Horse drawn bracken rolling

Today's Sunday Challenge is: A NEW EXPERIENCE
I have not seen this method of controlling bracken until this morning.

On 1 January 2013 it became illegal to use the bracken-control chemical Asulam. The chemical, which was sold as Asulox, was banned by the EU on 31 December 2011 but those who already had stocks had a year to use these up. While good in small areas, as it provides cover for animals, bracken can be a real problem, quickly becoming a monoculture, shading out and eliminating wild plants and flowers.

In our local area The Cliffe is a sandstone hill, a lot of which is colonised by bracken, preventing the growth of heather, ling and gorse. The bracken is managed largely by volunteers, but I've never seen this method of horse drawn bracken rolling before. The horse is pulling a special roller with chains, which bend and partially break the bracken fronds. This has the effect of weakening the plant as it attempts to regrow. Volunteers are raking over the broken bracken and bundling it onto a trailer. The bracken may be taken to the local farmer who has a bio-digester. There were 2 horses working today, and about 20 volunteer helpers.

The effects of bracken rolling are progressive and in order for the bracken to be completely eradicated, it is advisable that the process is repeated twice yearly, with first treatment in June/July (Peak Growing Season) and second in late August/early September (going into Dormant Period). It is extremely important that if a second annual treatment is undertaken, that it is completed before the plant produces spores. I hope that this will gradually replace the large tracts of ferns with wild flowers.







Ceffylau Gwaith Carnog Working Horses, run by Barbara Haddrill, is based in Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant in the heart of the Tanat Valley in Powys, Wales. It works in mid and North Wales, Shropshire and the Welsh Borders and Marches.
www.carnog.co.uk