horse logging

[murphy4trees]

I spent an afternoon with a friend of my sisters who was dragging logs out of the woods with a two-horse team in Oregon around 1990. I thought that was pretty cool. ere's another good video. This guy looks like a hard worker.

 

[cory]

I did it like that for a day in VT. Very impressive how extremely low impact the horses are, as in, tiny skid trails.

 

[Burnham]

Not what I saw here in Oregon as a USFS inspector. Narrower skid trails than machines need for sure, but very heavy impact on those skid trails...horses provide much heavier pounds per square inch than any tracked or tired skidder, if you look at the numbers.

Don't get me wrong, there are many things to admire about horse logging vs. motorized systems...but low ground impact really isn't one of them.

 

[flushcut]

But does a machine fertilize the skid trail like a horse?

 

[BlackSmith]

That’s grease... lol

 

[stig]

Don't get me wrong, there are many things to admire about horse logging vs. motorized systems...but low ground impact really isn't one of them.

Speed isn't either.
That horse is going to travel the same skid trail 20 times or more to bring out what a forwarder does going once.

I've done horse logging in my youth in Schweiz, and while the memories are fond, I don't see horses having a place in modern day logging.

As a hobby, sure, but professionally, nope.

 

[Altissimus]

Been there , has its charm for sure ... even think I started a similar thread (years back though) . We used single skid horse and eventually teams ...If logging is about production then Horse Logging is like the Old Trucks restored for Parade Duty ...

 

[Treehuggn4life]

I don care what anyone says. That is cool as hell. But then again I'm a horseman. I have used horses doing trail maintenance just outside Rocky Mountain National Park. Only the pack horses we had were nowhere near that well trained. They were evil little shits. The first day out one of the guys hitches a small log to it and it spooked. The horse bolts and starts draggin the log with it which spooked it more cuz now it thinks the log is chasing it. The horse stampedes and hauls ass all the way back to the stables which is about 2 miles away. It must have been quite a sight seeing that horse slide into home with a log attached to it. I actually think I have a pic of that day somewhere. I will have to go look for it.

This pic was taken like 20 prior to the stampede.

 

[MasterBlaster]

That log looks skeered!!!

 

[Frankie]

Well ... ya can feed 2 draft horses well for $12 / day or about 4000/yr ... ONE new skidder tire runs 1500-2000 !

 

[Altissimus]

Hehehehe , just put the tire on ... Loggers live off mill checks and generally don't eat Hay

 

[Frankie]

Do these “loggers that live off mill checks” work for an outfit / hourly wage or are they self employed ? Big difference imho ... We can rent a pair of juggernauts for about $175-250 per day that will more than earn their keep... economics of scale - no doubt the skidder is going to produce more but it also costs more ! ...

 

[Frankie]

Sometimes with a small load u are better off doing by 🖐

 

[stig]

Year before last we logged some 10000 cubic meters of hardwood.
Good luck forwarding that with horses.

 

[Frankie]

10000 cubic meters is approximately 8277 face cord ... guesstimating 40face load there they wood need about 207 loads to equal 10000cubic meters .... not gonna match turbo-diesel but over time (and lotsa hat,oats and water ) it can be done ! Remember that they also can re-produce !

 

[BlackSmith]

They must not have had much respect for horses back then...

 

[Frankie]

... there’s ol Ironhorse gettin-r done lol 😆

 

[Altissimus]

Don't get me wrong Frank's, I actually know what I'm talking about. ... Logged and lived off the mill checks I have , with the Horse and the Skidder. Skidders aren't cheap yes , but Horses aren't either (for now ,forget production compare) We park the Skidder when not in use , Horses seem hungry every day year round whether or not they've worked.

 

[Frankie]

again .... it’s all economics of scale imho .... ymmv

 

[Marc-Antoine]

10000 cubic meters is approximately 8277 face cord ... View attachment 98799guesstimating 40face load there they wood need about 207 loads to equal 10000cubic meters .... not gonna match turbo-diesel but over time (and lotsa hat,oats and water ) it can be done ! Remember that they also can re-produce !

I guess that they just made a fun pic, real because no photoshop at the time, but I can't see this load actually take a start, even on ice. These two poor horses don't have a chance to move it, let alone to stop it.
Two levels of logs, maybe, but that pile, no way.

 

[Frankie]

I seriously doubt they stacked those logs for a “glamour shot” however 2 horses only pullin seems a bit far fetched