Goad

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For Hindu religious associations of elephant goads, see ankus.

For similar devices, and electrical devices, used to urge cattle to move, see Cattle prod.

The goad is a traditional farming implement, used to spur or guide an animal, usually oxen, which are pulling a plough or a cart. It is a type of cattle prod. Though many people are unfamiliar with them today, goads have been common throughout the world.

[edit] Description

An ox goad is traditionally a wooden stick or pole with a pointed tip.^{[citation needed]}

Some are reported to have been 8 to 10 feet long, others 5 to 7 feet. The goad is cited as the origin of two units of measurement: the rod, which is 16.5 feet; and the goad, which is 4.5 feet. Some were 2 inches in diameter at the thickest end; others were 6 inches.^{[citation needed]}

Ploughing with oxen. A miniature from an early-sixteenth-century manuscript held at the British Museum. The ploughman on the right appears to carry a goad. The ox on the left appears to react to it. Note the flat blade at the other end of the goad.

[edit] Goad for elephants: the ankus

An ankus is a hooked goad for controlling an elephant. See ankus for more information.