Up
until the 1960's - 70's horses were used extensively in timber extraction.
The advent of machinery however saw the decline of the horse as a
source of draught power in forestry. This has led to less awareness of
the horse as a viable tool among foresters and managers, and a loss of
horsemanship skills within the industry.
Since
1980, new environmental and ecological considerations have again seen
a resurgence in the use of horses for extraction in some parts of the
forest industry. Timber extraction using horses is an ecological solution
in areas of special scientific interest, nature reserves, wildlife trusts
or woodlands unsuited to machinery.
Bruno, a pure-bred Suffolk Punch, is shown above with the Scandinavian style timber arch used to skid out timber with minimal effect on woodland plants or wildlife. Soil compression is minimal and new timber growth is not impacted on.