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Horse Logging

Started by highway, December 17, 2015, 08:25:46 AM

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highway

Good morning all,

Here is a short video of how we gather firewood on our farm with horses. While we do own a tractor, we try to do as much with our horses as possible.

To see the video, just click the u tube link below. I hope you enjoy it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vE8b2xxHAI

Ed
2006 Woodmizer LT 40 Hydraulic, Kubota M4900 4WD, Kawasaki Mule, Team of Belgian Drafts for real horse power
www.fletcher-farm.com

Dakota

I really enjoyed that.  Thanks for sharing.
Dave Rinker

sandsawmill14

those poor horse out in the cold and snow with no hats or scarfs   ;)   just kidding we still have 3 teams and i love to work horses in the woods but since i quit logging they dont get worked much. sometimes we will work 3 abreast to the disc in the spring but mostly we just feed them :-\ but we have had drafts or mules ( usually both) all of my life and expect to for the rest of it  :D  i enjoyed the video not many people still know how to work stock and even less still do
hudson 228, lucky knuckleboom,stihl 038 064 441 magnum

Farmerjw

Very nice bobsled, great horse, excellent video.  My old team I could do that with, my new team is still to green to go to the woods with the chainsaw.  Nothing like riding back behind a horse or team after running a chainsaw.  The quiet is so QUIET!   Thanks for sharing.
Premier Bovine Scatologist

Grizzly

Quote from: Farmerjw on December 17, 2015, 01:22:35 PM
The quiet is so QUIET!

That is exactly what I like about this kind of lifestyle. The only other horse work I've been close to is horse pulls or the 4 & 6 horse hitch competitions. I'm not a teamster but it sure seems like some fellows/ladies have a relationship with their horses and some just don't. All they have is the technical operations figured out while others just work together with their stock. But the quiet............
2011 - Logmaster LM-2 / Chinese wheel loader
Jonsered saws - 2149 - 111S - 90?
2000 Miners 3-31 Board Edger

dustyhat

I watched some of your other videos to . very nice ,really liked the one about removing the old bridge.

spyder68

Very well trained horse. How old? I have ridding horses.

thecfarm

Thanks for the video. Yes,I enjoyed it.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Magicman

I had to watch that a couple of times.   smiley_thumbsup

Ozzie knows what to do and obviously enjoys doing it.  Great teamwork.   :)
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

r.man

What impresses me about logging horses, from stories that my brother and father told, was that with a regular run a good horse could be unaccompanied. My brother talked about hauling out logs at my fathers farm where after one run through one person stayed at each end of the trail and the horse traveled back and forth, stopping to get hitched or unhitched from the logs.
Life is too short or my list is too long, not sure which. Dec 2014

beenthere

Was around a 2-man, 2-mule logging operation in New Mexico (Gila Nat'l Forest years ago) where the faller was up the mountain slope cutting, limbing and hooking up one mule at a time, the mule would go down the mountain to the other man at the landing. The mule would stop with the log ends almost perfectly in line. Get unhooked, and would go back up for another log ½ - a mile distance. Both mules doing this all day long. The men would exchange duties, probably for a rest as the bottom duties were easier.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

highway

Sending the horses back and forth is still used today but not practical for my purpose. I feel more comfortable directing them with effective communication through the lines reducing potential problems when they might otherwise be unsupervised.

In this video, we use two horses to pull larger ash and poplar logs. These were cut to release smaller sugar maple in our sugar bush.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BcPVrXq-ow
2006 Woodmizer LT 40 Hydraulic, Kubota M4900 4WD, Kawasaki Mule, Team of Belgian Drafts for real horse power
www.fletcher-farm.com

beenthere

Enjoyed the horses logging.  Thanks for posting.

Also, enjoyed a video following yours about 4 grand children and a Belgian draft horse in Belgium.. Girls were having a good time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX2AX8NA4rU
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

John Mc

Quote from: highway on December 21, 2015, 09:44:08 AM
In this video, we use two horses to pull larger ash and poplar logs.

Nice video. They certainly don't seem to be having any difficulty with that log.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

enigmaT120

Now I have the song "Heavy Horses" by Jethro Tull in my head.  That's OK, it's a good song.

Ed Miller
Falls City, Or

spyder68

There is a place in horse heaven for that good old horse.

mart

Great videos. My grandfather had a pair of Belgians when he first had his farm. He used to tell of cutting firewood in the winter and he could send the horses to the house with a load of logs and my grandmother would unhook the logs and send the horses back to the woods. Grandpa said those two would do that all day hauling logs and he never had to worry about them. That was before my time. I always felt like I really missed out on something special by not being around the draft horses.
I was young and dumb once. I got over being young a long time ago.

LT15 w/19 hp - 24' bed
Branson 3725
Stihl MS362
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stumper

I liked the first video, so often I see horses worked as a team which diminishes the low impact.  Nice size horse as well, again too often I see horses as too tall and too large to work in the woods. 

Carson-saws

Very VERY cool!...nothing like having fun...enjoying the outdoors and getting work done all at the same time.  Thanks for sharing.
Let the Forest be salvation long before it needs to be

WV Sawmiller

   Nice video. I tend to try to drag longer logs to a landing near my house before cutting them into firewood but I guess the snow and sled add a new dimension to the job.

   I had a guy bring in a team of mules and pull some big saw logs out of a steep draw above my pasture last month and posted pictures from it. I encourage everyone to go watch such an operation if you get a chance to do so. It is a lot harder work than most people think but it is amazing to watch really well trained animals do this kind of work.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

highway

This is how I skid saw logs to the landing and then set the mill up to make lumber. I really enjoy working with the animals.


Ed


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrNwttZS0C0



2006 Woodmizer LT 40 Hydraulic, Kubota M4900 4WD, Kawasaki Mule, Team of Belgian Drafts for real horse power
www.fletcher-farm.com

highway

Also a video of the Norwood HD 36 Hydraulic we use on the farm


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbGSDQPbh98
2006 Woodmizer LT 40 Hydraulic, Kubota M4900 4WD, Kawasaki Mule, Team of Belgian Drafts for real horse power
www.fletcher-farm.com

Magicman

I never tire of watching those horses work.   :)

That was also a very good video showing the Norwood in action.   smiley_thumbsup
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

sandsawmill14

highway you already have that much snow  ??? :o :o  just kidding  :D   i enjoy watching your videos and that looks like a well mannered team  :) most teams around here get "hot" after they are worked in the woods a while and can be a real pain and a little dangerous especially when hooking  yours dont appear to be that way at all smiley_thumbsup
hudson 228, lucky knuckleboom,stihl 038 064 441 magnum

ppine

Nice videos.  The old ways are the best ways.  Horses always start even when the weather is below zero.  That is one of the reasons people still use them for logging and feeding in winter.

It is worth mentioning that horse logging creates little disturbance in the woods with slopes under around 30 %.  Skid trails can be much narrower than for a Cat.  There is much less soil compaction.  This is especially true in winter with frozen ground and snow cover.

There are horse loggers in the West that specialize in contracts with home owners and small land owners that value aesthetics.  They are willing to pay the higher cost for the lower impact to the forest floor and the surface soil in particular.
Forester

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