Last Poster #8

Rounds are better and easier. We only had around 65 head so we did squares. I honestly hope I have bucked my last bale. I had a friend that could run with one in each hand over his head. He could also toss them up onto the trailer. In the end, I split my hay with the crew so I didn’t have to deal with it anymore. The Hay in humboldt is selenium deficient so it’s no good for horses, people pay a premium for horse fuel around here.
Yeah, it always started out as a competition, but by the end of a few days of pitching bales most of us were just glad to get finished.
My dad and oldest brother did most of the cutting/raking/baling which left getting it out of the fields to two crews of four, usually one of the wives driving the tractors pulling the hay wagons, one man stacking and two pitching.
Nowadays I can produce 4-5 times as much hay by myself with rounds in the same time envelope.
 
Yeah, it always started out as a competition, but by the end of a few days of pitching bales most of us were just glad to get finished.
My dad and oldest brother did most of the cutting/raking/baling which left getting it out of the fields to two crews of four, usually one of the wives driving the tractors pulling the hay wagons, one man stacking and two pitching.
Nowadays I can produce 4-5 times as much hay by myself with rounds in the same time envelope.
And without getting chiggers in your seams, don’t forget that part.
 
Chiggers definitely in spring cut but since I was small, I always got sent to the loft to stack. If the bales were heavy it was a struggle. Of course you dared not say that.
I am lucky I didn’t do it too many times because of living in LA so long. Come to think of it, I’d rather do hay and face chiggers than live in LA ever again.
 
I've had on and off knee pain since college (likely caused by fencing). I typically don't go into a deep horse stance, been doing it again lately and noticed that my knees hurt while I hold it even semi-deep. Trying to figure out some adjustments for myself so I don't damage my knees to strengthen my legs.
 
I've had on and off knee pain since college (likely caused by fencing). I typically don't go into a deep horse stance, been doing it again lately and noticed that my knees hurt while I hold it even semi-deep. Trying to figure out some adjustments for myself so I don't damage my knees to strengthen my legs.
Where are your feet oriented? Where is the weight centered in the foot? What are you doing with toes and ankle flexion? Buttocks tensed or relaxed?
 
Where are your feet oriented? Where is the weight centered in the foot? What are you doing with toes and ankle flexion? Buttocks tensed or relaxed?
Tried a couple different ways over the last few days. But normally: Feet facing forward, normally weight on the heel and toes neither clenched/gripping, or actively being kept out straight, butt relaxed.

I just tried very briefly now moving the weight from my heels to my ball/toes, and that helped slightly at least in the moment.
 
Actually think this jet lag thing might be over. Monday night to Tuesday was the worst, did not get to sleep until sometime after 3am, woke up at 6am.

Last night I actually was in bed before 11;00pm, fell asleep, woke up once at 3am and then slept until 6:30....
 
Tried a couple different ways over the last few days. But normally: Feet facing forward, normally weight on the heel and toes neither clenched/gripping, or actively being kept out straight, butt relaxed.

I just tried very briefly now moving the weight from my heels to my ball/toes, and that helped slightly at least in the moment.
I do feet parallel like on skis, weight in center of foot slightly behind the ball of foot. Relaxed buttocks. Try shifting weight slightly to lateral sides of foot and back to medial until you find center for you. Supinate the thighs, keep butt under you, but not tucked, like you are sitting on a bench that isn’t there. Take the tension out of the ankle, let the shin bone lay down on the foot. Feel your tibia go down into the foot like a stick in a hole. Take the tension out of the knee. “grabbing” the knee is the most common reason for knee pain from horse. Make sure you lift the inside of the abdominals. The art of stacking and folding is what my Sifu called it. I could go on and on with the cues and tips if you have interest in this.
 
I do feet parallel like on skis, weight in center of foot slightly behind the ball of foot. Relaxed buttocks. Try shifting weight slightly to lateral sides of foot and back to medial until you find center for you. Supinate the thighs, keep butt under you, but not tucked, like you are sitting on a bench that isn’t there. Take the tension out of the ankle, let the shin bone lay down on the foot. Feel your tibia go down into the foot like a stick in a hole. Take the tension out of the knee. “grabbing” the knee is the most common reason for knee pain from horse. Make sure you lift the inside of the abdominals. The art of stacking and folding is what my Sifu called it. I could go on and on with the cues and tips if you have interest in this.
I am very much interested in any other tips, as that is interested in how I used to do it and I stopped initially out of concern for my knees. Even for how I was taught, I'm sure my form is very off.

I went into it normal and noticed there was a lot of tension in my ankle, which goes away when I move the weight closer to the ball of the foot. However, I also notice my back naturally bending over, and when I straighten it again, the weight shifts itself back. I'm assuming that this is a result of me not used to holding my body in quite that way and it'll just take time to adjust/strengthen the muscles properly for that.

I held it for about 1 minute (significantly less deep than I am used to), and noticed towards the end I had some knee pain so I stopped, tough to tell if that is an issue with my knees/horse stance in general, or if that's my legs starting to get tired and my body shifting itself back to how it's used to. Time will tell on that part.

Can you clarify what you mean by supinating the thigh? I would think that means having my thighs open, with my knees bucked outward and pelvis open, but I'm guessing that's a misunderstanding on my part.
 
I am very much interested in any other tips, as that is interested in how I used to do it and I stopped initially out of concern for my knees. Even for how I was taught, I'm sure my form is very off.

I went into it normal and noticed there was a lot of tension in my ankle, which goes away when I move the weight closer to the ball of the foot. However, I also notice my back naturally bending over, and when I straighten it again, the weight shifts itself back. I'm assuming that this is a result of me not used to holding my body in quite that way and it'll just take time to adjust/strengthen the muscles properly for that.

I held it for about 1 minute (significantly less deep than I am used to), and noticed towards the end I had some knee pain so I stopped, tough to tell if that is an issue with my knees/horse stance in general, or if that's my legs starting to get tired and my body shifting itself back to how it's used to. Time will tell on that part.

Can you clarify what you mean by supinating the thigh? I would think that means having my thighs open, with my knees bucked outward and pelvis open, but I'm guessing that's a misunderstanding on my part.
If you put your arms out straight in front of you palms down, now keep arms there but turn palms up, now you have just supinated the radius bone. Outward rotation of the bone itself. Rotate the femur outward, then sit deeper and adjust weight, keep doing this until you find center for you. It may take several attempts that each feel more awkward and unusable. Trust in the structure. Here is my complete set of cues, bear with me…

Stand shoulder width and a half with feet parallel. Feel the bottom of the foot, then feel the bones in the bottom of the foot. Place the pinkie toe on the ground, feel how the Peroneus longus muscle attaches to pinkie toe structure. Pinkie toe line is the balance line. Now place the big toe on the ground and start to lift it, but don’t actually lift it off the ground. Big toe line is the power line. Feel the center of the foot as if there were a spike going through it into the ground. Apply rotational torque to the right foot in a clockwise direction, apply the same torque to the left foot in a counter clockwise direction like screwing the feet into the ground. Only 10% of weight in the heels, they touch the ground. Now take the tension out of the ankle. Let the ankle fold so the shin can lay down on the foot. Feel the tibia like a stick in a hole. Now feel the space in the knee, it’s a feeling like two balls balanced one on top of the other. Take the tension out of the knee so you can feel the space in the joint. Supinate the femurs. Let the pubic bone come forward and the heads or proximal ends of the femurs go back. This forms a forward pointing triangle shaped platform. Now feel the perineum point, lift the inside of the abdominals and keep the kegel engaged ( like holding back your pee after you already started ). Spread the back and let the lats wrap around to the front. Press the inside of the sternum against the front of spine, and press the inside or front of spine into the sternum. Draw a T on front and back of torso and press them together. Keep the armpit open and carry the upper arm. (I put ping pong balls in people’s armpits to help with this.) let the shoulder girdle float on top. The sternum goes back, and the heads of the humerus bones come forward. This forms a backwards pointing triangle shaped platform that opposes the one in the pelvis/femur set. Make sure that the scapulas are spread and the tips at the bottom of scapula press forward to activate the lift and carry of the the upper arm. We call these sky hooks. Now spread the back of hands and cock thumbs, point the index fingers at each other in front of the body, they don’t touch each other but they are both touching the abdomen about 2 inches below the navel. Keep your elbows in front of the body so the back stays spread but not rounded. Now press the back of the head back and feel your throat hold up your head. Feel the tongue on the roof of mouth behind the front teeth. Feel the eyes go backward into the head. Keep your eye up so your head stays up. Feel the top of the head as if it were suspended by a wire. Keep sitting lower and adjusting each thing in order until you feel the structure holding you up. The thighs will burn. Take a photo or short video from three positions and show me. I’m happy to help in any way. I know this is incredibly long, but it’s how I teach it, and how I was taught. Thanks for your trust.
 
Stand shoulder width and a half with feet parallel. Feel the bottom of the foot, then feel the bones in the bottom of the foot. Place the pinkie toe on the ground, feel how the Peroneus longus muscle attaches to pinkie toe structure. Pinkie toe line is the balance line. Now place the big toe on the ground and start to lift it, but don’t actually lift it off the ground. Big toe line is the power line. Feel the center of the foot as if there were a spike going through it into the ground. Apply rotational torque to the right foot in a clockwise direction, apply the same torque to the left foot in a counter clockwise direction like screwing the feet into the ground. Only 10% of weight in the heels, they touch the ground. Now take the tension out of the ankle. Let the ankle fold so the shin can lay down on the foot. Feel the tibia like a stick in a hole. Now feel the space in the knee, it’s a feeling like two balls balanced one on top of the other. Take the tension out of the knee so you can feel the space in the joint. Supinate the femurs. Let the pubic bone come forward and the heads or proximal ends of the femurs go back. This forms a forward pointing triangle shaped platform. Now feel the perineum point, lift the inside of the abdominals and keep the kegel engaged ( like holding back your pee after you already started ). Spread the back and let the lats wrap around to the front. Press the inside of the sternum against the front of spine, and press the inside or front of spine into the sternum. Draw a T on front and back of torso and press them together. Keep the armpit open and carry the upper arm. (I put ping pong balls in people’s armpits to help with this.) let the shoulder girdle float on top. The sternum goes back, and the heads of the humerus bones come forward. This forms a backwards pointing triangle shaped platform that opposes the one in the pelvis/femur set. Make sure that the scapulas are spread and the tips at the bottom of scapula press forward to activate the lift and carry of the the upper arm. We call these sky hooks. Now spread the back of hands and cock thumbs, point the index fingers at each other in front of the body, they don’t touch each other but they are both touching the abdomen about 2 inches below the navel. Keep your elbows in front of the body so the back stays spread but not rounded. Now press the back of the head back and feel your throat hold up your head. Feel the tongue on the roof of mouth behind the front teeth. Feel the eyes go backward into the head. Keep your eye up so your head stays up. Feel the top of the head as if it were suspended by a wire. Keep sitting lower and adjusting each thing in order until you feel the structure holding you up. The thighs will burn. Take a photo or short video from three positions and show me. I’m happy to help in any way. I know this is incredibly long, but it’s how I teach it, and how I was taught. Thanks for your trust.
Paragraphs would help :confused:.
 
I was here

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Man, this is so cool. I have to see Bruce Lee's statue one day.
 

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