WILLSBORO — There are no growling engines or belching exhaust from giant skidders on the Scragwood property here.

Instead, there's the jangle of chains as literal horse power goes to work removing timber from the land.

The pair of Suffolk punch draft horses can excise a log through a labyrinth of standing trees much like a surgeon removing a small growth without damaging the surrounding organs.

Property owners Bruce and Darcey Hale chose to have horses do the work to preserve the integrity of the woods surrounding historic Scragwood, the 19th-century home on Willsboro Point of one of the area's pioneer families, the Clarks.

"This is the first time we had enough stuff to have taken out of the woods," Mr. Hale said. "Five years ago, there was a microburst that toppled some trees and had others leaning. Then this year, Tropical Storm Irene caused more of the wooded area to have trees fall."

LOW-IMPACT FORESTRY

The Hales hired Chad Vogel, a 1999 Paul Smith's forestry graduate, and his horses to do the job.

Watching the operation, Mr. Hale said, "It's amazing to watch the process and how Chad moves the horses. He goes places with them that no one else can go and (doesn't) take down extra trees." "I thought it would be a good way to do low-impact forestry," said Vogel, who became acquainted with the method while at Paul Smith's.

"It was something to realize how quiet (the horses) were in the woods. It became fun to build a relationship with them.

"They do a superior job," he continued. "(And) it was also a way to have a relationship with another living thing."

RAISED FROM FOALS

After graduating from Paul Smith's, Vogel was employed by a logger in Maine who used horses. He then moved to Virginia and got his own team. In the spring of 2009, he hooked up with Essex Farms, a part of the Community Supported Agriculture movement, which believes in minimizing the use of machinery. That farm also uses horses for plowing.

Vogel cannot give enough credit to his 7- and 8-year-old Suffolk punch draft horses, Ferry and Archer, which he raised from foals.

"It's amazing what they can do. They're extremely willing.

"They are actually quite easy to train. It only takes about a week, and this is basically done by on-the-job training."

In the winter, the horses are shod with calked shoes that provide a better grip when navigating icy patches in the woods.

"They haven't slipped yet," Vogel commented.

He designed the wheeled contrivance that connects the team with the logs. There are spaces for sitting if he chooses, as well as for carrying tools such as peaveys and saws.

FINAL STACKING

The horses are a breed named for the county of Suffolk in England; punch refers to their power and solid appearance.

Suffolks are chestnut in color, often with a white blaze on the face.

They are shorter in stature than other draft horses, such as Clydesdales.

"What's interesting about the Suffolk is the fact that the breed, unlike other British horses, was intended for work, not for fighting purposes," said Vogel.

The Hales plan to use the logs to build a post-and-beam barn. They will have a portable sawmill brought to the site to cut the logs into rough lumber. In addition, some of the lumber will be donated to a local farmer who lost his barn due to the effects of the extreme weather in 2011.

Vogel also has help from Dutchie Ahrent of Willsboro, who serves as a handyman and groundskeeper on the Hales' property.

While the horses can maneuver the logs out of the woods to the open log-landing area, it takes manpower to do the final stacking of the 16-foot logs. Vogel uses two logs of a smaller diameter to serve as kind of ramp then uses a peavey (a heavy handled spike with a hinged hook) and good-old-fashioned pushing to elevate the logs onto the pile.

     &boldtext;Email Alvin Reiner at:

rondackrambler@yahoo.com.