Workhorses of Sustainability

Ballet might seem a difficult achievement if one’s partners have eight feet and weigh a ton and a half. But few other words seem to fit as Chad Vogel of Reber Rock Farm gently murmurs commands and two mountainous equines who, with a delicacy that belies their mass, step through the forest into position at the head of a white pine sawlog.

Equipped with heavy chains and a logging peavey—a long-handled implement that would not look out of place on a medieval battlefield—Vogel jacks the log a half turn and saws off any stubs that might dig into the ground as the log is dragged. Next he snugs up the chains and backs his team into place.

Two powerful chestnut geldings named Stretch and Swede step into their work, and the big log jumps as if it’s alive. One last adjustment and the pine, 2 feet in diameter, is fixed to a logging arch, a two-wheeled cart that keeps the front end just a bit off the ground so as not to catch on a root or stub. The