Mini Mag Mar 1 2021

Area farmers are contacted by the loggers about harvesting logs from their timbers. “We typically saw logs for a 40-60 share with 60 percent of log value going to landowners,” Troyer said. “Sometimes, we have a 50-50 agreement and we have bought logs instead of working on a share.” Alvin Troyer, youngest of the logging crew, was barefooted during dinner. Evidently, he’d gotten his feet wet and had a small twig fire burning to warmup his toes before afternoon work. Against their belief, the loggers insisted they not have their pictures taken. “You can take photographs of the horses and the logs; that’s okay,” Troyer said.

Because the Amish do not use telephones or drive trucks, they had assistance getting the horses to the farm timber. “We borrow phones to make contact with men who have trailer rigs to haul the horses here for us,” Troyer explained. Teams had also been taking a work break tied to their own two-wheeled pull carts. The heavy, steel-wheeled carts were constructed especially for pulling logs. The horses got a full helping of fresh water before being hooked for restarting their log pulling duties. Each weighing about 1,700-pounds the sleek black five-to-seven-year-old 17-hands geldings were hitched in pairs to the logging carts. Two loggers were team drivers while the others went to work in the timber with their big Stihl chain saws. Good working horses like these are not most readily come by with cost determined by their ability and experience. It’s not uncommon to pay an average of $5,000 apiece for such dependable, well broke, quality draft animals.