Hey, small world. I lived in Keyser, Mineral Co. W.V. for about 10 years. I had my Icelandics there on Knobley Mountain and worked for the C&P Phone company as a lineman. I didn't do a lot of log-pulling with my Icelandics. When I first came to own them I was living in Morgan Co. W.V. (Berkeley Springs). I asked some of the locals how they started their young horses pulling a wagon. Several people said that they started them by pulling logs, which makes sense, when you consider how much timber cutting goes on there. So, an old-timer named Charlie Smith got me set up by taking a regular horse trace harness and cutting it down to fit an Icelandic. "Never buy a pony harness," he said, "because pony harness is always crap." I really don't think that is true any more. I started some young horses pulling logs but quickly learned that the logs really don't contribute much. Driving them by walking behind them worked better all around. My horses didn't suffer from any ring bone or other problems as a result of pulling logs, but then I didn't do it very long. I did manage to train some Icelandics to pull sulkies and sleighs in the winter. You must live somewhere in Maryland? Annie
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