Your single horse is coming along really well. Wonderful lessons for us all. Thank you. ||| I and a high school friend, back home to Northern New Hampshire from two tours of combat in Vietnam logged with a big Morgan/Belgian(?) cross. *Brownie was a wonderful horse.* Landowners liked that we prettied up their woods and made nice walking trails for them while they got profit from their acreage without big logging skidders cutting ugly roads into their forests. ||| Nice grades for land owners to walk got more and more work for us. ||| The horse’s owner, Jay, would fell the timber up in the woodlots and loop the reins over whichever side of Brownie's hames would match my access side in the yard, and sent him on his way a quarter mile or so downhill to the yard. He would arrive and wait for me to lead him in “climbing” the pile to place the log(s) and unhook him. Then I would re-curl the reins over one side of his hames and send him on his way back to Jay. My job was to buck the logs to saw lengths with my big Stihl running a 48in bar. ||| One day, I was surprised to feel Brownie was breathing on my neck, “speaking” a soft snort. This was very strange. If I was not ready for him, he always waited for me to take his halter in hand to guide him “climbing” the pile, after I broke lose the log(s) then frozen to the icy yard if need be, so he could gentle the pull. ||| I looked up and he had stepped up into the pile of logs intentionally placing and bracing his right-side front knee to prevent a log from shifting lose and probably bringing the pile down onto me. *He knew.* ||| I finished my cut, carefully peavey-ed the log away from his leg, and brought him “up” to land his load were it needed to be placed. After giving him my own “snort” of thank-you, I then sent him off again. All day long in deep winter we worked, back and forth, hardly any commands of anything other than the occasional quiet “woah”, “haw”, “gee”, “back”, “up”, and *“chich-chich, off to Jay you go”.* ||| Good horse, *yup.* Brownie never got stuck in the woods on a stump or rock. True, we picked and logged out a good trail for him, but he was wise and remembered how to get himself unstuck, too. He remembered how we had halter-pulled or pushed on his sides and guided him to get free in the past (“side-haw up, or side-gee up”). It all worked just wonderful. ||| However… *careful, careful in the woods;* make sure you have your feet in the right place when you drop the chain ring onto his singletree hook, because the clink sound that ring makes hitting the hook will instantly turn into a quick lurch and strong pull from Brownie to break free the logs so he can easily get on his way. *Gosh, Brownie so very much did like to pull.* [the first horse in your video is just learning, but handles very well and by the end of the winter should be able to do this all alone if the trail way is cut out clearly enough. I very much like the way you move your buddy to get clear of problems. *Very well done, Sir.* ]
Lorna Tonack those are cable chockers so the bigger the log the shorter you get, sometimes I use chains and shorten the tugs when needed, sometimes you want to tire a young horse down in the morning to take the " edge" off so they listen and learn. deeper discussion than we can have here cause my fingers are freezing.
Thanks for that reply. Hello from Alaska. When mushing Dogs, sometimes we apply a little brake for the same reason, things can get out of hand quickly, (running 16 dogs), good to take the edge off sometimes...
Hear and see mares are good in woods but they have good days and bad days just like wemen on their good days they say the have torbo mode onec their in the wood but thats what a guy told me his mare is real gettal only horse he can ride and just a sweat heart except when shes having a bad day but when she gets in wood she becomes a hole nother anmal his fastest hardest puller she he has to hold her back so she dosent pull the load and and her partner.
Your single horse is coming along really well. Wonderful lessons for us all. Thank you. ||| I and a high school friend, back home to Northern New Hampshire from two tours of combat in Vietnam logged with a big Morgan/Belgian(?) cross. *Brownie was a wonderful horse.* Landowners liked that we prettied up their woods and made nice walking trails for them while they got profit from their acreage without big logging skidders cutting ugly roads into their forests. ||| Nice grades for land owners to walk got more and more work for us. ||| The horse’s owner, Jay, would fell the timber up in the woodlots and loop the reins over whichever side of Brownie's hames would match my access side in the yard, and sent him on his way a quarter mile or so downhill to the yard. He would arrive and wait for me to lead him in “climbing” the pile to place the log(s) and unhook him. Then I would re-curl the reins over one side of his hames and send him on his way back to Jay. My job was to buck the logs to saw lengths with my big Stihl running a 48in bar. ||| One day, I was surprised to feel Brownie was breathing on my neck, “speaking” a soft snort. This was very strange. If I was not ready for him, he always waited for me to take his halter in hand to guide him “climbing” the pile, after I broke lose the log(s) then frozen to the icy yard if need be, so he could gentle the pull. ||| I looked up and he had stepped up into the pile of logs intentionally placing and bracing his right-side front knee to prevent a log from shifting lose and probably bringing the pile down onto me. *He knew.* ||| I finished my cut, carefully peavey-ed the log away from his leg, and brought him “up” to land his load were it needed to be placed. After giving him my own “snort” of thank-you, I then sent him off again. All day long in deep winter we worked, back and forth, hardly any commands of anything other than the occasional quiet “woah”, “haw”, “gee”, “back”, “up”, and *“chich-chich, off to Jay you go”.* ||| Good horse, *yup.* Brownie never got stuck in the woods on a stump or rock. True, we picked and logged out a good trail for him, but he was wise and remembered how to get himself unstuck, too. He remembered how we had halter-pulled or pushed on his sides and guided him to get free in the past (“side-haw up, or side-gee up”). It all worked just wonderful. ||| However… *careful, careful in the woods;* make sure you have your feet in the right place when you drop the chain ring onto his singletree hook, because the clink sound that ring makes hitting the hook will instantly turn into a quick lurch and strong pull from Brownie to break free the logs so he can easily get on his way. *Gosh, Brownie so very much did like to pull.* [the first horse in your video is just learning, but handles very well and by the end of the winter should be able to do this all alone if the trail way is cut out clearly enough. I very much like the way you move your buddy to get clear of problems. *Very well done, Sir.* ]
What a way to put the young lads to work! They are going to thank you for that. Thanks for sharing, love from Sweden.
Cool video, thanks.
Beautiful Hardwoods.
Hello from Alaska.
great job, I really love your video, keep them coming
Shanen Mannies Thank you
Nice to see he isn't dragging a stupid cart around.
Are you still horse logging? Love the videos
I'm wondering why you don't shorten up your chain to make it easier on the horse? Well trained horse just the same!!!
Lorna Tonack those are cable chockers so the bigger the log the shorter you get, sometimes I use chains and shorten the tugs when needed, sometimes you want to tire a young horse down in the morning to take the " edge" off so they listen and learn. deeper discussion than we can have here cause my fingers are freezing.
Thanks for that reply.
Hello from Alaska.
When mushing Dogs, sometimes we apply a little brake for the same reason, things can get out of hand quickly, (running 16 dogs), good to take the edge off sometimes...
Hear and see mares are good in woods but they have good days and bad days just like wemen on their good days they say the have torbo mode onec their in the wood but thats what a guy told me his mare is real gettal only horse he can ride and just a sweat heart except when shes having a bad day but when she gets in wood she becomes a hole nother anmal his fastest hardest puller she he has to hold her back so she dosent pull the load and and her partner.