A heave and a grunt and a sudden rush as the felled tree trunk starts\u00a0to move, dragged on a chain\u00a0behind Etty\u2019s stocky chestnut\u00a0hindquarters.<\/p>\n
Etty is a 12-year-old mare who works with Toby Hoad of Dorset Horse Logging. Their partnership requires mutual understanding and\u00a0constant communication, as he\u00a0explains: \u201cYou\u2019ve really got to build up a relationship; you\u2019ve got to build up trust. I can drop the reins, and she will pull out the log out for me if it\u2019s in a tight spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby Hoad: \u2018You\u2019ve really got to build up a relationship.\u2019 Photograph: Sara Hudston<\/p>\n
When it comes to extracting tree trunks from a woodland, horsepower causes much less disturbance than mechanised methods. Equines are more manoeuvrable, can work in restricted spaces, don\u2019t compact\u00a0the ground and cope with\u00a0wet conditions without churning up the forest floor.<\/p>\n
Despite these advantages, Toby is one of only a handful of professionals doing the job full\u2011time. It takes years to train the\u00a0horses and learn how to handle and care for them properly. Toby uses the French Comtois draught breed because they are short, strong \u201cgood-doers\u201d who don\u2019t require a lot of extra feed \u2013\u00a0traditional UK heavy horses such\u00a0as shires would be too big.<\/p>\n
The diseased ash trees being removed from the coppice are some of the last to be taken out this\u00a0spring. Felling stopped on 1\u00a0March and timber extraction ceases by May. The changing season\u00a0is evident all around; the wood is filled with birdsong and Etty is shedding her thick, woolly winter coat. Occasional puffs of soft, red fur fall and drift among the woodrush, offering an ideal nest lining. Perhaps\u00a0some will be collected by the blackcap warbling in the blossoming blackthorn bushes, which edge the wood with white.<\/p>\n
As the day warms, sunshine fills\u00a0the new glades. Etty leans into her collar and snorts, sweat dampening her shoulders. It\u2019s nearly time for her to have a rest and graze in the adjacent field.<\/p>\n
Toby and his horses will soon be moving on to bracken rolling, a\u00a0non-chemical way of controlling the fern by crushing it with a roller as the fronds start to unfurl. Then the team will have a short break and attend some agricultural shows\u00a0before they return to the woods in September.<\/p>\n