In the early days, oxen were used to haul out the white pine. They worked in teams of 4, 6, or 8, were stronger than horses, less apt to be frightened, and less inclined to flounder in the mud and snow. They were also less expensive to buy and keep, and, if necessary, better to eat. Oxen usually pulled loads by means of a heavy wooden neck yoke; however, in Canada, yokes were often made to fit the horns. A goad stick, 4 feet long, 518 inches thick at the butt, 1/2 inch at the top, with a sharp brad 112 inch long in its tip, were used to drive them. Oxen hooves are cloven so each one takes two shoes. Oxen can't or won't stand on three legs so they had to be lifted off the ground in a sling in order to be shod.
Oxen were used for hauling the big pine logs because the horses available at that time were not heavy enough for the large loads and because they could not eat the coarse hay from the woodland meadows. During the spruce period (beginning in 1840), with smaller logs, heavier horses, and roads over which hay and grain could be brought into the woods, horses came into general use for all woods work. The heavy work of hauling logs required a substantial harness adapted to holding back on the hills as well as pulling forward on the level. Among the accessories to a harness was a nose basket for serving the noon oats ration. In the winter, all horses wore bells to warn other teams and each team had a "ball hammer" snapped onto the harness which was used to knock ice out of the horses' hooves.
