Logging with horses or mules?

[CLEARVIEW TREE]

Anyone ever do any logging with mules,oxen or draft horses? Gettin pretty popular here in e tn. Cool to see

 

[ckliff]

cant imagine it would be profitable, but maybe a great hobby!
go find the "Small Farmers Journal" its all about horse farming, etc...

 

[ckliff]

http://www.smallfarmersjournal.com/

 

[2dogs]

I work for a horse logging outfit. Search this forum and then ask away.

 

[tatra805]

cant imagine it would be profitable, but maybe a great hobby!

Ahum...

FYI European logging is massively going back to horses instead of machinery.

Investment write off, flexibility, eco-friendliness being the main factors.

Here in Slovakia i would estimate at least 60% of the logging being done by horses.

I had to react.
I like them
I adore them
I am jealous of their owners
But above all, I respect them.

For those who have the chance to witness these horses at work: Take your kids and go see them.

A passionate draft horse owner.

 

[Mark Currie]

My grandfather used to log with horses and he still has at least one crew in the woods that does it. I think the contractor has 2 horses that he works. There was a girl that graduated from college (Forest Tecnology) a year ahead of me talked about getting into that. I'm not sure how she made out.

Mark

 

[Arbor Vista]

Arborists & Horse logging

I have valued a team of horses many times, especially in the winter. I schedule winter lake-ice work, and with the help of nature, gravity and a great team, It's great to watch a team skid logs from between buildings and then to the laneway or across the lake-ice. I have thot about mini-skidsteers or mini loaders/grapples but the horses outpull, outlast and outperform any of the machines. The clients seem to love it when informed that a team will be used to help remove the logs from their site with little to no impact on the property. At times, a single horse is adequate for trunkwood removal. By keeping the size of the log to a minimum, one can use a cant hook to rotate the log 90 degrees to get around buildings. The use of innovative rigging techniques, re-directs, "Amsteel" rope, the horses can do a great deal of work for arborists.

 

[slowp]

What made the biggest impression on me was that the horse and the logger both are working extremely hard. The horse has to get in shape gradually and the logger, who was working by himself, was running alongside the horse. This particular horse was kept in a corral up at the unit. He broke out one night and went home, about 10 miles or so and was too tired to work the next day. The horse was being used because it was too muddy for a skidder and the logger wanted to keep busy. It worked. No ruts either.

 

[jpvjr]

Anyone ever do any logging with mules,oxen or draft horses? Gettin pretty popular here in e tn. Cool to see

Yep, in Central PA we have Amish logging crews. They mostly use mules, & a few Percherons. One old timer taught me how to use oxen (but I never used them personally).

 

[Fallguy1960]

2Dogs you said you had a site to search. I do not see the address. Can you repost it? Thanks

 

[Gologit]

2Dogs you said you had a site to search. I do not see the address. Can you repost it? Thanks

I think he meant to use the search function on AS. There's been quite a lot posted about horse logging.

And welcome to AS.

 

[2dogs]

I think he meant to use the search function on AS. There's been quite a lot posted about horse logging.

And welcome to AS.

Sorry for the confusion. Yes I meant to use the search function and to search this forum for info on horse logging. (Thanks Bob)

 

[Fallguy1960]

I'll give it a wirl. Thanks