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simon lenihan
Participantgeographically we should have representation from countries where there is active horselogging going on, sweden / finland / germany etc. Rick is spot on with the different type of forests, this will help us all, we work mostly in conifer plantations where volume is the key word. rick what do you mean by [new age logger] .
July 26, 2009 at 5:22 pm in reply to: New Page for Draft Animal Logging Association Working Group #53414ParticipantI think that most horselogging associations in europe produce a quarterly newsletter, it would be a pity if NAHMlA was to cease production of its newsletter as i think all newsletters could then be grouped together to form a very good international newsletter.
simon lenihanParticipantThis is something i have thought long and hard about for quiet a while now, i have subscribed to alot of draft horse magasines over the years but have been disapointed with the lack of horselogging articles, i know these publications have to cover all draft horse activites but as a full time horselogger i am always looking how fellow horseloggers are making a living and what equipment they are using etc. I think an international newsletter is the way to go similar to what gregg produced. I would like the said news letter to include as many countries as possible, the system they use, the equipment, the different horses, horseloggers profiles, the different types of harness etc. This sounds great but is it possible, what will it cost?, what about translating to other languages. I would love to try and put out a sample news letter but i would be worried about what it would cost.
simon lenihanParticipantwe will use a 70 to 80cc to fell a tree and then use a smaller saw for limbing usually around 46cc with a high rpm, this is a good system when alot of limbing is required. A bar longer than 18″ is in my opinion very dangerous for limbing especially when one gets tired at the end of the day.
simon lenihanParticipantwe have 2 stallions at present with a third on its way next week, the one on its way is also a pure ardennes [ d’hargi bloodlines ] our contacts in belgium have been looking for this bloodline for me for the past 3 years with no joy, it is a very old bloodline and nearer the original ardennes type, we actually located this horse only 2 hours from home. The guy that owns him is a very eldery man living on a mountain farm, he told me his dad worked ardennes during WW1 and always spoke highly of them, he said the shelling never fazed them they just got on with their work. I am taking this horse on trial and if he proves to be a good wood horse we will do a deal. I believe a stallion must really prove itself in work before it is allowed to stand at stud, i will not allow my stallions to cover any mares that are not worked, i have seen first hand what has happened over here to the shire/ clyde / suffolk, 90% of which will never have been worked and are bred purely for showing. There is no doubt that we could do with the money but the line has to be drawn somewhere. We have 2 mares due next week one from ireland and one down from scotland both these mares earn their crust in the wood and hopefully their offsprings will have a head start coming from working stock on both sides.
simon lenihanParticipantwelcome, looking forward to your input.
simon lenihanMay 7, 2009 at 10:08 pm in reply to: Log Arch – Includes Discussion of Different Designs and Uses #52081ParticipantTraveling woodsman, it has been 12 years since i worked the tegmyr svets sledge, i ended up selling it along with a set of harness to replace a horse we lost at that time. This piece of euipment came in to its own not only in big logs but in smaller pulp like material where 1 to 1.1/2 tonnes could be loaded by hand quickly and extracted to the landing. This piece of kit is designed for a single horse and is used mostly in conifer stands where space is limited especially in virgin stands where trees were planted 1.5 meters apart, the sledge is 1.2 meters wide with the crossbunk 12″ off the ground at either end of the crossbunk there is a place to mount a hand winch. Drive up alongside a log with handwinch at opposite side take cable over top of log and then underneath and back up on to crossbunk, 3 or 4 cranks and your log is rolled on top of crossbunk. Another method is prior to felling large tree place short billet 3 to 4 feet in front, fell on top of billet, cut to length and then back sledge underneath. We do not come accross big logs very often, the vast majority of logs we do are in the 500 to 1000lb range, when we do get good size logs to go at we borrow an 8 wheel swedish ep wagon and crosshaul on using a metal h frame to slide the logs on to the bed. we still find it faster to skid from stump to landing in one go where extraction distance is reasonable if too far to landing we skid to where horse drawn forwarder takes over. Sweden seems to lead the way in development of equipment for horselogging, however most of this equipment was designed 15 to 20 years ago and hardly any new piece of equipment has come on the market since. I still think we can come up with more modern equipment for horselogging you just have to look at the ATV market to see the advances they have made in a short while.
simon lenihanMay 6, 2009 at 10:00 pm in reply to: Log Arch – Includes Discussion of Different Designs and Uses #52080ParticipantI have no experience with any of the carts mentioned but i do have experience with a bunk sledge on wheels manufactured by tegmyr svets of sweden. Like carl has mentioned friction is greatly reduced, the line of draft is spot on and the log can be 4 to 5 feet in front of the crossbeam, this puts most of the weight on the wheels. We have moved large logs with this piece of kit in the past with a single horse.
simon lenihanParticipanti have seen the bonnet from a car used very successfully to extract peat, would work just as well for firewood.
simon lenihanParticipantmight be an idea to spend a week or two with a competent horselogger, find out how he or she sells their logs, firewood and other produce, how to select trees to be harvested should they not be marked, how to maximise sawlog material so that you and the forest owner benifit. you will get great advice on this forum but their is nothing like getting out there and spending some time with a professional.. good luck on your venture.
simon lenihanParticipantjennifer,
our ancestors were also norse, maybe this is why i always challenge these so called do gooders. I can not tolerate someone from an urban background telling us that it is cruel to work our horses so hard, that we should not cover our mares on the worksite where folk can see, that they should not be left out in the rain etc etc. I would not dare go into there town and criticise the way they work , live and conduct there business, nor would anyone on this board. The next time someone tells you it is cruel to work your horse so hard, tell them he/ she is retiring next week and then you are going to eat them as they are not performing as well as they should do, tell them you can not let them in the stable as they will mess it up, so you see they have to stay out in the rain. Now let them go to the powers that be and complain, see who will be wearing the straight jacket.
simon lenihanParticipanti think what matt says in regards to an open letter to the paper is a great idea, do not hide away, let the world see what these idiots put good honest folk through and also the time wasted by the authorities investigating.
simon lenihanParticipantjason,
you are a pure slave driver, [ those poor monks ] Hi Hi
simonParticipantED,i would get rid straight away, you will not be able to relax and enjoy the experience of working the animal like you should.
simon lenihanParticipantgeorge,
a friend in bc canada has a team similar in colour and the same cross and reckons them to be the best team he has ever owned, hybred vigour seems to have the advantage over pure breds in recent years. This was not always the case, seems they are few folk breeding proper working stock now.
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