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Horse Logging. By Eric Monger. Pros of horse logging. Minimum impact o the soil Light impact o the standing trees More economical for smaller tracts of land (50 acres of less) Smaller log landings Horse can maneuver in tight places the wheeled skidders
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Horse Logging By Eric Monger
Pros of horse logging • Minimum impact o the soil • Light impact o the standing trees • More economical for smaller tracts of land (50 acres of less) • Smaller log landings • Horse can maneuver in tight places the wheeled skidders • Smaller skid trails then that of wheeled skidders • Less noisy work closer to rural areas
Cons of horse logging • Usually perform single tree selections methods • Can only skid logs about ¼ miles. • More planning before operation starts • Have to give animals break often • May need more then one team or single horse • Slower then conventional logging
Types of animals that can be used • Horses • Belgians • Haflingers • Clydesdales • Percherons • Oxen • Mules
Skidding the logs • A team of horses can skid axpermally 150-200 board feet in on trip • Maximum length a horse can skid logs is 1500 feet • Extreme up and down hills hinder skidding operations • An arch is often used in horse logging • Large amount of snow can cause a problem for horses • Frozen ground make skidding easier and less disturbance
Typical day at a horse logging operation • 6-8 hours long • Physical demanding for both logger and horses • An hour to hour and half lunch to help rest horses • Horses are feed high protein diets • Always have water and salt on operation • Some logger rotate team to keep them fresh
Interesting fact about horse logging • To start horse logging was less the $10000 To state conventional is over $100000 in 1996 • A horses weight about 1600 lbs • A logger can maintain a horse for one year on the same amount it cost to buy one skidder tire • A horse used for logging can be bought for $1500-$2000 and can work for about 15 years
Summary • Horses logging when done with best management practice is as good as conventional logging • More economical on smaller tracts of land • Horses can access areas that wheeled skidder can’t • It is not suited for every tract of land • Quieter then conventional logging