Dumfries House

[jac]

Spent to day with Simon Lenihan and his 2 boys Ian and David.. These guys are the real deal. They are up in my neck of the woods doing a job at a stately home. The Ardenner horses he uses are just awesome and has finaly put the idea of switching breeds from clydes firmly in my head now..The mare in the foto is around 1400 lbs and the log on her chain is around 1900 lbs.. that figure is in itself is pretty cool. Simon is by far the best horse logger in the UK and it was a real treat to spend the day with them. .
[IMG]http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac27/andreamariahunter/017.jpg

The foto of the forwarder shows Simon demonstrating its ability to lift a wheel over stumps !! the axle can be locked out hydraulicaly which does away with the need for jack legs . an awesome piece of kit.. I am back tomorrow with a camera that works !! so more tomorrow… John

[mitchmaine]

hey john,
nice horse. i saw a team of ardiennes at john waterers. liked those horses alot. he was working with them for a woman logger named frankie. met her too. good luck with your new horses.
i was wondering if you and simon would tell us something about the logging bussiness in uk. how they buy and sell wood there. and what markets are strong and what species of trees are valuable. seems like i remember alot of hardwood. beech and oak. what is deal? i remember wondering about it when we were over there. LOTS of wood, but not a strong indication of cutting, but then again, i didn’t get to far afield. good luck again with thoat new team. mitch

[jac]

Hey Mitch… Simon will be the best guy to give the details but I do know the timber industry is on its ass over here.. Sitca is king up here in Scotland. The place Simon is working here is a mansion house and it has some really nice Sequoia, Oak, Ash, Beech and Scots pine..I forgot to ask but I think the stand he was in is silver fir ????? not too sure on that tho.. Im not sure on the Deal either Mitch but I do know it must have been a cheaper timber because I remember reading it was often used as a lining for waggon sides on the inside..I meant to ask a lot more questions but was busy trying to figure out how the hell a 14.2 horse was able to pull loads my Clydes would balk at ???

[mitchmaine]

hey john,

that is one amazing little horse you have there, judging by the facebook photographs. and i don’t mean little in any other sense than affection. i can see she ain’t too big, but she doesn’t seem to know or care. did you get to drive her? is she for sale???

just wondering what happens to your woodpile over there. firewood, sawmills, turning mills? and if there is a wood economy of some kind. is your sitka our alaska spruce? my fatherinlaw brought us a deal table years ago. its supposedto be a few hundred years old, and i beleive it. the frame is drilled and pinned and the top, which lays down, is planks fit into aclamp on each end. handplaned, but its softwood for sure, looks like a kind of pine, but not ours. we grow a scots pine over here for christmas trees, but i can’t remember seeing one that got too big. i’ll look around and see. best wishes, mitch

[Scott G]

Really like the Scandinavian forwarder….and the Ardennes/Brabant. That would be my ideal dream outfit.

[jac]

Mitch there is a pulp mill not far and a paper mill at Irvine so in that respect there is a steady stream of logging trucks on the road.. none of that helps the horse job though…Most of the Scots pine over here end up at 40 to 60ft I guess… Scott that forwarder is as good in the flesh as it looks in the fotos.. some really neat features.. Simon said they have a heated footplate with ..he thinks.. the exaust.. the 4 wheels on the rear are oil driven and can make a huge diffrence when brought in to play.. John..

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