idea to bottle-feed several of them and later to choose the best one?
5) 5) As the temperature can be high during the summer, could this be a concern for the yak?
6) 6) Is it possible to have a single yak for this?
7) 7) Would hybrids be interesting in this context?
8) 8) Where is it possible to find pack saddles and the equipment to carry loads for yaks? Is what is used for horses suitable for yaks?
9) 9) Since I plan to sleep 6 days per week in a tent, could this cause problems with farmers when the yak grazes their grass?
Many thank in advance.
