A HORSE logger from Haverthwaite is helping to keep ancient tradition alive in Lake District woodlands.

George Newton, 44, has been working his Dales ponies for three-and-a-half years, schooling them himself and nurturing the bond of trust required to carefully extract timber from sensitive and sometimes tricky locations where heavy machinery may not be suitable or desirable.

George, who came to forestry from construction and dry-stone walling, told the Gazette he loved the longevity of the age-old craft - described as an "important niche in contemporary forestry" by national body British Horse Loggers, whose patron is HRH The Prince of Wales.

"The work you do in forestry out-spans your life," said George. "You''re not really going to see the results of what you're doing unless you're a young man and live to be 80. It's interesting to be doing something for the future."

Right now the father-of-five and his ponies, George and Charlie, are busy with two projects. In woodland at Sawrey Ground, they are thinning larch as part of conservation work to make chip to power a biomass boiler at Yewfield guest house, Hawkshead Hill. Meanwhile, at Torver, they are reducing the number of conifers in broadleaved woods for a private owner.

He explained that his 'brilliant' mentor - the country's longest-serving horse logger, George Read, of Witherslack - worked in those very woods decades ago when broadleaved trees were being felled to make way for conifers.

"It's come round full circle," said George, who said his mentor remembered hearing Donald Campbell's Bluebird boat powering up on Coniston Water as he worked.

George's imagination was captured by horse logging at a Torver country show several years ago. With "everything to learn about forestry and horses", he and his partner, Lucy Ronald, signed up for a training weekend with Dales pony breeder Charlie Parker, near Barnard Castle, and later took on two yearlings from his Roandale Stud.

"Their characteristics are great stamina, very nimble and sure-footed. They've got a good level of courage and intelligence, and a calm temperament," said George, who takes the ponies into "some potentially dangerous situations", such as a recent project to haul heavy fence posts up a hillside near Tebay, too steep for tractors.

"The bond is growing all the time. It's vital to the work we do. They've got to stop when I tell them; they've got to trust I won't take them into a bog or barbed wire fence."

Apart from a few piles of sticks and some sawdust, people would hardly know they had been there, said George, who is keen to thank Charlie and Gina Parker, and George and Janet Read, for invaluable help and advice.

"Ninety-five percent of people stop and take photos, give the horses a bit of a snack, and say, this is amazing, this is the way it should be done."

For more, visit George's Facebook page or email horselogger70@gmail.com