Gentle giants who helped shape the East Anglian landscape are turning a pine plantation into a haven for wildlife in the grounds of a historic moated manor house.

The Suffolk Punch and Ardennes Comtoise have been harnessed to clear open spaces to make space for native trees and create new wildlife habitats on the National Trust’s Oxburgh Estate between Downham Market and Swaffham.

Eastern Daily Press: The Ardennes Comtoise pulling a log to help clear the siteThe Ardennes Comtoise pulling a log to help clear the site (Image: Mike Selby/National Trust)

Using horses and specialist equipment to drag the pine logs out of the plantation ensures minimal disruption to the soil, as the animals' unshod hooves allow for a less invasive distribution of weight compared to heavy logging machinery.

The pine plantation, which was planted in the 1970s for timber production, will be repopulated with native mixed broadleaves including hazel, oak, walnut, and sweet chestnut.

Eastern Daily Press: The Oxburgh Estate surrounds the 15th Century Oxburgh HallThe Oxburgh Estate surrounds the 15th Century Oxburgh Hall (Image: Sonya Brown)

Tom Day, the National Trust’s area ranger on the estate said: “This is a crucial time for us to double down on our parkland conservation efforts. Right now, the area of the pine plantation is severely lacking in biodiversity and contains 50% less wildlife than in the rest of our woodlands.

“By repopulating it with mixed broadleaf trees, we not only increase the structural diversity of the woodlands which will help maintain them for the long-term, but also vastly improve the quality of the habitat to attract more species and more diverse wildlife.

“In other parts of our parklands, we are already seeing the positive effects of this kind of work in the form of dark green fritillary and silver washed fritillary butterfly sightings.

Eastern Daily Press: Heavy horses allow a less-disruptive form of woodland management than modern machineryHeavy horses allow a less-disruptive form of woodland management than modern machinery (Image: Mike Selby/National Trust)

“Including a Suffolk horse in the management of the property’s woodlands the project also serves as an important contribution to contemporary conservation efforts for this rare breed and mirrors how such work would have been carried out, as long as 400 years ago.”

Suffolk horses, also historically known as the Suffolk Punch, are native to the region, and are one of only four English breeds of heavy horse bred specifically for ploughing and pulling loads. 

Eastern Daily Press: Suffolk Punches were common across the region before the advent of mechanised farming Suffolk Punches were common across the region before the advent of mechanised farming (Image: Mike Selby/National Trust)

However, due to the mechanisation of farming, the Suffolk horse’s numbers rapidly declined in the twentieth century and with less than five hundred horses registered in the UK today they are classed as critically endangered by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and listed on the priority watchlist.