Historic Hood River
Horse Logging
9-24-2013
Notes
This Oregon Lumber Company horse logging operation was responsible for providing logs to their Chenowith mill. The OLC managers were proud of their horse-based operation, believing horse logging to be far superior to oxen logging.
You’ll see the mill tomorrow.
Charlott
Wonder why they thought that, could it have been that horses might have moved faster than oxen. Would not oxen have been stronger of the two? I remember listening to the logging trucks coming down way up on Fir Mountain, just on the fly, well they still fly down through there. Waiting to see if they made it to the bottom, and occasionally one went over up there.
Buzz
Was told that horses were smarter and less stubborn than oxen. But in those coastal areas of the northwest where the timber was bigger than further inland they used oxen where the ground wasn’t too steep. Have read stories of using oxen in the Gray’s Harbor country on the Washington coast.
l.e.
Horses work well with voice commands. I would guess that in the woods where you have maneuvers to left and right, forward and back. With a verbal command you could move a horse forward a few feet and stop with a command.
Oxen may have been better for a long straight pull.
Just my guess.
See those two stumps on the center of the photo? A good team, would know they can’t pull a log between those two stumps. Not sure an oxen team would ever figure that out.
l.e.
Next time I will proof read before I submit my comment.
I have never seen a team of oxen work, so I might not be giving them enough credit for intelligence.
Horses might have been faster than oxen. You might get two extra turns in a day with horses.
The timber seems small. I wonder if this is second growth after a fire. Looks like some burned snags in the background.
Arlen Sheldrake
Just walking through this mess would tire me…….while no animal expert, aren’t oxen built a bit closer to the ground than a typical working horse?
Buzz
These brush apes and their bosses forgot more about moving wood from Point A to Point B with horses and oxen than any of us will ever know, so I am confident they chose the best method for the environment they were operating in.
longshot
The crew isn’t as spiffed up today as they were in yesterday’s photo. 🙂
l.e.
The guy standing behind the white team of horses is holding a pry bar or peavey.
I wonder if a teamster would hire on with his own team, like today’s log truck drivers, own their truck. Or, if the company provided the teams.
Buzz
Never heard or read of that l.e., but may have happened. But any remote sites would probably preclude that from Happening.
Bill P.
"horse logging" hasn’t changed in the last 300 years. The same tack, collars tugs, double trees etc. Today they are little neater with thier slash management.
Bill P.