Finnhorse in a forest work

In many cultures, the horse has always been an important partner in forest work and fields, in Finland, too. The importance of the horse in forest work was emphasized when the forest industry with sawmills and paper mills needed large amounts of wood raw material from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Back in the early 1960s, the timber cut from the forests was almost entirely hauled away by horses. Although tractors started to become more common on farms, agricultural tractors were initially too inefficient for forest work. In the procurement period 1960-1961, there were still around 55,000 horses in forest work in Finland, but in 1970 only 17,300.

Source: Kajaani.fi, Kajaanin museo

Following photos by Tessa Lepistö and Tanja Lundsten

Today they are hardly used at all, but now their use has started to be appreciated again and many manage their own forest with a horse and offer services to others as well.

Finnhorse Tuohivirsu enjoys forest work. He loves it being in the forest and work, and of course he enjoys the company of the team. Tuohivirsu´s owner is Tanja Lundsten.

A horse and winter are a good combination in terms of the well-being of the forest. In Finland the ground freezes to a depth of 20–60 cm on average during the winter months, in the north the depth of frost can be up to 120 cm. The icy ground protects the roots of the trees, and the passage of a horse in the forest does not damage the soil. A horse can also travel through a denser forest than a machine, so when working with a horse there is no need for clearcutting.

Hay for Tuohivirsu...

...and coffee for the rest of the team. "Sootpot coffee" tastes extremely delicious outside by the fire.

"You gave me the very first horsehair jewellery you made from Nitte´s (Nanna´s first horse) and Ogi's tailhair. One was a graduation present and the other as a thank you for Nitte's care. It especially felt and still feels particularly meaningful. Nitte is one of those horses that has been special to me in my life, Tuohivirsu, too."

Teija Ranin, Finland

Thank you, Teija, for your kind words and letting us to see these lovely pictures. We wish you, Tanja and extremely handsome Tuohivirsu many happy working years yet to come!

Follow Tuohivirsu in Facebook or in Instagram, and see more!

"Horse forest work is a suitable alternative for small and sensitive harvesting sites. For example, cultural and historical sites, it is possible to manage ancient remains and urban forests with the help of a horse logger. The harvest mark is really little and horse harvesting does not cause emission or noise problems. The demand for horse forest work will continue to grow in the future."

Thesis, Kirsi Nuutinen: Suomenhevonen metsätyössä (Finnhorse in a forest work) 2011

Forest work in 1950´s, photo from Kainuun museo collection.

And if you wonder what "Tuohivirsu" means: it´s a name for a traditional

Finnish shoe made of birchbark.

Midsummer Magic

You can always try these... And if you want to make a wish, instead of

"husband" you can wish for a horse - or at least a little pony...

Roll around naked in a wheat field and your future husband will appear in your life
within a year. If you wish to become more beautiful, do it when there´s morning dew...
You can collect dew in cloths and press it into bottles for the year to come.

          "But is there anything - or anybody - better
                                 than a loyal, beloved horse?"

Look for a four-leafed clover from the yard in the evening. Hide it under your shirt,
next to your bosom. By the midnight, let your hair loose and run to the field. Walk
around the field three times. When the person you love will eat bread made out of the
wheat from that specific field, he will fall in love with you.

Collect eight different flowers or herbs. Hideout the bouquet underneath your pillow. 

You will see “the one” in your dream.

Dandelions, daisies and buttercups

In the night, climb up somewhere high – on a hill, on top of a fell or a big rock. Your
future husband will come from the same direction as the first sound of the morning.
If you hear music, it means an approaching wedding.
If you hear a child crying, it is a sign of birth.

                               The mist of the nightless night

Midsummer, the magical time of the midnight sun and meadow flowers.

For these photos we thank Jessica and her beautiful Finnhorses. We think that
in these photos she has beautifully captured the spirit of the midsummer night and
the nature of a Finnhorse, our national treasure.

We wish you all a happy Midsummer Eve!

Read more about Finnish Midsummer:

Midsummer - the best time of the year!

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Merry Christmas

Christmas time is the darkest time of the year and here

in Finland it´s especially dark. Between the sun rising and setting

it´s only five hours - even in the southern Finland. In Lapland

the sun doesn´t rise at all for a few months.

If the day is cloudy, you don´t get that much light during that time either.

Like all over the world, we have the tradition

of lighting our surroundings up. Candles and light chains indoors and 

outside are lit already in November.

This birch branch brings light and works as a Christmas tree as well.

#gingerbreadmold

Stars and angels (?):

Otto and Fanni, the office assistants.

We wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Hyvää Joulua!

Felices Pasquas!

Merry Christmas!

Boas Festas!

God Jul!

Glædelig Jul!

Vrolijk Kerstfeest!

Joyeux Noel!

Froehliche Weihnachten!

Buone Feste Natalizie!

Nollaig chridheil huibh!

Kala Christouyenna!

Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket!

Gledileg Jol!

Nollaig Shona Dhuit!

Feliz Navidad!

Boas Festas!

Buorrit Juovllat!

www.horsehairjewellerynannasalmi.com

You might also like to see

Gingerbread, Horses and Birch Branches

Perfect Midsummer, photos by Nanna Salmi

 Like every traditional celebration, also the Midsummer Eve (juhannus) 

contains traditions which are so important, that without them the 

day just doesn´t feel perfect.

Night before. Picking flowers, enjoying the 

nightless night already...

The day is long... 

It is so long that you have time to do many things

before the celebration in the evening. Nanna loves to go 

walking by the lake Vesijärvi.

And Otto loves to swim in the lake Vesijärvi!

It´s very usual that the weather changes quickly and dramatically

during the day. Even several times! If the morning was hot and

misty, the early afternoon can be something very different!

Midsummer lunch is eaten with the family and friends. 

Wild flowers play a big role in a table setting. Grandmother´s

table cloth and china is also in use.

Sweet, small, new potatoes and fish - that brings 

the taste of the summer into your mouth!

Does this need any words?

Recipe HERE!

After lunch and nap a little walk in a forest... Collect seven flowers, put them

under your pillow and you will see your fiance to be in your dream...

-More about the midsummer magic HERE-

What would make this special day a perfection?

Of course - taking the horses for a night swim as well!

After that it´s nice to dress up warm and sit by the fire till the early morning

and enjoy the lightest time of the year when the sun doesn´t go down.

This is the moment we wait for the whole dark and cold winter...

Have a wonderful Midsummer Eve!

Hyvää Juhannusta!

Happy Independence Day, Finland!

Finland's Independence Day and a flag day, held on the 6th of December to celebrate Finland's declaration of independence from the Russian Republic in 1917.

To keep our independence a Finnhorse has played an important role in all the military conflicts Finland has had. That´s why we want to thank today our war veterans and the Finnhorses.

Ystävämme suomenhevonen / Our friend finnhorse
Official music video here

melody & lyrics in Finnish Suonna Kononen © manus
English translation mm

Where would we be without you,

you with four legs, pale grey mane, wet muzzeled

our friend Finnhorse

Missä olisimmekaan ilman sinua,

sinä nelijalkainen, hallavaharjainen, märkäturpainen

ystävämme suomenhevonen.

I´ve got nothing else in the world:

sky is the ceiling, road is my carpet and the walls are the trees of the forest

and as a friend Finnhorse

Eipä ole mulla maailmassa muita:

on taivahan katto, maantien matto ja seininä metsien puita

ja kaverina suomenhevonen.

With you my grand dad waded the fields,

where the wedge flew, soon flowered oat

here you are - my friend Finnhorse

Sulla ukkini raivasi pellot.

Missä lenteli aura, kohta heilimöi kaura,

ole hyvä, hevonen – ystäväni suomenhevonen.

And when the tanks were roaring in Kannas,

it was freeze, crust of snow - you were more to rely on than the machines

our friend, Finnhorse

Ja kun Kannaksella ryskyivät tankit,

oli pakkanen, hanki – sinä olit konettakin luotettavampi

ystävämme, suomenhevonen.

These villages are getting empty

the roads not ploughed and people getting old

but still there are them - and some horses

Once I leave this world,

this icy, slipery road of my life -

bury me next to my horse

Nämä kylät ovat tyhjiksi käyneet.

Ei aurata teitä ja vanhuus vaivaa jääneitä,

vaan vielä on heitä – ja joku hevonen.

Kun kerran minä erkanen täältä,

tämän maantien päältä, elämäni talvitien liukkaalta jäältä –

haudatkaa mut hevoiseni viereen.

...........................................

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Finnhorse Kullannuppu visiting Luostarinmäki Handicrafts Museum

Luostarinmäki (Cloister Hill) Handicrafts Museum is an open-air museum in the center of Turku, Finland. As an open-air museum it is even globally exceptionally valuable entity as the buildings in the area are located in their original positions. 

Luostarinmäki is the only area of wooden houses in Turku which remained the Great Fire of Turku in 1827. The museum was opened to the public on 29th of June 1940.

It is one of Finland's nationally significant
cultural environments. 

www.turku.fi

Finnhorse Kullannuppu fits well into the scenery!

There are eighteen wooden blocks, more than thirty wooden houses, built at the end of 1700s and in the early 1800s. Houses are decorated in the pre-industrial urban artisans workshops and homes. During the summer craftsmen work in the workshops so visitors can see traditional crafts.

Museum administrators, guides and artisans are dressed in the old fashioned costumes.

www.turku.fi

www.turku.fi

www.turku.fi

The museum also has it's own post office,
café and two shops. 

In Höökari´s Sundry Shop you can buy old-fashioned sweets and in a museum shop Hantvärkki you can buy handicraft products made by the artisans in the museum.

The museum has been awarded by the tourism writers and journalists of the International Federation F.I.J.E.T. Golden Apple Award in 1984 as the only one in Nordic countries. The award gave Luostarinmäki craftsmen impetus to set up their own guild.

Since 1943 the highlight of the summer has been in August, the celebration of the craftsmen:
about 40 different professional craftsmen come and present their work. Also Kullannuppu spent three days in Luostarinmäki to delight the visitors.

Horses were very important in the old days,
as important as the craftsmen!

She´s so calm that she can be let walk free...

Tourists need maps, Kullannuppu manages without!

During the days she found a quiet corner for having a nap, 

and also a tack shop!

We very much appreciate the old skills are kept alive. 

The more time goes on and all kinds of new things and inventions come out,

the more important it is to remember how it all started.

Finnhorse is our national treasure and we are glad to see how they 

are appreciated nowadays as well.

On the way home.

Well earned!

If you wish to see more of Kullannuppu, read this:

Perfect Finnhorse - Kullannuppu

More about the Finnhorse in general:

Finnhorse - A Loyal Companion

Thank you, Heikki, again, for these wonderful pictures of Kullannuppu.

She is a special treasure as you are a special master and treasure for her...

The Crayfish Feast

Oh... Here we go!

"Dill in the mouth, crown on the head

you'll be brought to the table.

On top of a toast 

a schnapps bath will be given to you"

Traditional song to sing with the schnapps taken with the

first crayfish eaten. The wildest ones take a schnapps before

each crayfish eaten... But that is quite heavy...

THE Tool - a crayfish knife

We started with Cava Anna de Codorniu Blanc de Blancs. 

If you choose champagne, our suggestion is Bollinger Special Cuvée.

The evening was warm, drinks were cold...

Everybody wore something red in honor of the star

of the evening, crayfish.

Salty snacks while waiting:

knäckebröd, potato, herring, sour cream and dill.

Chanterelle soup to start with...

Cold smoked salmon goes well on the toast as well. (And it is

quicker to eat than crayfish...)

Lemon to spice up and to clean fingers

And then the crayfish...

In the glass Riesling d'Alsace

Toast, sour cream, chopped onion, drop of lemon -

Bon appetit!

"Crayfish came, crayfish came

Now it is August

Rejoice, you fellow

Forget about the sorrow

Take a glass, take a glass -

The crayfish brought joy and happiness

into our hearts"

Eating takes hours, many, many songs are sung, glasses risen

and schnapps drunk. The sun goes down, the lanterns glow

in a warm August night. And you are with you family and friends...

Is there any better way to celebrate the end of the summer?