On February 27-28, Freudenberg Castle in Wiesbaden is hosting the Zugpferdfestival, an event showcasing the traditional forestry craft known as 'Rücken'. Two strong horses drag hundred-kilogram logs using iron chains. This method, used by Freudenberg Castle to maintain the health of the forest park, allows for the transport of wood from areas inaccessible to machinery. The festival is organized in cooperation with the Interessengemeinschaft Zugpferde e.V. Hessen association. Visitors can personally try their hand at leading the horses.

Demonstration of Traditional Craft

During the weekend festival at Freudenberg Castle in Wiesbaden, six draft horses demonstrate the traditional 'Rücken' method, which involves extracting felled logs from the forest. Visitors have the opportunity to take the reins themselves and learn about the technique.

Application in Park Maintenance

The horse logging method is a key element in maintaining the health of the artificially established forest on the grounds of Freudenberg Castle. The horses transport felled trees from locations inaccessible to heavy equipment, while minimizing soil damage.

Arguments for Working with Horses

Farmer Hubertus Assmann, a member of the association, highlights the ecological and practical advantages of working with horses: their 'refueling' occurs through feed, unlike machines requiring fossil fuels, and hoof prints are less harmful to soil than tractor tracks.

In Freudenberg Castle Park in Wiesbaden on February 27-28, the Zugpferdfestival is taking place, an event showcasing traditional forestry craft using draft horses. During demonstrations, two strong horses drag tree trunks weighing about a hundred kilograms using thick iron chains. As castle spokesperson Silas Bug explains, the technique called 'Holzrücken' (horse logging) is central to maintaining the health of this artificially established forest. When old trees are removed, the horses transport them to locations from which the wood can be further processed. Their advantage is access to areas where many machines encounter difficulties. The festival is the result of cooperation with the Hessian association Interessengemeinschaft Zugpferde e.V. Hessen (IGZ), which brings six draft horses for the weekend. Visitors get a unique chance to, as Bug says, 'take the reins into their own hands' and guide the animals themselves. The use of horses for forestry work, especially for timber extraction, is a tradition dating back centuries. Before the era of industrialization and the widespread use of heavy machinery, horses and oxen were the primary draft power in forest management. Today, this method is often viewed as more ecological and gentler on the forest ecosystem, especially in hard-to-reach or protected terrain. Also participating in the festival is IGZ association member Hubertus Assmann, who has been working with horses in the castle park for six days a year for the past four years. Assmann, who is also a farmer, uses horses for cultivating his fields as well. He speaks about the advantages of this method over mechanical ones: 'I can put the horse in a stable or pasture overnight, and in the morning it's 'refueled' again. It recovers expended energy in the form of feed, and a tractor doesn't do that – it needs fossil energy'. He adds that the soil suffers significantly less under the imprint of a horse's hoof than under the track of a tractor's caterpillar tread. However, he cites pleasure as the most important reason for working with horses: 'Horses give a person a lot of satisfaction'. The event therefore serves not only to demonstrate a historical working method but also to promote sustainable and low-emission practices in forestry and agriculture.

Mentioned People

  • Silas Bug — Press spokesperson for Freudenberg Castle in Wiesbaden, explaining the use of horses in maintaining the forest park.
  • Hubertus Assmann — Member of the Interessengemeinschaft Zugpferde e.V. Hessen (IGZ) association, a farmer working with draft horses.