Interview with Nancy Kish, Agape Hill Farm, Hardwick, VT

By Karen Nicholson

Nancy, tell me about your farm – what animals do you have?

While our primary animals are llamas (we currently have 20), we also have 7 Angora rabbits, 3 Icelandic and 1 Dorset sheep, 2 Angora and 2 Pygora goats, 3 horses, 2 cows, chickens, turkeys, pigs—and 3 dogs and 2 cats (and one fish!).

A successful business has a niche, what sets your farm and herd apart from others in the industry?

We run an interactive farm. Our primary focus is not on breeding or showing or even fiber. Our farm motto is "An Adventure for Everyone." We want to be a place where people can come and try something new. Visitors to the area can schedule a farm tour or llama walk on our trails. Several young adults with autism come regularly for llama walking. School children visit for field trips and also for behavioral interventions. We have an afterschool llama club where children work with their "own" llama, learn fiber art and other farm activities. We also do off-site visits such as to a local nursing home and libraries.

What is your greatest achievement or favorite memory since you started raising camelids?

It would have to be seeing individuals relax and grow while working with the llamas. One of our weekly walkers has an issue with keeping his hands tightly closed. He has learned over the past year to feed his llama which entails holding his hand open flat—and he loves it! We have also seen a young girl in the llama club who cried the first time she walked a llama. She has grown in confidence to the point where she has begun training one of the yearlings to go on trail walks.

What advice would you give to those just getting started with camelids?

Find what you love to do with your animals, get good at it, then find a way to make that a business.

Where do you see your farm and camelid business going over the next 5 to 10 years?

We would like to add a workshop room and farm store in the barn. Other than that, we would just be expanding the trail walks and workshops.

What has been your biggest lesson learned?

Take one step at a time and don't try to learn everything all at once. It can be very overwhelming when you feel like you need to learn to care for animals, train, shear, card, spin etc. all at once.

How do you see the industry developing in today's economy?

Local and natural products and services are in high demand—especially in our area. We need to capitalize on that! Look for new applications for fiber art (i.e. someone recently asked me if I could make a laptop cover for them!). Offer a local, reasonably priced activity like a farm tour or workshop.

What do you like best about your llamas?

I love their intuition and ability to connect. They just seem to know what a person needs. I'm amazed at how differently a llama can act in different settings and with different people. A llama who never seems to stand still will be like a statue when someone who is tentative is petting them. The most dramatic example I have of this comes from a recent nursing home visit. There was a lady who was unable to communicate or reach out at all. I went over to speak to her and hold her tightly fisted hand. As I approached, Whoopie Pie (my llama) walked up and gently "kissed" her forehead (llama style). He is not a "kissy" llama and hasn't responded that way to anyone else. I lifted her hand so she could touch him and she smiled. When I went back to the nursing home 2 weeks later, I looked for the woman again and was told she had passed away shortly after my last visit. I was so thankful that we had spent the time with her and that Whoopie somehow "knew" what was needed.

This interview was conducted by Karen Nicholson of Stepping Stone Farm Alpacas in Stowe, Vermont. Her family has a small, integrated farm raising broiler chickens and laying hens for food and pasture fertilization; Indian Runner ducks for Meningeal worm control; 2 French Alpine dairy goats for milk and brush clearing; and a herd of 8 colorful alpacas for fiber and their offspring for sale. Karen writes for VLAA, NEAOBA and other livestock publications. If you have comments about this interview contact: Karen@stowealpacas.com.

Understanding Animal Motivation

By Temple Grandin, Ph.D.The Camelid Quarterly, March 2007

Training a horse, mule, ox, or other animal is easier if you first figure out what motivates the animal. These four basic drives motivate horses and other animals to do things: Fear, Aggression, A Learned Response, and Instincts.

Fear and aggression are often misinterpreted. Did the horse kick because he was fearful, or did he kick because he was aggressive or bad?

Neurologically, fear and aggression are different emotions that may result in similar behaviors, such as kicking or pinning the ears back. Determining which emotion motivates the kicking is important because punishing the horse for kicking will make a fear-based behavior worse. If kicking occurs during a training exercise, it is likely to be fear-based.

Fear is also the likely motivation if an animal becomes agitated when it is alone, tied up, or held in a squeeze chute. Another factor is genetics. A horse or ox with a nervous, high-strung temperament is more likely to have a fear-motivated behavior than an animal with a calm, placid temperament. It is unfortunate that some breeders select for hot - blooded draft horses. This pattern of selection is likely to result in more problems with fear-motivated behavior.

An animal with a hot temperament is more likely to blow up when it is suddenly confronted with a scary novel experience. Many people have said to me, "My horse behaves well at home, but goes berserk at shows." This behavior occurs because shows have many scary things an animal never sees at home. A flighty horse must be accustomed to flags, balloons, and fast moving bikes long before he goes to a show. A safe way to introduce a horse to balloons and flags is to put them in a large pasture and allow the horse to explore them. A dangerous practice is to suddenly confront a horse that has a flighty temperament with a scary object, such as a flag, when he is in a confined space where he cannot move away. Flags and balloons are scary because they make rapid movements and have bright contrasting colors. Bikes are frightening because they move rapidly and can silently sneak up on the horse. If the horse is allowed to voluntarily approach these objects, however, they may become attractive.

Eliminating Learned Bad Behavior

An animal often learns bad behaviors because people inadvertently reward the behavior. One common problem behavior is a horse pawing and striking the stall door at feeding time. The horse acts this way because he thinks it will speed up being fed. If feed is given while the horse is striking the stall door, his undesirable behavior will be reinforced and rewarded. He learns to associate being fed with pawing the door. To eliminate the behavior, drop feed into the manger at the precise instant the horse stops pawing at the door. The timing must be right so that the horse will associate keeping his foot still with getting fed. To stop pawing behavior, reward the horse for keeping his foot still.

True Aggression

True aggressive behavior occurs when an animal views a person as a herd mate that needs to be dominated. This problem occurs especially with bulls. Castration will reduce aggression in adult animals, and, if done at a young age, mostly eliminate it. In grazing animals, an orphan male raised away from its own species may be imprinted to people and think he is a person. The resulting behavior is cute in a young animal, but when the male becomes fully mature, he can be dangerous. At full maturity, he may turn on his caretakers to prove that he is now the dominant male in the herd.

Raising young bull calves in a social group helps prevent aggression towards people. Young bulls and stallions must learn they are not people. Orphaned male grazing animals should be either castrated or placed in a social group with their own kind by six weeks of age. When they grow up with their own kind, they learn who they are, and any aggression is more likely to be directed toward their own kind.

The male aggression problem is not due to the animal being tame. It is due to mistaken identity. Social behavior in grazing animals has to be learned. Grazing animals must learn the normal give and take of social behavior. Horses or cattle that are reared alone will often be vicious fighters when mixed with other animals. A young stud colt reared alone may constantly fight other horses because he has never learned that once he has become dominant, he doesn't need to keep fighting. Stallions will be easier to manage when they are mature if they are reared as young colts on a pasture full of other adult horses.

Instinctual Behavior

Instincts, or so-called fixed action patterns, are behavioral patterns that are hard-wired into an animal like computer programs. These innate behavioral programs are not dependent on learning. The behavioral program runs when it is triggered by certain specific stimuli that animal behavior specialists call sign stimuli. Birds have many more instinctual behavioral patterns than mammals. The mating dance of birds is a good example of instinctual behavior. In stallions and bulls, the flehmen lip curl is an example of an instinct. Smelling a female hiestrus will trigger it.

Many reproductive behaviors are hard-wired and instinctual. Pressing on a calf's forehead may trigger butting, which will become dangerous when he grows up. A calf should be stroked under the chin or on the withers to encourage it to take a submissive posture. Never play butting games with calves. An instinctual behavior often interacts with learned behavior. Breeding behavior is instinctual, but who is bred is learned. Ram lambs nursed by nanny goats will attempt to breed goats when they mature. To establish normal breeding behavior, orphan animals should be reared in a pen with their own species.

Bottle-feeding a baby for a few weeks will usually not cause cattle to imprint to people if they are penned with their own species. Understanding the motivating basis of behavior makes it easier to deal with that behavior and improve an animal's performance. Punishing fear may make it worse, but some force may be required to stop true aggression. When dealing with aggression, imitate the animal's natural instinctual behavior patterns. A bull that is ready to attack will make a broadside display to show how big he is, facing sideways toward the one he plans to dominate. The broadside threat is an innate instinctual aggressive threat behavior. A bull that displays it toward people can be dangerous indeed. Some bulls will submit and move away when a person makes an imitation of the broadside threat by making themselves look big. If the bull will not submit and move away, he should be culled before he kills somebody. Any bull that charges people in an open pasture is potentially dangerous and should be culled. Aggression toward people must be pre-vented by rearing bulls in social groups.

Smaller animals, such as pigs and alpacas that become aggressive may be dominated by using species typical aggressive patterns. I have successfully exerted dominance on more than one young pig by shoving on its neck with a board, in the same location where a dominant pig would bite. Rearing animals in social groups, however, is the best way to avoid problems of mistaken identity. Exerting dominance over an animal does not mean beating it into submission. During training, all animals respond to positive reinforcement such as feed treat, stroking, or a kind voice.

Trainers should use positive reinforcements to train horses, cattle, and other animals to do tasks. Next time you watch a pulling contest, note how the loggers' horses usually pull better than horses that have been motivated to pull by whipping. Positive rewards make a better motivator than fear.

Thinking the Way Animals Do

By Temple Grandin, Ph.D.From International Camelid Quarterly Volume 5, Number 4, December 2006

Unique insights from a person with a singular understanding.

As a person with autism, it is easy for me to understand how animals think because my thinking processes are like an animal's. Autism is a neurological disorder that some people are born with. Scientists who study autism believe that the disorder is caused by immature development of certain brain circuits, and over-development of other brain circuits. Autism is a complex disorder that ranges in severity from a mild form (such as mine), to a very serious handicap where the child never learns to talk. The movie Rain Man depicts a man with a fairly severe form of the disorder.

I have no language-based thoughts at all. My thoughts are in pictures, like videotapes in my mind. When I recall something from my memory, I see only pictures. I used to think everybody thought this way until I started talking to people on how they thought. I learned that there is a whole continuum of thinking styles, from totally visual thinkers like me to the totally verbal thinkers. Artists, engineers, and good animal trainers are often highly visual thinkers, and accountants, bankers, and people who trade in futures markets tend to be highly verbal thinkers with few pictures in their minds.

Most people use a combination of both verbal and visual skills. Several years ago, I devised a little test to find out what style of thinking people use: Access your memory on church steeples. Most people will see a picture of a generic "generalized" steeple. I only see specific steeples; there is no generalized one. Images of steeples flash through my mind like clicking quickly through a series of slides or pictures on a computer screen. On the other hand, highly verbal thinkers may "see" the words "church steeple" or will "see" just a simple stick-figure steeple.

A radio station person I talked to once said that she had no pictures at all in her mind. She thought in emotions and words. I have observed that highly verbal people in abstract professions, such as trading stocks or in sales, often have difficulty understanding animals. Since they only think in words, it is difficult for them to imagine that an animal can think. I have found that really good animal trainers will see more detailed steeple pictures. It is clear to me that visual thinking skills are essential to horse training, but often the visual thinkers do not have the ability to verbalize and explain to other people what they "see."

Associative Thinking

A horse trainer once said to me, "Animals don't think, they just make associations." I responded to that by saying "If making associations is not thinking, then I would have to conclude that I do not think." People with autism and animals both think by making visual associations. These associations are like snapshots of events and tend to be very specific. For example, a horse might fear bearded men when it sees one in the barn, but bearded men might be tolerated in a riding arena. In this situation, the horse may only fear bearded men in the barn because he may have had a bad past experience in the barn with a bearded man.

Animals also tend to make place-specific associations. This means that if a horse has bad prior experiences in a barn with skylights, he may fear all barns with skylights, but will be fine in barns with solid roofs. This is why it is so important that an animal's first association with something new is a good experience.

Years ago, a scientist named N. Miller found that if a rat was shocked the first time it entered a new passageway in a maze, it would never enter that passageway again. The same may be true for horses. For example, if a horse falls down in a trailer the first time he loads, he may fear all trailers. However, if he falls down in a two-horse, side-by-side trailer the 25th time he is loaded, he may make a more specific association. Instead of associating all trailers with a painful or frightening experience, he is more likely to fear side-by-side trailers, or fear a certain person associated with the "bad" trailer. He has learned from previous experience that trailers are safe, so he is unlikely to form a generalized trailer fear.

Fear Is the Main Emotion

Fear is the main emotion in autism, and it is also the main emotion in prey animals such as horses and cattle. Things that scare horses and cattle also scare children with autism. Any little thing that looks out of place, such as a piece of paper blowing in the wind, may cause fear. Objects that make sudden movements are the most fear provoking. In the wild, sudden movement is feared because predators make sudden movements.

Both animals and people with autism are also fearful of high-pitched noises. I still have problems with high-pitched noise. A back-up alarm on a garbage truck will cause my heart to race if it awakens me at night. The rumble of thunder has little effect. Prey species animals, such as cattle and horses, have sensitive ears, and loud noise may hurt their ears. When I was a child, the sound of the school bell ringing was like a dentist drill in my ear. A loudspeaker system at a horse show may possibly have a similar effect on horses.

People with autism have emotions, but they are simpler and more like the emotions of a vigilant prey species animal. Fear is the main emotion in a prey species animal because it motivates the animal to flee from predators. Neuroscientists have mapped the fear circuits in an animal’s brain. When an animal forms a fear memory, it is located in the amygdala, which is in the lower, primitive part of the brain. J.E. LeDoux and M. Davis have discovered that fear memories cannot be erased from the brain. This is why it is so important to prevent the formation of fear memories associated with riding, trailering, etc.

For a horse that has previously been fearful of trailers to overcome his fear, the higher brain centers in the cortex have to send a fear suppression signal to the amygdala. This is called the cortical over-ride, which is a signal that will block the fear memory, but does not delete it. If the animal becomes anxious, the old fear memory may pop back up because the cortex stops sending the fear suppression signal.

Fear-based behaviors are complex. Fear can cause a horse to flee or fight. For example, many times when a horse kicks or bites, it is due to fear instead of aggression. In a fear-provoking situation where a horse is prevented from flight, he learns to fight. Dog trainers have learned that punishing a fear-based behavior makes it worse. When a horse rears, kicks or misbehaves during training, it may make the trainer feel angry. The trainer may mistakenly think that the horse is angry. But the horse is much more likely to be scared. Therefore, it is important for the trainer to be calm. An angry trainer would be scary to the horse. There are some situations where a horse may be truly aggressive towards people, but rearing, kicking, running off, etc., during handling or riding is much more likely to be fear-based.

Effects of Genetics

In all animals, both genetic factors and experience determine how an individual will behave in a fear-provoking situation. Fearfulness is a stable characteristic of personality and temperament in animals. Animals with high-strung, nervous temperament are generally more fearful and form stronger fear memories than animals with calm, placid temperament. For example, research on pigs conducted by Ted Friend and his students at Texas A&M University showed that some pigs will habituate to a forced non-painful procedure and others will become more and more fearful.

Pigs were put in a tank where they had to swim for a short time. This task was initially frightening to all of the pigs and caused their adrenaline level to go up. Adrenaline is secreted in both people and animals when they are scared.

Over a series of swimming trials, some pigs habituated and were no longer scared, but others remained fearful throughout the trials. In the pigs that did not habituate, adrenaline stayed elevated, which showed the pigs were still afraid.

It is likely that horses would respond to different training methods in a similar manner. Horses with calm, placid dispositions are more likely to habituate to rough methods of handling and training compared to flighty, excitable animals. The high-strung, spirited horse may be ruined by rough training methods because he becomes so fearful that he fails to learn, or habituate.

On the other hand, an animal with a calm, non-reactive nervous system will probably habituate to a series of non-painful forced training procedures, whereas a flighty, high-strung, nervous animal may never habituate. Horses who are constantly swishing their tails when there are no flies present and have their heads up are usually fearful horses. In the wild, horses put their heads up to look for danger.

Effects of Novelty

As a creature of flight, how a horse reacts to novel or unusual situations or new places can be used to access his true temperament. French scientist Robert Dantzer found that sudden novelty shoved into an animal's face can be very stressful. A horse with a high-strung, fearful nature may be calm and well mannered when ridden at home. However, his true temperament has been masked because he feels relaxed and safe in a familiar environment. When he is confronted with the new sights and sounds at a horse show, he may blow up.

It is the more high-strung and fearful horses who have the most difficulty in novel situations. At the show there are many unusual sights and sounds, such as balloons and loud address systems, which are never seen or heard at home. An animal with a nervous temperament is calm when in a familiar environment - he has learned it is safe - but is more likely to panic when suddenly confronted with new things.

The paradoxical thing about novelty is that it can be extremely attractive to an animal when he can voluntarily approach it. A piece of paper lying in the pasture may be approached by a curious horse, but that same piece of paper lying on the riding trail may make the horse shy. People working with horses and other animals need to think more about how the animals perceive the situations we put them in.

The Relationship Between Training Methods and Temperament

Animals with a nervous, excitable temperament are more fearful than animals with a calm, placid temperament. Flighty, excitable, sensitive animals such as antelopes or Arabian horses are more fearful of new experiences than calm, placid animals such as Hereford cattle or Suffolk sheep. If an excitable animal is frightened during training, it is more likely to develop a fear memory, which can interfere with future training. An animal may become so afraid of something such as a trailer or a squeeze chute that it may be extremely difficult to train the animal to enter it willingly.

It is extremely important that an animal's first experience with something new, such as a horse trailer or a squeeze chute, be as pleasant as possible. A pleasant first experience will help prevent the formation of a fear memory. This is especially important with nervous, excitable animals.

Animals with a calm, placid temperament will habituate if they are repeatedly made to enter a NON-PAINFUL restraint device. Their cortisol (stress hormone) levels will decline after repeated trials of non-painful restraint.

However, the flighty, excitable animal may never habituate. It may become increasingly fearful and more stressed with successive trials. Fear is a very strong stressor.

Horses with a calm, placid temperament can be broken to ride by somewhat forceful methods where they are tied up and have rags and other objects placed on them. The calm, placid animal will habituate as long as no part of the procedure is painful. Animals with a calm temperament learn that what they are being asked to do does not hurt, and gradually get over their initial fear. Animals DO NOT habituate to painful procedures.

The same training method may ruin a sensitive, high-strung animal by causing permanent fear memories. Instead of habituating, the animal becomes increasingly more fearful. The situation becomes so scary for the animal, it can not overcome its fear.

In flighty, excitable animals, many problems that occur during training are due to fear. In calm, placid animals, fear can also interfere with training, but it is less likely to be the sole cause of a training problem.

All animals are fearful of novel situations. Recognizing fear, working calmly and persistently, and never allowing an animal to become so scared that it panics and hurts itself and/or others is the responsibility of everyone who trains animals on any level.

About the Author

Temple Grandin is an associate professor of animal science at Colorado State University. She is the author of the books Thinking in Pictures and Animals in Translation. Television appearances include 20/20, CBS This Morning, and 48 Hours. Dr. Grandin has autism, and her experiences have helped her to understand animal behavior. She teaches a course in livestock handling at the university and consults on the design of livestock handling facilities. Dr. Grandin does not accept e-mail correspondence but may be contacted via: CherylMiller@ColoState.edu. 

Reducing Animal Stress: Thinking the Way Animals Do

By Judith M. Powell, Farming, August 2006

The end of the growing season means that the time has arrived to move livestock from pasture to marketing. Animals that have enjoyed the freedom of self-sufficient grazing over a long, pleasant season are inclined to not respond easily to producers who face the task of moving them. Since they haven't been bothered by people much, livestock are not hep on the idea of getting pushed along into a corral or truck. Wanting as little stress as possible and a safe delivery to market destination, producers approach handling calmly and gently, yet the moving and loading often turns out to be not so fun for either party.

Dr. Temple Grandin, Colorado State Associate professor of animal science, specializes in animal thinking and in visualizing the way that animals do. Grandin suggests that there are simple things producers should do that will make a tremendous difference in the handling experience. Her insight comes from spending decades watching animal behavior and in dissecting the situations that humans put animals though. Her focus study over 30 years provides valuable payoff to producers interested in minimizing animal and human stress. She has achieved a true specialty in understanding how loading beef, pigs, sheep, goats, and horses respond to situations humans create.

Grandin urges producers to look for signals that their animals see by "taking an animal's view of the world." Take your blinders off, she challenges, and start to think sensory - based, like you're an animal. Start by paying careful attention to the little details that seem unimportant to the handler, but are so important to the animals.

"Vision is a dominant trait of all grazing animals," Grandin explains, and an important key to self-protection. Handlers should be watchful and be aware.

She advises producers to be thoughtful about when to work animals. Pick a day that is overcast and avoid the shadows caused by a sunny day, she says, and look for sharp differences in contrasting light and shadows. "Scan your setups. Don't expect animals to move into chutes or buildings with blasts of sunlight pouring into their eyes from gaps in sidewalls. If you have separations where sunlight gets in, cover them and get rid of them. Don't expect animals to walk from shadows into a doorway filled with bright sun. Don't load at sunset or early morning, and don't ask animals to look directly into the sun. Rather, work in the middle of the day. Position chutes so that cattle are headed toward a neutral light at the end - a door opened with quiet natural light the animals will head toward," she says. Working at night is also a good idea, Grandin suggests. When the lights are on, animals are attracted to the building when they see light at an end point, and they'll move in toward the light.

Grandin suggests that chutes be designed so that there is never a dead end. "An animal must be able to see a place ahead to go toward, and the handler needs to move them quietly through. Watch their eyes and ears. Calm animals point their eyes and ears at something that concerns them. You want ears pointed forward and not back and down. Flat-backed ears signal scared or aggressive animals," she warns. In explaining what she terms "the startle response," Grandin is clear in saying not to threaten or challenge. “Keep a safe distance and don't try to dominate by staring directly into their gaze. Turn your head away and give them a break."

"Horses and cattle have poor depth perception," Grandin explains. Give the leaders time to put their head down to examine what's in their path, like a puddle. "A reflection on the ground looks like a shadow, and a shadow looks like a hole in the ground, so let them take the time to look, especially the leader," she says.

Because cattle, pigs and sheep are herd animals, isolation of a single individual should be avoided, she suggests. "Allow the livestock to follow the leader and do not rush them. If they bunch up, handlers should concentrate on moving the leaders instead of pushing from the rear. Use animals’ natural behavior to exert influence over the group," she explains.

Pay attention to what is around your chutes and buildings when you work the animals, and don't load them on gusty days. "Stuff blowing around is the worst distraction. Look around for things that move in the wind," she advises, like flags and flapping coats, and remove them. Don't move cattle near a highway where cars and trucks are going by, and keep the area quiet. "No dogs. And no bikes," she points out. "No bikes when you're loading. Did you ever wonder why your animals seem calm and trained at home, and then you take them to the fair and you can't do anything with them? Get them used to things they'll be faced with beforehand. Decorate the pasture with the stuff they'll see at the fair - balloons, loud music, people passing by, kids on bikes. Let them sniff and walk past this stuff when they're not confined and can flee, and have the kids ride by them on bikes," she says.

Grandin has designed livestock handling facilities across the nation and in Canada, Europe, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries. Her work appears in over 300 scientific journals and livestock periodicals. Her published research examines cattle temperament, environmental enrichment for pigs, reducing dark cutters and bruises in cattle, bull fertility, animal training procedures and effective stunning methods for cattle and pigs in meat plants. Her books include "Livestock Handling and Transport," "Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals," and "Animals in Translation," a New York Times best seller. Grandin describes how she processes information and learns visually as a person with autism, in her book "Thinking in Pictures." "When I put myself in a cow's place, I really have to be that cow and not a person in a cow costume," she writes. "A great deal of my success in working with animals comes from the simple fact that I see all kinds of connections between their behaviors and certain autistic behaviors. Being autistic has helped me to understand how they feel."

Excerpts from her research, as well as handling tips and chute and facility designs, are available at her web site, http://www.grandin.com/.

Camelidynamics, Computers and Camelids

By Marty McGee Bennett
Reprinted from the Llama Living Newsletter, December 2008

Like it or not, I spend as much or more of my time at a computer these days as I do working with camelids. Based on many conversations, I believe I am not alone. Computers are a fact of life, or vocabulary is peppered with new words that didn't exist even twenty years ago. People often come to camelids from disparate walks of life, many with no previous livestock experience, but with a wealth of life experience – much of it on the computer. In my work, teaching, training, and handling techniques, I often think in and use metaphors and analogies as a way of helping people relate to the concepts I am teaching.

I began to think about how the problems and solutions we encounter on our computer screens hit the handling nail right on the head (metaphor intended)! Who hasn't been caught in "screen saver" mode with mouth hanging open and eyes a bit glazed? How many boomers are feeling like the sum total of their life experience is leaving their brain/hard drive a bit dull and in need of "defragging?"

While struggling with a computer issue the other day, I made the decision that I was not going to fix the problem and could live with a "work around." Later that day, I was having lunch with a friend and alpaca breeder. We were discussing a male alpaca she owns — we will call him "Oscar." Oscar has been to several sessions of Camelidynamics Camelid Camp. Camelids come to camp for four days with their name clearly marked on their undies and their favorite snack. The human students work with the assembled animals and amazing transformations take place with both four and two-legged. The last day is "parent's day" and the owners arrive in the afternoon to pick up their animals, learn about what we have been working on, and how to continue where we leave off.

While Oscar has made progress in many areas, his basic issue of extreme halter resistance persists. It occurred to me that a "work around" was not only practical, but also the best and safest course of action. Tackling a problem like this head on (pun intended) with repetition is akin to picking a scab or, to use the computer metaphor, is just exactly like the endless loops we find ourselves in when the same warning window appears each time we execute the same set of commands. It is no more logical to assume that an animal will magically change with rote repetition than to think that a computer will fix itself just because we are frustrated and want it to. Just as with a computer, if you don't like what you get when you hit a key, don't keep hitting that key.

The more we humans insist on getting a halter on by wrestling and fighting, the more we unwittingly teach the alpaca to resist more effectively. Oscar is an animal that is determined that he will not wear a halter unless he has no other choice. He is a big male, is very strong and agile, and is extremely frightened. My guess is that he is a victim of a particularly unpleasant early haltering experience — perhaps innocently forced into a halter that didn't fit with a disastrous first leading experience or tied. A young animal in a halter that doesn't fit, that panics on a lead, is tied to a static object, or can easily pull the halter off of the nose bone. In this case, the halter can compress the cartilage and partially or fully block the airway. When animals can't breathe, they panic and struggle, ironically needing even more of what they can't get – AIR. When this happens accidentally, it is unfortunate, however the deliberate training practice of haltering weanling alpacas or llamas and tying them to a fence to let them "sort it out" is not a safe training shortcut in my opinion. The downside risk is creating what I call a "drowning victim."

Drowning victims are petrified of "THE HALTER" and will hurt themselves and anyone that tries to make them wear one and, just like Oscar, they are often very reasonable with other aspects of management. Once haltered, Oscar is a dream to lead, easy to trim toenails and, surprisingly, once in balance, he will accept touch all over his face, nose, and mouth. Issues that involve haltering or surprise movements around his head will cause this fellow to react suddenly and violently and he has connected more than once with the head of a person working with him.

We can't simply decide to never touch this animal again — it is time to accept a work around! (options below)

• To put a halter on and leave it on. In some cases, the best way to do this may be with a sedative. Once haltered, we must periodically check the safety and comfort of the halter and make sure that the pasture is as safe as it can be...no hooks or wires left sticking out, etc. This is not a perfect solution, but it is a good option for an animal that must be shown or transported and a halter is not optional.
• Use a different way of managing that doesn't involve a halter. As it turns out, this is a perfectly fine solution for Oscar.

I firmly believe that this and many issues can benefit from a "work around." For example, when alpacas or llamas become absolutely unreasonable and determined that they will not allow a human to touch their legs, I teach people to trim toenails while the animal is standing on them. Simply use the nippers to trim off the overgrown part of the toenail without picking the foot up at all. Trimming toenails on the ground is a compromise to be sure, but a perfectly fine "work around" and a perfectly acceptable alternative to a knock down drag out fight.

Using a sedative when doing things that animals cannot tolerate without high levels of restraint is another "work around" that is absolutely reasonable and can be far safer in the long run. In order for a camelid to let go of "looped behaviors" we must figure out a way to get the job done without doing things that reinforce the behaviors we wish to eliminate.

In the case of Oscar (and many more drowning victims that I have had the opportunity to work with), he is easy to lead and very cooperative. My suggestion for this fellow is to manage him using containment. Oscar can be led using a long lead rope attached to a collar placed as high on his neck as possible. This provides a reasonable amount of leverage and control. He can also be wormed, receive injections, and be shorn without using a halter. If he is to be used for breeding, the female can be brought to him or the owners can use a laneway to herd him to a neutral breeding pen or use a combination of a lead rope attached to the top of the neck, offering a reasonable amount of leverage and laneways to get him where he needs to go.

There are other computer metaphors that can help us understand our decidedly animate companions.

SYSTEM FREEZES: Ask an animal for too much too soon or to do too many things at one time, and we overload the system (think high strung weanling at a huge show) and it freezes. It is more efficient and safer to do periodic maintenance and ask for less… but when the system freezes there is nothing to be done but shut down and begin again.

Backing up to much easier tasks with an animal can help to re-boot. When working with animals that are very resistant to having their toenails trimmed, I will often ask the animal to pick up and IMMEDIATELY put the foot down. I repeat this 15-20 times per foot before asking the animal to allow me to hold the foot up for even a second or two. Repetition of this SUCCESSFUL behavior will build lost confidence in the handler and reboot the behavior.

FIXES: When attempting to diagnose a problem, it may be better to address one thing at a time instead of the more scattershot approach we often take to problem solving. Trying too many files at the same time may result in a system crash or if you do manage to fix the problem, you won't know which fix or combination of fixes did the trick.

USER ERROR: Computer problems are just about always a result of user error, but we humans love to swear at and blame the machine. The same thing is true of our relationship with our animals… handler error is the cause of 99.9% of the difficulties we have with our wooly buddies and, just like a computer, animals don't lose any sleep over our decision that isn't their fault! The sooner we realize that we bear the responsibility, the sooner we can set about figuring out the solution.

GARBAGE IN / GARBAGE OUT: As wonderful as a computer is, the quality of the output is only as good as the input. Handle your animals well and you train them to do good things, handle your animals badly and you train them to do bad things. Using methods that are unkind and disrespectful seldom result in a truly good solution.

INCOMPATIBILITY: Load a Mac program on a PC or try to use a program that is too big for the capacity of the RAM, and incompatibility becomes a problem. Some animals and some owners are just not a good fit and there is no shame in making that decision. One person's bane can be another's blessing. Some animals do better in a large herd, others in a small herd. Some camelids are not cut out for the show ring regardless of how lovely they look. Some males are too aggressive to live in company, while others are too easy going to be good breeders. Some females are not good mothers. Some animals are not appropriate for new owners. Recognizing and then accepting that you have an incompatibility issue can give you peace of mind.

That just about exhausts my list of computer comparisons. I think I will say so long, happy handling, and go outside on this beautiful day to spend some quality time with my llamas and alpacas!

Did you read the Camelid Companion and think, "Finally, THIS is how I want to handle my llamas or alpacas!" Did you come to a clinic and get really excited about the techniques, but then lose touch with the ideas and your commitment to them after you got home? Have you had problems with an animal and wanted the counsel from someone that understands the way YOU want to do things? Do you want to learn more about kind, efficient, respectful, and fun handling? Do you want to teach others the Camelidynamics approach? Consider the Camelidynamics Guild! For more information about Marty McGee Bennett and Camelidynamics visit www.camelidynamics.com.

Haltering the Untouched Llama

By Gary Kaufman, Roads End Llamas, Reprinted from the SELR Newsletter, Vol. 2 Issue 3, June 2008

One of the hardest processes I have to deal with is trying to define any given llama's spatial 'comfort zone' during any training session. If you have the ability to, create a large space, round, square, or any shape you can create fine. It's not the shape that's important at this time, just working within a space.

Time is your friend, and llama time and people time are not the same thing. The other thing that is surprisingly critical is that you keep breathing and BE CASUAL. These guys live and die by understanding the nature of body language, and anything that is interpreted as threatening will be. If you move around in your regular life briskly during tasks, keep that same pace when with him; if you are a 'slow mover' then move slow when you are with him during training. Be consistent.

So... llama is in big space with YOU in the center. Angled facing towards his head, just behind his ribcage off his flank and he should walk forward or angle away from where you are standing. Keep distance and don't chase, just 'move him out' with your body. Angled facing towards his head a bit but more off his front shoulders and with the right space between you and him, he should stop moving. Do it all slowly and from a reasonable distance. The minute he stops moving, start watching his feet, say a command ["AND STAND"] BEFORE he shifts his weight or moves a foot, then take a half step backwards, turn around and walk away. Remember the distance that was between the two of you, go get a cup of coffee and give him a very small amount of something he likes to eat in a bowl. Come back after your coffee, but BEFORE he starts stressing about being confined, and do it one more time. See if that space of his standing can shrink a bit. If it doesn't, oh well, if it does COOL. Walk away, feed him a bit more and call it a day, unless you think he is ready for more. Each time, shrink that space until you think you are close enough to touch him. When you can reach out and touch him, that is literally all you do; reach out touch him with a quick stroke and walk away. I wouldn't do it all in one day by any stretch of the imagination, but I've seen it done in under an hour with some pretty wild guys. At some point during the process, he will eventually turn into you when you turn your back and start walking away. That is a good sign. You are building a relationship of trust and leadership.

When you get to the point where he is willing to let you be within a 10 foot area, you could certainly shrink the space a bit and keep on going. The objective is to make him a willing partner in the process of being touched and handled. Then you deal with the halter.

Time, time, time and being consistent are going to be the allies in your partnership. I'm not sure I would even make this an everyday thing, but every time you have the opportunity to just "touch him" take it. You aren't trying to do any-thing. Just walk by, reach out and brush some part of his body without even stop-ping to breath.

It's hard to explain verbally, but if you ever watch horse training shows, you can apply this to that process. When you watch, listen or attend a Cathy Spalding clinic, John Mallon clinic, or Marty McGee-Bennett clinic, the single common thread you will find in all of them, although they all call it different stuff, is your positioning and placing yourself in a location of control of the space, AND using your body to assist the animal in understanding what you want him to do. That is decidedly different from what you DON'T want them to do. I suggest that you check out your local llama association. They have a lending library for members I assume, but will also probably be able to assist you with someone who is a member and might live nearby.

Basic Training From Nose to Toes!

By Shari Templeton, Ridge Mist Llama & Alpaca Supplies

Perhaps the scariest and saddest attitude or practice we encounter, on an all too regular basis, is that of well-intentioned llama owners who believe they are properly fitting halters when they are not and the common practice of ignoring overgrown nails. The serious neglect of proper care for nails and noses is not reserved for the new owners or those transferring their livestock practice from one breed to another. Many long time llama owners and breeders fail to attend to these incredibly important aspects of camelid life.

When to Halter Train

On our own farm, halter training a young llama occurs in stages. First we fit them to a halter in the confines of a small area-- typically when they are three to five months old and while mom is eating her daily grain ration. We repeat this step three times in a week period. Each time the llama wears the halter for just 5 to 15 minutes, and no attempt is made to attach a lead. We believe llamas have the least difficultly in accepting a lead rope if they are walked with mom (and mom only) at an age in which they are still emotionally dependent on mom. Ideally, two handlers should be involved so that the cria has a personal trainer. The first walks consist of a trip around the lawn alongside the security of mom. Once the cria begins the social separation from mom, stage three begins. We will walk the cria/weanling with an older sibling or another cria/weanling now, exposing them to short stints slightly off the confines of the farm as they know it, e.g., a short walk on a road, into a nearby unfenced pasture, along a wooded trail.

Fitting a Halter

A well-fitting halter is vital to both the safety and comfort of your animal. Halters should be strong yet flexible so as not to cause abrasions on the nose, chin, or behind the cars. A properly fit halter (fig. 1) is one in which the noseband is high on the nose and somewhat close to the eyes without risking the movement into the eye if a quick pull occurs. Two to three fingers should fit comfortably between the chin of the animal and the bottom of the chinstrap... no more, no less. The headpiece should be high and just below the ears. It should not slide down the neck at all. Avoid the extremes: a halter that is too tight restricts the ruminant's ability to chew cud while a halter that is too loose is a disaster waiting to happen. A loose halter may slide down into the danger zone of a llama's nose, i.e., that area of the nose that is only supported by cartilage and not bone (fig. 2), resulting in llama panic and suffocation. If a training session is long or difficult, the fit of the halter should be checked periodically, as it is possible for adjustable halters to slip in a struggle.

While x-style halters may work for trained llamas, they should not be used while training a lama. Should the animal pull, the noseband tightens and could result in panic. During training, any tension felt in the halter should be felt on the back of the head (on the headpiece strap).

Halters should never be left on for extended periods of time. The only exception to this may be while traveling, at a show, or at an event. In these cases, it may be in the best interest to leave a halter on for the safety of the animal should there be an accident or an escape where an animal would need to be moved quickly or caught. At these times, it may also be necessary to give them a hair more than the two to three finger rule of space to encourage them to relax enough to chew their cud comfortably.

Nail Trimming

Nail needs vary tremendously from animal to animal, and from farm to farm, depending on the individual animal's nail growth rates and depending on the types of surfaces the animal typically walks over. All too often, we have visited farms where nails are beginning to curl under, impeding the entire process of picking up a llama's foot to work on it because the owner lacks the knowledge of how to trim the nails. The clear implication is that if the owner is a breeder, animals will be sold without training the buyer in basic foot care and a new generation of neglect is begun!

We were originally taught how to trim nails by a veterinarian from the Baltimore Zoo while at a GALA conference years ago. The best advice we received was in how to plant one human leg between the two llama legs (whether front or rear) while facing the rear of the lama. This leg serves several purposes: it lets the llama know who is in charge, it is less stressful to the llama due to the added support of his/her body while on three legs, and it positions the owner closely so that the foot is easily accessible. The front leg can be grasped comfortably and folded so that the foot is face up. Nail clippers then lie on the pad of the foot while clipper tips face the rear of the animal. First, snip off either side of the nail, then snip off the tip in two to three swipes. Lastly, we snip off a tad extra from the very tip. The finished nails should be even with the pad. Don't panic at the sight of blood. The quick tends to grow downward and it is not uncommon to catch a bit of the quick. If bleeding does not stop shortly, more attention may be required. When trimming the rear legs, be sure to tuck the leg (hock joint) strongly into your own body while firmly grasping the lower portion (fetlock joint) for trimming; our animal will relax sooner with a firm immobilization of his/her leg. Most animals have a preferred side; start there.

Alpacas and Llamas: On Becoming Bi-spec-ial

By Marty McGee Bennett, Reprinted from The Llama Letter, Winter 2003

As much as we may try, one size really does not fit all. One kind of vehicle can't do everything. There are hundreds of breeds of dogs. And I don't think one kind of camelid can do it all either. Alpacas and llamas each have something different and unique to offer and conveniently, they are quite easy to manage together. Llamas are absolutely the best pack animals, have unique fiber, and are funny and smart. But for quantity and quality you'd be hard pressed to find a wool producer with a more engaging personality than an alpaca. Get some of each species and you have the best of both worlds - you become bi-special.

For those of you that may be considering branching out, this article is my attempt to contrast and compare the two species from a training and handling point of view. For those of you just starting out and thinking about one or the other, you may have a llama and an alpaca in your future! My intention is to compare llamas and alpacas to each other, and I will, but along the way I think it will be useful to compare camelids to other species with which many people are more familiar.

Llamas and alpacas are smaller than horses, and for that reason it is easier, safer, and more tempting to use force with them than with a horse. Owners of both species use methods on llamas and alpacas they wouldn't think of trying with a larger animal. I have watched in amazement the "football team" method of toenail trimming with llamas and have often witnessed alpacas up-ended or picked up and moved when they are resistant to initial non-forceful attempts at training. A camelid's smaller size can be deceiving. It can be quite startling to find out that when you truly mix it up with a camelid, they are pound for pound much harder to wrestle with than one would think. A camelid's anatomy, specifically its long neck, makes it difficult and dangerous (for the animal) to control using the head. The body can be waving around wildly even with the head held firmly in place. Therefore, in order to really control the body, you have to hold on to the whole thing... a very tall order. All camelids are extremely supple and athletic and in the case of suri alpacas, almost "slippery."

Alpacas, being the smaller of the two species, almost invite a handler to resort to force when faced with resistance. When compared to llamas, I have heard alpaca enthusiasts use an alpaca's smaller size as a marketing point when contrasting them with llamas. If an alpaca won't go along with the program you simply pick them up or lay them down. While this is certainly true, and maybe physically possible, it may not be the most effective way to end up with an alpaca that enjoys his or her association with people. Picking up a resistant alpaca serves to reinforce its tendency to lay down when uncertain, and this can be a difficult habit to break. It’s much better not to teach an alpaca to resort to the kushing behavior in the first place. For reasons both ethical and practical, learning animal handling skills that work for camelids is key to enjoying both species.

Camelids are often characterized as aloof, eschewing human touch and preferring to remain at arm's length. I disagree. I do find both species to be more like a cat than a dog, but when approached properly they are every bit as interested in a relationship with humans as their feline soul mates. There are cats that will allow almost any indignity, but for the most part one must learn how to approach these animal aristocrats with respect. Imagine the behavior of a cat that was chased into a corner and grabbed, then held on its owner's lap against its will. I would wager a cat living under these conditions would learn to run from the room as the human entered, take refuge under the furniture and perhaps resort to scratching and biting to make an escape. Under these circumstances would it be fair to comment "Oh that is just the way cats are..." when in fact that is not the way cats are? We create much of the undesirable behavior we see in camelids by our actions and then, with an arrogance uniquely human, we characterize their reaction to us as natural camelid behavior. I couldn't agree more. Camelids are naturally shy, but they can learn to trust and enjoy humans that behave in a trustworthy manner.

It is critical to organize your barn and pastures so that you can herd animals anywhere you desire efficiently. On the other hand, offering grain to encourage your camelids to come when called and to enter the catch pen willingly is smart management. Once in the catch pen, catching your camelid with a wand and a rope rather than cornering and holding them around the neck will result in alpacas and llamas that will be more comfortable in your presence. Using the corner-grab-hold method teaches the animal, be it a llama or alpaca, to maintain an “arm's length" attitude.

I use a wand with a clip on the end, along with a rope to catch alpacas and llamas that are resistant to being caught (almost all of them). There is no way to evade the wand and rope method; the handler can stay safely away from the hindquarters and the animal feels much safer. I do my best to stay behind the animal's eye as I bring the rope over the head. I bring the rope over the head both from rear-to-front and front-to-rear, although I usually opt for the rear to front method for really nervous animals. Large llamas that have learned they can escape from a human by throwing the full weight of the body into the arm will be amazed at the new power of their handler and begin to look at humans with more respect.

Lightening fast alpacas are flummoxed by the wand-rope method and quickly learn to settle down and allow human approach. This method allows a handler to easily work with more than one animal in the catch pen at a time.

One of the basic differences between llamas and alpacas is their reaction to being isolated. I find that alpacas are much more dependent on the presence of the herd. An isolated alpaca will have a very hard time thinking and will concentrate solely on escape. It is very difficult to teach an animal when it is unable to think. Working alpacas in groups will help keep the whole group calm, especially the more nervous ones. This generalization about isolation is just that — a generalization. When faced with a nervous llama that is consumed with escape, my first choice is always to provide another llama for company before continuing with my training and handling efforts.

Controlling an animal's movement is part of what makes it possible for them to live in our world. Typically we use the head for control, as it provides the greatest leverage and power over the animal's movement. This is another aspect of camelid handling and training that has, in my opinion, suffered from an inattention to a camelid's unique anatomy. A camelid skull is very different, both in size and configuration, than that of a horse, mule, or donkey. Both llamas and alpacas are semi-obligate nasal breathers and cannot sustain themselves by breathing out of their mouth alone. Far too many halters are manufactured with nosebands that are too small and do not allow the handler to properly place the noseband of the halter well up on the nose bone. Often, those halters that do have a noseband that is large enough do not have a properly proportioned crown piece that will keep the noseband in place when the halter is used for leading. Nosebands that can slip down and off a camelid's very short nose bone restrict airflow and will almost routinely create panic. Once panicked, the animal is even more at risk from the ill-fitting halter. An alpaca's smaller size makes him even more vulnerable to a poorly fitting halter. Delicately built and young alpacas are even more at risk. Not all skulls are the same and it is crucial to palpate the nose to see exactly how much bone is available to support the noseband prior to attaching a lead rope to the halter. Because halter fit is so tricky with alpacas in particular, I find it best to do herd management chores without even putting one on. Organize your property so that animals can be herded to handling areas. Work the animals in small spaces in groups using balancing techniques rather than restraint, and a halter shouldn't be necessary.

When a halter is needed, I fit it correctly using a three-step procedure. I adjust the noseband so that it is much larger than I think I need (because alpacas perform better and stay calmer when wearing a halter that fits). An alpaca that is asked to wear a halter that is uncomfortable will often begin to exhibit problem behaviors that may not seem to be related to halter fit, such as spitting, laying down, or resistance to catching. Much of the misbehavior evident in the show ring is directly related to improper halter fit, and can be greatly improved by paying close attention to this issue.

When it comes to teaching a camelid to lead, I find alpacas and llamas differ pretty significantly. Llamas are more independent and are quicker to venture away from the herd and so, are more likely to follow the handler. Alpacas, on the other hand, are more emotionally tied to their herd and so are more easily moved around on a lead if they can follow another alpaca. Unfortunately, there are times and circumstances when the alpaca must follow a human handler alone. Halter fit, how signals are given on the lead, along with lead rope placement, directly contributes to the tendency of many alpacas to lay down when learning to follow a human on a lead rope. Since alpacas are smaller in stature than llamas, there is a higher probability and tendency for the handler to inadvertently include an upward component to the signal to move forward. When the handler pulls forward and up on the lead, the alpaca will normally raise the head and also drop the back. This body stance will tend to lock the pelvis and inhibit forward movement. You can get a feel for what this is like by trying this exercise. Bend at the waist and raise your head and hollow your back (the two tend to go together). Now raise your knee. You will probably notice that your balance is affected negatively and you cannot raise your knee very high. Conversely, if you lower your head, round your back, and raise your knee, you will notice that you have better balance as well as more freedom of movement in your pelvis. While this is certainly not directly applicable to what happens when you lead an animal, I have seen greatly improved performance in both llamas and alpacas when handlers have taken leading pressure off of the head, allowing the animal to incline the head slightly forward as he walks. You will have a higher degree of success, particularly with rookies, if you hook your lead rope to the side ring on the noseband of a halter, instead of underneath. This technique tends to inhibit the natural tendency of an untrained alpaca to resist forward signals on the lead, with hindquarters seemingly growing roots at the same time. It will also give you more ability to steer and more control.

Heightened awareness of the type and quality of the signal you give your alpaca will also make a difference to his comfort, as well as his performance. Striving for slight contact (connection) with the lead rope and using a squeezing signal as if you were squeezing a sponge will work much better than either an abrupt tug and release signal, or steady pressure.

Given the smaller size of alpacas, and the sensitivity of both llamas and alpacas, more subtle signals are probably appreciated, as well as more effective. Another easy thing to do that will make leading much easier for both of you is simply lighten up on the rope, get as far away as your lead rope will allow, and give your camelid more space!

While alpacas and llamas differ in many ways both physically and behaviorally, using logical handling methods rather than force, and encouraging an animal to think rather than react instinctively, will work for both. I haven't personally raised alpacas, and for the past little over a year, our family of two and four-leggeds (a pooch and two cats) has lived in a motor home. After touring the United States and searching for a new place to settle, we decided on Bend, Oregon, arguably the “camelid capitol" of the United States. Our house is in town and we haven't brought any camelids into our lives as yet, but you can be sure that when we do we will be bi-spec-i-al!

For more information about the Camelidynamics Guild, Camelidynamics and Marty McGee Bennett, visit www.cameliddynamics.com.