As of: April 6, 2024, 12:00 p.m
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Moritz, the moving horse, is peace itself: together with forestry entrepreneur Manfred Schmid, he works in the Geretsried city forest. © City of Geretsried
Forestry entrepreneur Manfred Schmid maintains the Geretsried city forest with his horse Moritz. A rare but deliberately chosen method.
Geretsried
– Farming the forest gently, quietly and on four legs – a task for the horse Moritz. Forestry entrepreneur Manfred Schmid from Mooseurach is one of the few who still practices forest work with horses.
The use of large machines was deliberately avoided
As the city of Geretsried writes in a statement, around 60 cubic meters of wood were felled in the city forest in February. In this forest management measure, the use of larger machines was deliberately avoided and preference was given to a horse. “You have to be completely in the moment, completely at work,” Schmid is quoted as saying in the statement. “If you don't concentrate or become hectic, if the horse panics, then everything is over.” But Moritz is calm itself. He weighs 800 kilos and is nine years old, so in his prime. According to the announcement, cold-blooded animals can live up to 30 years. By the way, coldbloods also have warm blood. The name describes the calm and relaxed nature of this horse breed.
You can read the latest news from Geretsried here.
On average, a moving horse can move between four and six cubic meters of wood per hour, the city writes. In an eight-hour day, 30 to 40 cubic meters come together. The Geretsried city forest is characterized by long-term treatment stands. “We have many different age stages here, a lot of natural regeneration, a mixed forest of different tree species, hardwood and coniferous wood,” says district forester Tereza Möbus. “If you look around now, you don’t even notice that trees are missing. That's how it should be!"
Backing horse is a soil-friendly addition
As a rule, the felled wood is pulled by machines to the logging lanes, aisles in the forest, from which large forestry machines transport the wood away. The forest floor in such areas is heavily compacted by the weight of the machines. According to the announcement, the horse is used in areas that are less developed. It is an ecological and soil-friendly addition to mechanical deforestation. Moritz can drag the felled trunks through the forest without damaging young trees. He is one of four horses that Manfred Schmid owns and, according to the statement, has been used as a horseback rider for four years.
The horses spend the summer on the mountain pasture. According to the report, forest work is only possible in the cool season. Then there will be fewer stinging insects.
Due to the size of our forest areas, the increasing need for forest care and forest conversion and the enormous volume of wood, horse removal could not take place on the entire forest area, explains the city. The horse is also limited in its pulling power and transport distances. WBV Wolfratshausen markets the resulting wood for the city.
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