Horse Logging - Merve Wilkinson's Wildwood Forest

Horse Logging at Merve Wilinson's Wildwood Forest on Vancouver Island. This was shot during one of the many open houses that are hosted there. Foresters on hand guessed that the old growth Douglas Fir the horses are pulling weighed about 5000 pounds.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• horse
• logging
• Wildwood
• Forest
• Merve
• Wilkinson
• old
• growth
• forest
• ecoforestry
• sustainable
• forestry
• Vancouver
• Island
• Order
• of
• Canada

[mrcountryboy1234567]

don't be such and idot ,that is way too much for them horses to haul without wheels under it

[EcofilmsbyEHomer]

@mrcountryboy1234567 heh, I was just holding the camera...They were struggling for sure.  When we got out to the truck he pulled out a set of wheels and showed us how they worked with that same log..I thought, why didn't you use those wheels in the bush???? Thanks for watching... : )

[gwynvyd]

@Jefferdaughter absolutely! My Percheron does all my yard work for me- she can pull a wagon- drag smaller trees out of the back acreage and she carries my big butt around beautifully! I am an animal advocate- but geez people- it is not abuse when the horses are doing what they love to do- and that is their job!

[Jefferdaughter]

@EcofilmsbyEHomer - Maybe because the wheels would have tended to sink into that relatively soft soil/ forest duff. Also, they are more likely to catch on shallow roots roots or rocks just below the surface. Didn't you see how eager the horses were? Never used anything more than his voice to urge them on, either. They handled the job well within their capability. Thanks for sharing.

[Jefferdaughter]

@gwynvyd - And people should realize that each horse has MANY times more than '1 horsepower'!!! No fossil fuel required. They 'automatically' harvest most of their feed, and fertilize the pasture, too. Plus, they are 'self replicating'. No tractor or skid steer can do that. Oxen are pretty useful in the woods, too.

[bestmiamiphotocom]

great video! I want to quit my job and do this!

[gwynvyd]

@damijan72 That wasnt a long distance at all- and the horses are just fine! A draft horse can pull a dead weight along the ground (draft) equal to 1/10 their body weight for 8 hours a day. For short distances, they can pull ten to fifteen times as much. That log was not that big of a deal folks.

[gwynvyd]

ok people who dont own a horse- little alone a Draft horse have no idea what they are capable of pulling. How do you think all of those log cabins were made in America? How do you think Wood was moved out of forests before we had tractors and dozers? Horses- Hell, Horses helped build the trail way and carried the train engines weighing tons on skids across the landscape to get them to the new lines of track. There is a reason why it is called horse power.

[damijan72]

The log as such is ok, but at this distance maybe a bit too big ... why don't you just use a logging cart? would be much easier and it wouldn't harm the horses motivation and self-confidence-

[hidalgo366]

mnogo dobri !perfektna rabota !

[jogtink1]

@Doggitter Yeah the horses are saying they are balky and don't really want to work.

[ScarytheIrishTerry]

Threw down the lines.... You left your horses unattended. Your horses are either very well behaved for you to do that, or you are too trusting of them to not get tangled up or try to take off on you.