Some horse logging and job site pics,

[saxon0364]

I was way ahead of Ray (Ray's the teamster I'm cutting for) so I grabbed my camera and took some shots.   Ray and I are both sub contractors, we use our own tools, maintain our own insurance and come and go as we like.  We are payed by what hits the landing. 

Here's the team.   Percheron geldings, they are brothers, a little over a year apart.


  

  

  

    

The mornings work,


  

 

Rays truck and trailer and the pole pile,


 

The twitch road, and a bridge over a stream, we just build them on site, you can just see the boards sticking out the sides,


  

 

Picking up a skid,


  

 

[saxon0364]

A few more pics,
Pounding the grabs in an Ash log, cant hardly find grabs any more, gotta make em.


  

  

  

  

  

  

 

[Charles Barnes Sr]

Thanks for the photos...enjoyed them. I had a man cut pine logs off my land years ago using ponies. He had three of them and rotated one out each day.

[Jay C. White Cloud]

Thank's Saxon364, very nice rig.

[hardtailjohn]

Good looking geldings!  There isn't much in the world more fun than watching a good team do thier stuff......unless it's being on the lines of the same!
That's a good looking outfit. I've never used the Boston Backer Harness, but one of my mentors loved it.
Thanks for sharing.
John

[lumberjack48]

I watch my dad skid with a horse, with the single tree hookup. He stood off to the side and walked behind with the reins. Doing it this way sure takes a lot of the danger out of it.

Thinks for the pictures, i thought at one time i could smell them. 

[beenthere]

saxon
Enjoyed the pics.
As far as the grabs, seems there are some designs of ways to move logs with logging arch's that would aid in lifting the front end of the log off the ground for easier dragging. Not sure I can put my finger on the one that I'm thinking where the tongs used slide up a rod, causing the lift.

Driving in grabs seems a bit tedious and extra work.
But the enjoyment dragging out logs with the horse team maybe overpowers the work involved.

[thecfarm]

I like that.

[saxon0364]

saxon
Enjoyed the pics.
As far as the grabs, seems there are some designs of ways to move logs with logging arch's that would aid in lifting the front end of the log off the ground for easier dragging. Not sure I can put my finger on the one that I'm thinking where the tongs used slide up a rod, causing the lift.

Driving in grabs seems a bit tedious and extra work.
But the enjoyment dragging out logs with the horse team maybe overpowers the work involved.

Some use chokers instead of grabs, but, the horses stop, side step, and sometimes have to back up and choker hooks come unhooked. 
Some carts are higher and have a winch, like a come along mounted on them to lift the logs higher.   But that's not really necessary. A cart like the one Ray is using has slots in the frame.   The chain is dropped in the slot.  When the logs move they are lifted by the  pull in the front.  Then when the front of the log goes over a  high spot the teamster can stop, take up a few more links and when the horses move the log is higher still.  It only takes about three whacks to get the grab in.   One whack to get it out.    The back of the grab hammer is a tapered spike that is driven under the grab cowling and pops it out.

[rbhunter]

Thanks for the pictures and looking forward to seeing more. I love pictures of horses working.

[mad murdock]

Nice looking team, and nice whack-o-logs you got there from the days work!  Thanks for sharing with us 8)

[WindyAcres]

Great pictures, really enjoyed them. Keep it up! The woodlot looks very nice too, I wish I would own (would have found) one like that! All the best!

[petefrom bearswamp]

I seem to recall the tool used to drive the grabs in and remove them is called a grab skipper here.
Nice team and rig.
the one maple log in the pics sure is nice with very small heart.
Pete

[Buck]

Thanks for sharing Saxon

[horselogger50]

Thank you for sharing, that team is beautiful, nothing better then being in the woods with a team

[gspren]

Saxon, looks like your new job is working out OK, glad to see that.

[saxon0364]

I seem to recall the tool used to drive the grabs in and remove them is called a grab skipper here.
Nice team and rig.
the one maple log in the pics sure is nice with very small heart.
Pete

Thanks for the comments all.    The maple in this woods is good, but the Ash is outstanding. Clear to the point some trees are have almost no heart wood at all.   
Iver cut for horses about half of my logging lifetime, I'm sure Ill be cutting for a skidder again sometime but my time with the horses is always the best.   I was lucky to get partnered  up with Ray and his team.   Long may it last.

[isawlogs]

 Nice pics, like seeing the horses out there gaining there oats 

[clww]

Great stories and pictures. The farm next to our property has four of those huge horses. They are used on the farm and in the woods for moving timber.

[swampbuggy]

Great pictures. I, not knowing anything about horses, want to know how long it took to train a team like that? Do you use simple commands?
Once again, thanks for the little history lesson. Dan

[David-L]

Nice pics, enjoyed them and got me pumped up for todays work. The quiet must be nice.
                                                David-L

[saxon0364]

Great pictures. I, not knowing anything about horses, want to know how long it took to train a team like that? Do you use simple commands?
Once again, thanks for the little history lesson. Dan

Takes years to get them where you want them to be.    Simple commands like, gee, ha,  back, step, of course the most important, whoa.
If one horse is right and one is wrong the teamster will name the horse he wants to listen then issue the command.  All the "good" teamsters I know speak quietly, hardly, if ever raise their voice and provide the team with the leadership they need.      These horses are so calm you can fire up a saw right next to them and cut. They are used to it.      I drop trees a safe distances away but still a lot of commotion and noise and they don't flinch.    They can be a little fired up in the morning but they settle down after a couple of skids. 
    I knew one Amish guy that logged with a team of stud Belgians.    They were a handful to put it lightly.
   

[Knute]

Great Pictures. Thanks. Are those wheels from a New Holland 77 baler? 24"?

[thecol]

NICE TEAM DID U BUILD THE CART AND WERE R U IN PA

[Magicman]

That was a wonderful sequence of pictures of a completely different world for me.  I thank you for sharing them with us.