Horse Logging to Prepare Firewood for Winter, Romania

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Summer is the busiest season in the Romanian countryside. One of the most important things to do is prepare firewood for the winter. Those who heat their houses with stoves need to cut and pile the wood at least six months in advance so it gets to dry out. The shepherd stacks up wood to cook delicious cheese recipes and cheese polenta, the village cooper collects wood, without which he could not make wooden barrels, the carpenter needs wood to make wooden rakes, the traditional country houses that define Romania need to be spruced up with wood shakes and shingles.

Everyone needs wood and the best way to get it is with the horse. Horse logging is part of sustainable forest management. Sturdy semi-heavy and heavy horse breeds are employed to remove heavy logs from woodland areas.

With the help of a lumberjack, those who own a piece of land with a grove will save a lot more money than those who buy it pre-cut. But here comes the hardest part.

Lumberjacks toil long hours. They do have superhuman strength. To a lumberjack, horse logging in the forest is the only way to make a livelihood. With a saw and an axe, he topples trees over.

Then he harnesses a draft horse to drag the logs out of the forest. Finally, they are loaded onto the carriage and transported home.

Horses can drag logs through difficult forests and up and down steep slopes with greater ease. Once they learn the way out, they can do it alone.

All in all, between the rocks, trees, and slippery slopes, working in the forest can be an extremely challenging job.

This job comes with its dangers, including being crushed in the process. It’s physically demanding, and you need a lot of strength to lift trunks day in and day out. 

Horse Hoeing Husbandry Traditional Weed Control Demonstration

Location: Village of Iaslovat, Suceava County, Romania

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