WESSEX WORKING HORSES
About Us
Welcome to Wessex Working Horses! Established in 2020 by James Foster and based in Wylye, Wiltshire. We specialise in horse logging, woodland, wild flower meadow and pasture management services using heavy horses.
Horses are ideally suited to work in woodlands and with their minimal impact on the forest floor are able to extract timber from wet, steep and sensitive areas such as SSSIs. They are particularly useful in extracting products and timber from coppice, selective thinning or even in clear fell systems.
Our pasture and wild flower meadow services include pasture management such as harrowing, seeding and rolling. We can help with wild flower meadow establishment, mowing and ongoing maintenance. We aim to use our horse to carry out as much of these operations as possible.
Flynn is our first heavy horse and is a Shire, an English native breed which is currently classified as ‘at risk’ on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust register. At 16.3 hh he is about the right size for working in and under the trees and has the weight to shift some big timber too.
We are happy to travel and can take on jobs in the South West, South Wales, Wessex and the home counties.
Services
Horse Logging
Horses are ideally suited to working in woodlands and have done so for centuries. We use a variety of equipment with the horse to move the timber depending on the extraction route and length and size of timber. This allows an efficient use of the horse and a safe method to extract the timber in a variety of site conditions. We can also work alongside modern forwarders and machines to further increase our efficiency and economic viability. The advantages of horse extraction are:
Horses are able to work on steep ground safely
Able to extract timber on thinning or windblown sites with minimal damage to standing trees
Horses are able to work on sites with soft or wet ground with minimal ground damage
Able to work on protected areas such as SSSI sites due to the low impact nature of horse logging
Public interaction is often positive when horses are being used to sensitively carry out woodland management. Engagement with local communities can be encouraged and public rights of way can often be kept open during operations.
The carbon footprint of using horses is much reduced compared with modern forestry machinery as too is the noise on site.
Woodland Management
Along side horse logging we also offer woodland management. We can take on coppicing, felling or windblown sites and can also help to create a more biodiverse woodland by creating, scalloping and widening rides, woodland glades and building dead hedges. We are happy to work directly for woodland owners or land agents.
We are fully insured and have up to date NPTC tickets for chainsaw use up to large and windblown trees and have up to date forestry first aid tickets.
For larger management or extraction jobs we often team up with other professional horse loggers and cutters to provide and faster more efficient service.
For a free estimate and site visit please get in touch.
Pasture and Wild Flower Meadow Management
Using horses to manage the land has been going on for centuries. Horses are ideal at harrowing pasture and with new horse drawn equipment on the market its possible to mow, harrow, roll and aerate the land. We have experience in maintaining and establishing wild flower meadows and can advise on improving existing sites.
Please get in touch with your requirements and we’ll advise how we can help.
The Team
