Chair of British Horse Loggers

Kate Mobbs-Morgan on the high emotions of working with horses, and the need for a stubborn streak

Logging with horses first came on my radar when I saw someone doing a demo. I tried some experience days, enjoyed it and carried on. Logging this way is a very low-impact way of managing woodland on difficult and sensitive sites, but the first thing that attracted me was the working relationship you build with the horses.

When one of my horses and I extract a difficult piece of timber on a tricky site, we have to try really hard together and when we achieve our aim it’s a real “wow” moment. The horses give me their all and that can move me to tears.

I work full-time with the horses, and work rolls on all year round with such continuity that I always have at least two or three people out with me on any job. I live on site in the lorry with the horses penned in electric fencing. It can be challenging when it rains and rains.