Horses and Forestry

For thousands of years, horses have been used for working timber and forests in a variety of ways. They were perhaps first used to drag felled trees from wooded areas for man to fashion into crude dugout canoes. Later, when man learned to grow crops, horses were used to clear land. They dragged large trees away, and their power was harnessed to uproot stumps in order to provide patches and fields that could be worked by farmers. Once humans began building large wooden structures like lodges, and later cabins and houses, horses were again called upon to haul the rough timber from the forests.

With the advent of machinery, many work horses were replaced with modern methods of farming and logging. There are still numerous traditional foresters, however, who still use horses in their logging operations. Horses are currently used in a variety of other jobs associated with forestry, also.

In the Southeast region of the United States, growing pine trees is a big industry. After the seedlings are transplanted in rows by modern machinery, the tree farmers periodically check on their trees, assessing their growth and any problems like insect infestation and diseases. This task requires traveling up and down long rows of young trees and often takes several hours to accomplish. While most growers accomplish this task on four wheelers, some prefer to use horses. Most saddle horse breeds are not as wide as a four wheeler, so a horse is less likely to trample the saplings. And of course, riding a horse is more enjoyable than driving a vehicle, according to some of these tree farmers.

One of the favorite breeds for this job is the Tennessee Walking Horse.  They were actually developed to answer the need plantation owners had for a mount with smooth gaits that could cover large areas of land quickly and comfortably. Modern foresters can spend hours on a Tennessee Walker, checking the trees in comfort. Also, the Walker’s running walk covers a lot of ground quickly.

Another horse breed used for this job is the Thoroughbred – not a nervous, flighty racehorse, but rather a calmer, more settled member of the breed. Older Thoroughbreds are generally preferred – ones with relatively slow trots. Tree farmers who use this breed point to the horses’ small hooves and their surefootedness as major reasons. The Thoroughbred also has great stamina, a requirement for large expanses of trees.

If the planted pines are growing in soft, sandy areas, the Arabian is often the breed of choice. Their desert heritage makes them especially adapted to handle this kind of terrain, and their black skin is very resistant to the burning rays of the sun reflected off the white sand. These horses are also sure footed and have amazing stamina. Their small, compact size is a plus, too, for moving in and out of the rows of young trees.