Anybody know any horse loggers in western WA?

[snoozy]

I'm thinking maybe that would be the best way to get my trees down. I thought I'd see if anyone here, particularly in the Olympic Peninsula area, knows of anyone who is good...

[Little Quacker in OR]

Hi! There are a couple of working horse forums/message boards...here's one:

http://workinghorse.yuku.com/

And this is a thread on logging with a team of Belgians..might get some contacts there.

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=102174

There is a guy here in my area of Cottage Grove, OR that logs with his team but he's not too bright. I almost hit him and his horses while he was snaking logs down off a steep hill on a sharp curve in the highway! He didn't even have warning cones out! Duhhhhh!

Good luck with this project. I wonder if calling your local extension service would help you. They usually have a lot of contacts in the community. Perhaps asking them 'bout the organic farmers in your area? Any Mennonites or Quakers up there?

LQ

[snoozy]

Thanks - they have one guy listed who is close. I'll see what he says.

[snoozy]

I finally did get ahold of that guy, and he came out and had a look. He has a pair of Percheron geldings. He charges $300 for a day's work, and expects he can take down, limb and cut to lengths a dozen trees.

Although none of the usual lumber mills are buying anything, he did contact a guy with a portable sawmill who just so happens to have a client who is looking for 12" Doug Fir boards for a barn...soooo he's going to come out and see the trees tomorrow morning. He says he pays $450 per 1000 bdft. (If I had only gotten on the ball and done this a few years ago...) Some of my trees are gorgeous -- too gorgeous to turn into firewood.

I'm going to have to dismantle the dilapidated hog pen and figure out where to stash the goats for a bit, but it looks like I may get this done within a few weeks!

[tinknal]

Just a little story to share about my "uncle" Teddy. He was an old time Lumberjack, topper, teamster. He logged in the Northwest back in the 30's. He had a contract during the Depression to skid logs for a lumber company in Washington. He had 3 teams. He drove one team, his hired man drove one team, and the third team drove itself! That third team would go to the logging site, invariably backing up to the smallest available skid, the loggers would hook the team up and the team would drive itself to the landing. At the landing the crew would unhook the traces, hang them up and the team would return back up the mountain. When the contract was finished there were few prospects and the only people buying horses were kill buyers. Teddy took them 6 horses as far back into the mountains as he could go and just turned them loose.

[snoozy]

That is an interesting note, Tink. The wood guy came out this morning and he told me that because of a mineral deficiency in the soil of Bainbridge Island and north Kitsap County, Doug firs grow VERY tall with very little taper, but very strong. And so they are ideal for masts and spars. He said that most ships had masts from this area in the era preceding your uncle's time here, during the first harvesting of timber here in the NW.

I also learned that each ring of branches or knots you see on a Douglas fir represents a year's growth. So you can count them and know how long the tree has been growing.

[CIW]

You can go to draftanimalpower.com There are alot of horse loggers on there, from all around.

[jennigrey]

Percherons... who'd you find?? I thought I knew most of the horse loggers in this area, but I can't think of one in Kitsap with Perches.

[blooba]

Another option, is helicopter. Although I would say most are expensive and for bigger jobs.

[snoozy]

Originally Posted by jennigrey

Percherons... who'd you find?? I thought I knew most of the horse loggers in this area, but I can't think of one in Kitsap with Perches.

He's actually over in Jefferson County, but that's just across the bridge...