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Angie i can't get any help either and sick of asking.  When i was young i 
worked the hay fields w/ my grandfather for 50 cents a half day and by the 
end of the summer i had saved enough money to 'buy Murphys out'.  That was 
the late 50's early 60's and 50 cents could buy 2 gallons of gas and today 
thats 6 bucks and kids today spend that much on a couple big macs and large 
order of fries and a super size coke and wonder why America has an obesity 
problem.  Hard work builds character my daughter Teresa said i always said.

My back and neck went out when my F-350 truck was rammed at my door and sent 
we airborne into a guard rail and the frame to the truck got bent w/ 
relatively minor body damage, tho working landscape work and all that 
lifting and tugging probably had some to do with the herniated discs.  I saw 
the crash as i was looking to the left and usually i would have cursed but 
quickly thought Oh No.  I even curse in thought so i remember the thought 
vividly.  Today according to my massage therapist who has been trying to 
pull me back together, my right leg is 3"'s shorter than my left leg.  I 
have a dent in my chest where the seat belt bent me.  I now ride 'crooked' 
and centered riding is more like centered balance which means dressage is 
over unless I'm like Zingaro and ride w/ a skirt and you can't see the off 
balance.

When will you know?  Not til after you've done the damage.  From my 
perspective the real pain never happened at the time of the injury except 
when it went way out and until you felt that pain even the knife sounds good 
to relieve it.  I always use my knees before my back as much as possible 
when bending and lifting.  I now know my capabilities of what i can and 
can't do and stop before i get too wore out.  Time changes everything and 
everyone and just as we came into this world alone from the darkness and 
warmth we will head out the same way...alone.  So we all gotta take care of 
ourselves.

When i throw a hay bale up now i throw it into the air and direct it as much 
as i can w/ my knee rather than my back.  This works til your knees go out, 
and then you get less horses, pay more for hay and hopefully figure out that 
more is less and less is more and you have more fun and less work.  There is 
a giant of a difference between being in your 40's and being in your 50's 
and i don't know about the beyond but i'm getting ready to discover that.  I 
remember my Granddaddy working on the farm and up at 4 and in the fields at 
5 and quitting at 10:30 and eating a big lunch at 11:30 or so and reading 
the paper til naptime came and back into the fields when the heat of the day 
was gone.  I like naps in the middle of the day and i don't feel bad about 
them at all....these days.  Time changes everything.  ts
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <rides2far@xxxxxxxx>
To: <goearth@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, July 11, 2006 7:54 AM
Subject: setting records


> > This reminds me of the Riddle of the Spinx.....What walks on 4 legs,
> > 2 legs and 3 legs?  Humankind    ts
>
>
> Alright, you guys are trying ot make me nervous. It's just that I HATE
> asking anyone to help do hay because you have to see them desperately
> scrambling for an excuse that's obviously made up. The only way to get
> helpers on a farm is to birth them...and both my girls are good workers
> but my hay man refuses to call me when he *cuts*. He calls when he's
> ready to bale so there's no warning for them to get off work. We took a
> teenage male boyfriend two different times. They were fairly useless.
> They just didn't know *how* to knee that bale up there so the girls had
> to do *less* so as not to embarass their egos. Once they get married I
> will *teach* the husbands and they're indentured servants!
>
> According to Danny Herlong there is no better laborer in the world than a
> wino. He said a high school football player worked good for just a little
> while then they get really tired (too muscle bound) but a wino will work
> hard till you pay him and then disappear. I guess I just need to find out
> where the winos hang out. According to my inner city students, they claim
> crack-heads will rake your yard with a fork for a dollar, but they always
> come knocking on your door at 3 AM wanting the work. :-P I've honestly
> never had to *pay* for a hay worker. That sure would up the price of the
> hay fast.
>
> So, I'm dead serious here. How do you know when to stop? Is a person's
> back able to do a certain amount of work for years and then just *pop*
> doing something you've already been doing with no consequences?  If I had
> help I'd have been doing the same thing, just fewer repetitions. My
> butt's as sore as anything from carrying every bale up to the top of the
> stack instead of handing it off to the stacker.( I'm lucky I have a pole
> barn so hay is stacked at ground level. You couldn't *give* me a loft!) I
> feel like the most dangerous move is the twisting/lifting when you pivot
> and push a bale up over your head. I try to face straight on and knee it
> up when I can, but there's always that moment when you're trying to sling
> them off the top of the trailer and get and get them to roll as far as
> possible towards the stack.
>
> P.S. The bales were pretty light this year. The sort of thing you usually
> resent but I wasn't complaining.
>
> P.P.S. Greatest thing about Coastal. I wore no sleeves and there's not a
> scratch on my lower arms.
>
> Angie


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