Horse power a sustainable option for power company's new lines project

It may be the image of a bygone era, but there is still very much a place for horse logging in Scotland’s forests.

So much so that SSEN Transmission has contracted Future Forestry, an Aberdeenshire-based business that combines the latest technology with the tricky extractions only possible with horses, including a recent deployment in the Brechin area.

The horses are used where access, space, environmental or ground sensitivities do not allow for machinery and the company welcomed three new four-legged team members to help with the task - Eli, Luke, and Ben. Angie Smith, operations director, 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.

“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 training courses as members of the British Horse Loggers.”

Work on the spur connecting the overhead line to the Brechin substation is the final phase of the resilience work on the overhead line circuits from Tealing to Arbroath.

The site was classed as a ‘high risk’ to the network due to the size and proximity of conifer trees in the area. Commercial harvesting operations are being used for much of the work, but an area around 0.5 hectares required sensitive felling and pruning as it was adjacent to a neighbouring property.

Martin Sangster, from SSEN Transmission said: “Future Forestry have been working with SSEN Transmission for a long time, and when they suggested this technique to help manage the requirements of the task, we were supportive. It also alleviated the concerns of nearby residents who were worried all trees were being removed with heavy machinery. On learning of the horse logging technique, they became supportive of the plans and appreciative of the steps being taken to reduce the impact of felling operations.”

Steffi Schaffler, British Horse Loggers Charitable Trust chairperson, said: “Horse logging is a method of extracting timber that is sensitive, sustainable and effective. Horses don't replace machines but do jobs that wouldn't be possible with other methods.

“They were traditionally used as an only tool, nowadays they are a specialised and brilliant one. They make it possible to keep the forestry system intact while extracting large amounts of timber without damage to the ground or the standing crop.

“The British Horse Loggers are representing people working horses in forestry and promoting their work within the industry.”