RIGGING Hayfork PULLEY SYSTEM
Before barn hayforks, one man pitched hay off a wagon into the mow and one or two others distributed it in the mow and tramped it down. In the middle of summer, in an airless haymow, this wasn’t much fun. However, in the middle of the 19th century, mechanical means of placing hay in barns began to be developed.
The first barn forks resembled extra-large pitchforks with a heavy handle, a ring for a lifting rope and folding tines held in place by a latch. A rope and pulley hung over the haymow. One end of the rope was tied to the fork and the other ran outside to a singletree for a horse. The man on the load of hay stuck the fork into the hay and, using the fork handle, maneuvered the load over the mow as the horse lifted the
