A Vermont horse logger and his Belgian, Ted, keep an old craft going
John Smolinsky of Earthbound Forestry uses his one-ton horse on small, steep, and sensitive woodlots. A horse compacts the soil far less than a heavy skidder.
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John Smolinsky of Earthbound Forestry in Greensboro still logs with a horse. His Belgian, Ted, weighs about a ton and pulls logs off small woodlots that are steep or easily damaged. The work is a Vermont tradition about 200 years old.
A horse lifts its feet, so it packs the soil far less than a heavy skidder does. That difference is why Smolinsky still brings Ted into woods where a machine would leave a deeper mark.
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