Harness hanging up to air - collar facing outwards, pad and britchin, bit carrier and reins and pads.

Grooming should be a pleasure for the horse. How to measure for a collar. With the horse clipped up leaving both hands free, slide the collar, upside down, over the horse's head.

The collar is slid gently over the horse's head and turned, the widest part of the collar over the thinnest part of the neck, and settled into place.

The harness should be placed on and slid onto the horse. Avoid throwing harness or harnessing up clumsily.

Like grooming, this should be pleasant for the horse. If it is, the horse will be easier to catch and more likely to stand still whilst being harnessed.

Fitting the pad. This can be difficult when the pad and collar are new. Stuff it in from the front on one side and then the other, pulling the collar forward. Settle it all into place.

Checking the fit of the collar. A flat hand should just touch the collar and the horse's neck. Fitting the hames.

Putting on the back pad and fitting the britchin.

Pull the tail out to make the horse comfortable. Attach the off side meeter strap and tug.

Check all straps are where they should be on offside. Attach nearside meeter strap, check straps on nearside and do up girth.

Attach nearside tug and do up belly band. Check straps are attached as they should be. Trace carrier.

Horse harnessed. Do visual check all round. Bit carrier and Myler bit. Reins and bit carrier hanging on hames. Attaching nearside trace.

Finishing nearside trace and fitting offside.

Finishing offside. Traces on trace carrier. Putting on bit carrier and fastening poll strap.

Bit carrier and bit ready. Reins through rings and attached on nearside.

Offside reins. Reins hung up on hames. Choker chain on offside hame.

Swingle tree on nearside hame. Ready to work. How the Scandinavian shafts are attached. NB these photos were posed for this sequence and only one shaft, off a bracken basher, was attached while the the horse remained tied up. Do not attach a vehicle of any sorts to the horse unless you have full control with bit and bridle fitted and reins at the ready.

The slot at the end of the shafts is fitted onto the metal bar on the pulling ring, the wooden peg inserted and the leather strap securing the wooden peg. The horse pulls the shafts, not a trace. The system is quick on and off, shafts are shorter and therefore less likely to catch in the wood and the whole system is a great safety improvement.

Tool belt for the horse handler and the contents. Attaching the lead rope to the hames (always comes with us). Ready to move off.

Swingle tree and the operation of the quick release 'kick off dog'. Jacob and Johanna in the wood.

Removing traces from trace carrier and attching to swingle tree.

Swingle tree ready. Using timber tongs to roll the log to get the choker chain under. Chokered up, point of hook pointing backwards. Attached and ready to move off.

Jacob pulling a small Douglas Fir sawlog, turning and setting off to the stack.

Near the stack. Returning empty for another load, dragging the swingle tree on the ground. How to choker two logs. Detail - no weight on hip straps whilst in traction.

Repeat of detail. Jacob in the arch.

More of Jacob in the arch.

Jacob with me and a small Norway Spruce sawlog in the arch.

More of the same. Note the good angle of draft of the shafts and the preferred driving position.