# Horse logging photos and stories



## smokechase II (Mar 24, 2006)

Horse logging photos and stories:
Here are a couple photos of "Buck", from Redmond Oregon.
A mostly retired logger who does this for enjoyment.
I believe he is 'over' age 65. I know I am jealous of his fitness.
Very well liked gentleman.

First photo is with Buck logging up at Hosmer Lake. We did have a written complaint about using heavy equipment on that logging show. Guess we’ll have to go to Shetland Ponies.
Second Photo is of Bucks operation getting a look over by some National Guard Challenge Cadets. (This is a great program).


----------



## ray benson (Mar 24, 2006)

Couldn't open the second picture.


----------



## smokechase II (Mar 24, 2006)

*other photos*

sorry about the first attempt.


----------



## smokechase II (Mar 24, 2006)

*more photos*

These are from just across the Deschutes River near Sunriver Oregon.


Buck usually uses just one horse and it is smaller Lodgepole logs. Most often the trees are beetle killed.
For the most part He cuts by himself (a son can be found out there too).


----------



## jp hallman (Mar 25, 2006)

Do all horse loggers go by the name "Buck"? That's not the same Buck I know!


----------



## John Ellison (Mar 26, 2006)

Thanks smokechase II, good pictures. One of my mentor/ heros is 88 years old and still goes to the log woods regularly. He has logged with horses and mules all his life and breaks new teams all the time.


----------



## smokechase II (Mar 26, 2006)

*88 and still a better man than we*

John:

Any chance of getting your mentor to do a thread like Art's?

Any photos from back in the day?


----------



## John Ellison (Mar 26, 2006)

smokechase II said:


> John:
> 
> Any chance of getting your mentor to do a thread like Art's?
> 
> Any photos from back in the day?





Not likely. I will ask him abiut the photos whenever I can get back up to see him.


----------



## wmthrower (Mar 27, 2006)

Nice photos. I use a gray of mine to get some firewood out sometimes when I can't get into a place without cutting a road in.


----------



## woodchux (May 28, 2006)

Here's a few photos i got somewhere ?


----------



## woodchux (May 28, 2006)

Few more unknown pics


----------



## woodchux (May 28, 2006)

And again....


----------



## smokechase II (May 28, 2006)

*where*

Where did you get all those pics?
Out of a book?
First one, any idea from when or where?


----------



## woodchux (May 28, 2006)

That first one above is in the sierra-nevada mts. n.california i belive.

If ya'll like those I've got tons more...


----------



## woodchux (May 28, 2006)




----------



## woodchux (May 28, 2006)

I really should be grinding stumps...


----------



## woodchux (May 28, 2006)

:monkey:


----------



## woodchux (May 28, 2006)

Back to work !


----------



## mightyoak (May 28, 2006)

thanks woodchux, for the photographs of real loggers, I worked years ago with an old timer, he had a team of mules, in his day men had narrow minds and a broad back, now men have broad minds and a narrow back, I learned alot working with him, he had really mastered the (armstrong method) at 70+ years of age he was as tough as nails. can you share some more horsepow'r photo's with us ?


----------



## Freakingstang (May 28, 2006)

There is a lot of neat pics in here. Thanks guys for posting the early pics of the logging days, done before the materials of today.


-Steve


----------



## woodchux (May 28, 2006)

OK... I'm done mulchin stumps.


----------



## smokechase II (May 28, 2006)

*oregon*

I guess your third photo just above with an oregon label is what created the open terrain of eastern oregon.


----------



## woodchux (May 28, 2006)

And again....


----------



## woodchux (May 28, 2006)

Yeah, they cut out alot of trees back then...


----------



## woodchux (May 28, 2006)

Have ya'll noticed that I like horses?


----------



## woodchux (May 28, 2006)




----------



## woodchux (May 28, 2006)

And trees


----------



## woodchux (May 28, 2006)

Now I should be sharpening chains....
Mabey later...


----------



## Happyjack (May 30, 2006)

Thanks for posting. Thoes are grate pics!!!!!!


----------



## wmthrower (May 30, 2006)

Good photos. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## SWE#Kipp (May 30, 2006)

*thx !*

Very nice pictuers 
Thank you !!

btw what sort of tractor was it in one of the pictures ??

/Kristoffer


----------



## Ryan Willock (Jun 1, 2006)

Good pics. Nice thing about horse logging is you don't have to worry about rolling the horse.


----------



## stihlatit (Jun 1, 2006)

Thx for the gander of all the old pictures.......some great shots in there. I have an old farmer just down the road that still uses a horse to pull his logs out of the bush.


----------



## John Ellison (Jun 10, 2006)

Ryan Willock said:


> Good pics. Nice thing about horse logging is you don't have to worry about rolling the horse.


 Could'nt say about horses, but I had a mule flip over on me last year. A log hung up, and as they swung over to try and free the log they got into some kind of wet hole. When they are sinking there is no reverse, just go ahead. One of them has been there before (sinking) and she just calmly laid down and quit trying to pull. Buck freaked out a bit and ended up upside down on the wrong side of Kate. I felt it was too dangerous to try and unhook the hame strap in front of them so ended up cutting the traces. Once unhooked they were able to get up and walk away.


----------



## woodchux (Jun 10, 2006)

I've had my quarter horse trip & roll over on top of me.
Moral of the story...
Horses should only drink small amounts of beer


----------



## Ryan Willock (Jun 11, 2006)

That was a pic of MY skidder that rolled thursday week before last. Fortunately no one was hurt.


----------



## rmihalek (Jun 12, 2006)

It's amazing how many logs they have loaded on some of those sleds in the winter.


----------



## ukeman (Jun 16, 2006)

*horse loggin*

Hi All,
I have some of those pics one that i know of came from Healing Harvest Forest Foundation, Jason Rutledge runs that. I think I saw a friend of mine in there that I almost bought a team of sufolks from about six months ago BIG GRIN 
just a introduction of who I am. I was a certified arborist for a long time my ISA cert was WC1081, I let my cert lapse in 2000. I was a climber in the Bay area in Cali for 14.5 years. then I went into Sales and could not stand it so I quit LMAO Now I am trying to get a horse logging gig going up around Tahoe which is not an easy task with all the enviro laws. here is a link to my site (not sure if its ok to put links up) www.travelinhorsefarm.com/forest.htm I also have some cool horse logging links on my links page.

Dave Gunter


----------



## gladhatter (Jul 9, 2006)

ukeman said:


> Hi All,
> I have some of those pics one that i know of came from Healing Harvest Forest Foundation, Jason Rutledge runs that. I think I saw a friend of mine in there that I almost bought a team of sufolks from about six months ago BIG GRIN
> just a introduction of who I am. I was a certified arborist for a long time my ISA cert was WC1081, I let my cert lapse in 2000. I was a climber in the Bay area in Cali for 14.5 years. then I went into Sales and could not stand it so I quit LMAO Now I am trying to get a horse logging gig going up around Tahoe which is not an easy task with all the enviro laws. here is a link to my site (not sure if its ok to put links up) www.travelinhorsefarm.com/forest.htm I also have some cool horse logging links on my links page.
> 
> Dave Gunter




Interesting photos and I hope to dig some out to share some day. I know Jason but not well and he timbered around here quite abit mostly on High Knob above Norton. Pretty fair set up he has and some unique. 

Speaking of not rolling the horses, its not exactly so. Logan Childress was one of the teamster drivers for Ritter when they logged this country eons ago and he had to design a j hook system on the mountain right behind me. He run a 12 mule team mostly as the logs was virgin timber and the smallest they got was 4 feet on the tip end then. He had to do cut outs in the laruel thickets and train the mules to turn into them down the hill about a 1/3 way down and the J released from the ring and the log slid right past the mules as compared to running over them. He would progress on down and then hook up again where it stopped. Generally two cut outs was all needed on the steep banks around here as they was steep but not long. 

I was visiting with Alcieberry yesterday and he told me of how John W Bradshaw hire him and Loy at age 16 to run a mill and planning mill the likes of never seen before in these parts nor after. My Daddy much older than him and now deceased worked for them when he first married mom. Anyways the timbered 320 acres in tarrapan bottom above me here and done it with two man mercury chaing saws with 5 feet bars. Worked fine for small timber but they encounted some 7 feet diameter white oak that have to be chewed around like a beaver. Then once it was felled the and the first cut made they got to the mill and the mill was not big enough to handle it . They ended up drilling holes and shooting it with red ball powder and finally decided the time to manage it was not worth harvesting anymore of the big trees. 

They set up there and would stack piles over 30 feet high. Then a year or so later graded it and planned it with a monster planner mill and made coffin boxes, t&g, bead board, lap, german and several more patterens and then had to restack the same piles to 30+ feet once the premium graded lumber was removed. 

I know I am rambling here and new to this board but maybe yall are not familiar with the old ways. They could not use them mercurys to limb the trees and done all that with a double bit axe. 

Berry said him and Loy got to haul the coffins to Hazzard Ky and finally learned to do it so they would get back late evening and park the Internationals at their houses and drive them back on the mountain and save that 3 mile walk to work. 

I loved the stories as they just reinforced the same ones I had heard a life time from my Daddy. 

Will try to share some more about Ritter, Yellow popular and later on the hunsakers from NC and Bradshaw as they came in after Yellow and Ritter. 

Surely some of you guys must know of at least of Yellow Popular and Ritter if you are with in a touching state of mine as they timbered you out as well. 

How about Splash dams ? Do any of you folks know of how they got the logs to market in the day ? 

Charlie


----------



## woodchux (Dec 2, 2006)

Dug up some more misc horselogging pics


----------



## woodchux (Dec 2, 2006)

few more


----------



## woodchux (Dec 2, 2006)

assorted


----------



## doggonetrees (Dec 3, 2006)

Sure wish my Granddaddy was still around. He supervised the clearing of the then St. Regis paper mill in Monticello, Ms., and they had to use ox to clear the timber in the 60's using the same wagons made by Lipsey. We had harness, yokes and wagon in our barn until a tornado took them. Mr. Mimms Berry in Jefferson Davis county owned several teams of ox, just for logging purposes. Nice pictures!


----------



## gladhatter (Dec 3, 2006)

Nice Photos all. 

Dave how is your horse logging concern up in Tahoe going? 

Charlie


----------



## Jakers (Apr 23, 2013)

couldnt help but dig up an old thread. i enjoyed lookin over the pics so much that i figured somebody else may enjoy it also


----------

