Today I looked outside the box again. For some time now I have been trying to simplify the transport of wood from the forest home or to be able to carry it out with the horses.
At the moment I am putting some of the wood onto the stake wagon by hand. For heavy wood, I have to commission a contractor with his logging trailer, who then always drives everything home for me at once.
Christian Linortner had a logging trailer with a crane and engine built for his horses. I looked at it today so that I might learn something.
Christian has once again harnessed his two South German draft stallions Retter (left, "in the saddle") and Ratzfatz (right, "in hand").
He drives the team with the push reins. In the meantime I have completely abandoned the push-reins because, in addition to safety, I do not consider it to be an exact control instrument.
It was one of the first uses for the timber trailer. I was surprised at how calmly the two stallions stopped. On the one hand, many horses react skeptically at first if something moves jerkily behind or to the side of them. But the stallions among themselves were also peaceful. Many begin to fight for rank when they are left unsupervised. With these two it was more of a tease.
This logging trailer was only firmly connected to a front end. It can be converted for the tractor train again within half an hour. The logging trailer alone weighs over 900 kg and is designed for a total weight of 3.5 t.
I liked the timber trailer a lot, but the front axle and the horses should be even closer to the load. The whole team is very long. If you were to save the tractor drawbar, you could be a good 1.5 to 2 meters shorter. This might also make the horses feel lighter. What bothers me is the weight of the trailer. 900 kg is a great weight in the forest on soft or muddy ground that the horses still have to pull.
For me I could imagine something similar. There is nothing negative to say about the timber trailer (dimensions, motorization, ...), only the vehicle would have to be shorter and lighter for my purposes. But I will still have to make a few thoughts about that.