For the first time since the modernisation of the electricity network, horses are being used to extract timber on SSEN Transmission projects.
It may be the image of a bygone era, but there is still very much a place for horse logging – the extraction of timber – from Scotland’s forests. So much so that SSEN Transmission has contracted in Future Forestry, a business that combines the latest in forestry technologies with the tricky extractions only possible with horses.
Based in Aberdeenshire in the Northeast of Scotland — but operating across the country — Future Forestry is finding that there is still a place for horse logging where access, space, environmental, or ground sensitivities don’t allow for modern-day machinery. While the business has recently invested in robotic machinery for removing timber from site, it has also welcomed three new four-legged team members to help with the task – Eli, Luke, and Ben.
Director of Operations, Angie Smith said: “We have to consider the environment we are working in and how we can leave a site having caused as little impact as possible on what remains. It’s always a balance between getting value for our clients and mitigating our impact.
“When I heard that the previous owner, John, was retiring from working with the heavy horses, I knew we had a place for them, even on some of our commercial contracts.
“Our fantastic equine manager, Annie Hutchison, spent a year settling them in after their move from Rochdale and has also been helping with staff training. We currently have four staff members who have undergone horse logging training courses as members of the British Horse Loggers.”
To date, the horses have worked on a number of projects, including one for SSEN Transmission at a location close to Brechin in Angus.
Picture caption: Equine manager for Future Forestry, Annie Hutchison removing timber with Eli.
This article extract was taken from the January 2025 edition of The Country Smallholder. To read the article in full, you can buy the issue here.
