THE revival of a traditional method of working horses has led to two colleagues being invited to Romania to pass on their skills.

Bosbury's Doug Joiner is one of a small number of people in the UK using horse-drawn equipment to manage forestry.

With the help of Cradley blacksmith Gavin Fraser, who makes the equipment he designs, Mr Joiner offers a range of wagons, harnesses, harrows and timber products through his business, Heavy Horses.

He also runs training courses at Childer Wood Heavy Horse Centre.

Mr Joiner and Mr Fraser will spend a week at an equestrian centre in Luncailvei, Romania, helping local people update their horse logging equipment. It is a method that is widely used in Romania, where a poor economy means horses are one of the few affordable ways of managing land.

Mr Joiner said he was looking forward to the trip, from December 8 to 15.

"It's an area of Romania where they work more horses now than 20 years ago, so we're going out to benefit from the continuous tradition," he said.

"There are no vehicles, so it's about going back to that traditional approach where horses really are the prime movers of everything, as they were here."

Mr Joiner launched the business 11 years ago, as a way of continuing his passion for horses.

"If you want to work with horses in Britain, it's the only viable niche left," he said.

Mr Joiner has previously taken part in exchanges with horse loggers in France and Poland as a member of the British Horse Loggers group.

Mr Fraser said: "I don't know what to expect but it'll be interesting to see how they work out there. I'm looking forward to staying with the families."