Stansted Airport steps back in time to use Suffolk horses
Suffolk horses have been set to work by Stansted Airport, to manage an ancient woodland, Eastend Wood, at the end of its runway.
Around 35 trees are being removed this month as part of a 10-year management plan developed with Natural England and the heavy horses were called in to move the felled wood.
The horses were provided by Hawthorn Heavy Horses of Essex.
The airport’s head of planning and sustainability Dr Andy Jefferson said: “We were reluctant to use modern machinery that would damage flourishing habitats and wildlife.
“Seeing the Suffolk horse at work transports you back in time, especially against the backdrop of a major international airport operation and I’m sure we’ll work with them again as part of our on-going management of this important woodland that we’re proud to manage and maintain.”
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.