As I read through Jenifer Morrissey’s the Partnered Pony book, I have had my eyes opened to yet another horse business opportunity.  Horses and logging! One particular statement caught my eye:

And of course I have used my Fjord and my Shetland-Welsh cross for forest work in our logging business.

Although I have read a few novels on Kindle lately that reference the logging industry, I hadn’t really considered this as a horse domain. And yet a quick search online shows that horses are still a favourite for carrying out logging work.

In a world where we want to do things efficiently, horses are appealing.  When there is a focus on sustainability and doing things green, horses too are appealing.

Many reasons are put forward for the benefits of utilising horses over machines to carry out logging:

• They make less of a negative impact on the area
• They utilise environmentally friendly ‘fuel’ in the form of hay and grain and release a lot less gasses to be concerned about
• They can be cheaper to run
• Horses are easier to navigate around such an environment

Check out an interesting fact sheet put together by the University of Kentucky about the benefits of using horses for logging.  Note that it seems to be detailing information collected from 1996, however.

There are also a heap of logging resources found on the Rural Heritage website. Details are provided of teams for sale.  And there are even apprenticeships that knowledgeable draft people can undertake in the area of farming.

Perhaps you have a love for draft breeds and so the idea of horses and logging appeals to you.  Maybe your fascination lies in pine and how logging is carried out.  Or maybe you’d love to breed horses that can be utilised in the logging industry.  Whatever your focus, it seems to me that there are plenty of opportunities for horse fans to consider the logging industry as a possible area to work.

It’s great to see all the different brands out there that are making a name for themselves in the world of equestrian clothing! Have you heard of Cheval Amour? According to their website:

Founder Lisa Kelly Simmons, a lifelong Equestrian, started Cheval Amour in 2011. The inaugural collection quickly confirmed that Equestrian’s appreciate unique, elegant, long-lasting and easy care clothing. Cheval Amour’s timeless and durable ‘barn to bistro’ designs soon became closet favorites well beyond the Equestrian circle.

Perhaps it’s a true sign of success when even non horsey people are keen to buy and wear your clothes!   What I find interesting about this line of clothes is that you are encouraged to contact them about creating your own small run of custom designs!  Otherwise you can shop through their male apparel, female apparel and limited stock.

It’s surely a great thing to find an equestrian line of clothes.  Usually they are designed by horse people.  So they are comfortable, good to work with the horse (or horses) in and they are stylish.

Cheval Amour Equestrian Clothing

You may also be interested to know that you can sign up on their website for updates.  This keeps you informed on new releases as well as the latest sales details.  As an added bonus, for those shopping in the United States, free shipping is on offer.  Looking for a new equestrian brand to try out?  Cheval Amour, named literally for horse love may be for you.

“Why do you like show jumping?”
“… Beauty and excitement. The elements of trust, talent, training, love, and danger make show jumping a thrilling and aesthetic experience. It’s really the ultimate test of two nervous systems–the kinetic transfer of the rider’s muscle to the horse’s muscle enables them to clear those jumps. And there’s nothing like it–horse and rider forming an arc of beauty, efficiency, and power, like a double helix.” ― Ainslie Sheridan

We live in a world that has exhaustible resources. Consequently, the concept of sustainable living is important to many and more commonly being put into practice. Even in the horse world there is a focus on equine permaculture. Many of you may be familiar with the initiatie, Equiculture – a business that focuses on equine sustainable living.

I have recently come across another horse related initiative that focuses on this. Equine Permaculture has a tagline of:

Responsible horse keeping and sustainable living via permaculture.

For those who aren’t familiar with the word permaculture, it is a combination of two words – permanent and agriculture. The idea is that people give conscious thought to the design of agriculture so that it is created and managed in a way that is diverse, stable and has “resilient natural ecosystems.” The idea is that people work with nature, not against it.

Equine Permaculture

How does permaculture help the horse owner? Well it helps in particular the soil that grows the plants and grasses our horses like to eat! It’s about restoring soil to the best quality it can be, so that things grow well. This helps the horse owner to cut down on feed costs and for our horses to live as naturally as possible.

For those who are able to help manage the land their horses are on, it is worth learning about equine permaculture! There is a lot that can be done proactively to improve a property and therefore make it more productive – and appealing – for horses. Take a look at the equine permaculture website and get reading! There is a wealth of information to help you learn more.

If this particular topic is of interest to you, then you may find reading and studying of benefit. From here it is definitely possible to look into educating others – and turning it into a horse related career.

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