A love of the bush and an affinity for horses has kept Mike Dupuis of Emsdale in business for the past 15 years.
Dupuis does his logging with the assistance of two Belgian beauties - Arnold, 6, and Ranger, 14. They have a combined weight of about 3,800 pounds.
Dupuis logs mostly on private lands and does small blocks at a time.
He says logging with horses does less damage to a forest than logging with heavy equipment and leaves a narrower trail.
“You get a lot of soil erosion with heavy equipment,” said Dupuis, adding it is one of the reasons why private landowners often opt for logging with horses.
“(With the horses) you can always sneak around the trees,” said Dupuis.
He says another reason he gets business is because people enjoy watching the horses work. People will stop, watch, ask questions, and talk about the horses if they see him working near a roadway.
Dupuis smiled, adding sometimes the attention slows the work down.
He started out working with the horses as a hobby.
“I started with one horse and turned it into a job later on,” he said.
That first horse was Mike who lived to 18-years-old.
He later added Ranger to form a team.
“They’re just like a pet. You can talk to them and they don’t talk back,” he said.
Dupuis’ father used to log with horses in Bancroft where he grew up.
“I guess it’s in the blood,” he said.
Dupuis has opted for Belgians because of their gentle, relaxed disposition. They are bigger, slower and stronger than other breeds of horses making them perfect for this type of work.
“Belgians are typically pretty mellow. Like people they all have their personality,” he said.
Dupuis says although the price of lumber has dropped it hasn’t affected his business. He says he and his clients negotiate a percentage price for the lumber and sell it to the mills.
If the price of lumber continues to drop Dupuis has welding and table making to fall back on.
The horses would not stay retired to the barn for long. Dupuis considers himself very fortunate to have a job he loves doing.
“I’ll probably always do it. I don’t think I’ll ever quit doing it,” he said. “I just like the outside and being around the horses.”
Working in harness
Date: Feb 05, 2010
Mike Dupuis of Emsdale with his Belgian beauties Arnold and Ranger are often hired by private landowners for logging since the horses are less damaging to forests than heavy equipment.
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