Rare shire horses to be used to clear Richmond Park after Storm Eunice damage

A rare breed of horses are to be used to clear Richmond Park following damage caused by Storm Eunice.

Some 150 mature trees fell down in Richmond Park during Storm Eunice, which saw record-breaking gusts of wind wreak havoc on the country on February 18.

The Met Office issued a rare red weather warning for London, advising people to stay indoors amid fears of risk to life and substantial injury.

The clean-up, run by Operation Centaur, will start next Friday and see a team of shire horses move fallen tree branches in the 2,500-acre park in south west London.

Shire horses, which weigh around one tonne, can carry up to two to three times their weight and will be used to extract timber that fell during the storm.

The breed is rare, with only about 2,000 left in the world.

Tom Nixon, head of heavy horses at Operation Centaur, told the Standard: “We use shire horses because they’re low impact.

“They have a low impact on the soil structure beneath them.”

Using shire horses is an environmentally-friendly alternative to using conventional heavy machinery which can damage the land.

The rare breed of horses are also able to reach areas of woodland which a tractor may find difficult to access.

Mr Nixon added: “We work the land in a sensitive manner. Ecologically, it makes perfect sense.

“The Royal Parks pride themselves on ecological standards, they look after their grasslands and woodlands for wildlife and habitats.

“The use of horses are not very intrusive on any of these things in comparison to heavy tractors and heavy machinery.”

Operation Centaur looks after the last working herd of shire horses in London and is the largest herd in England.

They have 14 shire horses which they use to carry out conservation projects.

Their benefits in conservation work include offering low noise disturbance to wildlife, as well as lower soil compaction and impact on flora, when compared to heavier machinery.

Shire horses also have a low carbon footprint, the organisation said.

As well as the storm clear-up, the rare breed carry out a number of duties in Richmond Park every year, including cutting the grass verge every few weeks and using special rollers behind the horses to manage bracken in the park.

Using horses can be beneficial to “a number of habitats and animals in the park” including the deer, which can find the use of machinery startling.

After Storm Eunice the park was forced to close for a few days so that tree experts could assess the damage to each one.

Mr Nixon explained: “After the storm, every tree must be assessed, especially the older Oak trees which could be up to 600 years old.”

He said they needed to “to make sure there’s no branches which are broken or cracked and are just hanging there waiting to fall.”

“Every time we get a storm the park has to be closed for a couple of days and the damage has to be assessed by tree experts,” he said.

Richmond Park has reopened.