Heavy horses are being used to extract timber in electricity network projects in what is said to be the first time since the network was modernised.

Three horses are now based in Aberdeenshire to help with logging in difficult projects in Scotland, after their previous owner retired in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

After a year of settling in, the horses – Eli, an 18-year-old Irish Draught, Luke, an Irish Cob aged 14, and Ben, an eight-year-old French Comtois x Suffolk Punch – are now being used to complement technology where lack of space or environmental impacts are a concern.

They have been described as a “specialised and brilliant” tool by the British Horse Loggers Charitable Trust.

SSEN Transmission contracted in Future Forestry, which combines technology with “tricky extractions only possible with horses”, to assist with projects including one near Brechin, Angus, a region which was devastated by flooding in October 2023.

The horses worked on the spur that connects the overhead line to Brechin substation in the final phase of work from Tealing to Arbroath – which is classed as “high risk” due to the size and proximity of conifer trees.

Horse logging was used to extract timber from amongst the broadleaf trees retained as a space that the surrounding properties use, after manual tree cutting.

Vegetation management operations manager for SSEN Transmission, Martin Sangster, said neighbours were receptive to horses being used, after initially having concerns about machinery.

Two women walking alongside two horses
Annie Hutchison and Angie Smith with horses Eli and Luke (Craig Stephen/PA)

Four members of staff at Future Forestry have been trained by the trust, and an equine manager works with the heavy horses.

Director of operations at Future Forestry, Angie Smith, 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.

“When I heard that the previous owner John was retiring from working with the heavy horses, I knew we had a place for them, even on some of our commercial contracts.

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

Mr Sangster said: “We are not aware of horses being involved in tree-felling work since the network was modernised, however we’ve been aware of the practice.

“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 residents who were worried all trees were being removed with heavy machinery. On learning of the horse logging technique, they became supportive and appreciative of the steps being taken to reduce the impact of felling.”

Steffi Schaffler, chair of the British Horse Loggers Charitable Trust, said: “Horse logging is a method of extracting timber from forestry sites 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.”