Over the last 16 years we have built up a great amount of experience working with horses in a number of different environments and situations, from forests to fields, to steep slopes and bogs. We come recommended by lots of previous happy customers, and can provide a portfolio of previous experience. There are some links to some of our previous clients below. Please get in touch with any questions by email.
My working with horses journey started in 2008 when I went on a horselogging course with Doug Joiner. A week in the woods, experiencing maybe a rose tinted idea of the life, got me inspired to pursue things further. Spending all day with the horses and outdoors ticked two big things for me and then it was a huge mountain to climb to actually gain the knowledge and experience to even get a horse and harness and start to try to do the work, let alone put myself out as a business. I lived on a farm at the time so was lucky I had somewhere to put a horse and also lots of fields that needed harrowing and logs that needed pulling. I even used Tyler, my first horse, with a home made sledge when we got snowed in for a week, to bring supplies to the farm. At first I asked people to let me work in their woods for free, and then for a small fee, as I started to build up my skills. I spent all my spare time practicing and learning and paid for training with other more experienced loggers. I got a bracken roller and was lucky to spend three weeks on a job in training to build my skills. I then got a second horse Billy and started to learn to work a pair.
Over the years the horses have helped to teach me what is possible and often only being asked to do the weirdest and hardest jobs have I realised that what horses can do is far and beyond what I could ever have imagined. They are so nimble and strong and brave and intelligent that together we have really carved a niche for ourselves working where others can’t reach, or wouldn’t dare and to carry out really specialist and specific and of course low-impact work. We do occasionally get work on the flat, which is joy, but often we are on a hill of some kind, or navigating a river (we have pulled logs down a river before), or working with woodland owners to carry out very specific woodland management work, often for the benefit of nature, or to be sensitive around important archaeology. We are always thinking of new ways we can use the horses to offer useful services. We learnt to use a horse-drawn lawnmower, much to Tyler’s dismay (why can’t I eat it!). We have developed a really effective way of raking up bracken litter, to improve the recovery of bracken infested sites, we have trained the horses as pack ponies to carry trees for planting around sites. Anything that needs moving, we will have a go!
Anyone who knows me knows that I am so passionate about what I do and what the horses can achieve, so if you think that horses might be the answer for your site, then please get in touch and we are always happy to give you our thoughts and advice and whether it is suitable for your site.
Currently the team consists of Barbara, Tyler, Molly and Bluebell (and of course Mabel, my dog!) For more information about us, please see our page Meet the Team
As well as being fully covered by Public and Employer’s Liability Insurance, we will provide a full risk assessment for each job. Barbara and her team have current NPTC chainsaws tickets for all tree work and a current First Aid at Work (with Forestry) certificate. Barbara is a member of the British Horse Loggers.
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
The Conservation Volunteers (formerly BTCV)
Private landowners
Country Gardens and Woodlands Ltd
Middle Marches Community Land Trust
Client references are available on request.