Winter Fun With Llamas

By Bev Henry

The packing season is over and the high country is buried under several feet of snow. This is no reason for your llamas to get fat and lazy. The winter months provide a welcome rest for hard working commercial strings of llamas. Most of us, however, do not have the opportunity to work our llamas all that much, and the critters welcome a little exercise to break the monotony of winter.

Crisp blue and silver days, with bright sunshine and fresh powder snow, provide a perfect opportunity for a little fun. Llamas seem to enjoy frolicking in the snow as much as we humans do.

When we lived in northern BC, winter occupied about eight months of the year, so we learned to make the most of it. Our home, on the shores of a small lake, was across the water from about fifty miles of little-used wilderness trails. These trails had been constructed by the local ski and snowmobile clubs years before.

Any time after Christmas, the ice was safe to walk on; we always waited until the first snowmobiles had crossed. On sunny weekends we'd fix a lunch, take a few llamas and bike across the ice and up the mountain trails. Packed snowmobile trails were perfect for winter hiking. The llamas seemed to have good traction with their flexible footpads and sharp toenails for gripping.

We often turned the llamas loose for a little fun. The trails were a welcome change for them, as we had limited space at home for our first few geldings. Once we had crossed the ice, we would turn the llamas loose. It was a very safe area with no roads nearby, and we rarely met other trail users.

The boys loved to go blasting off at a gallop, exploring the route ahead and then racing back to see what was taking us so long. I often thought they were like a bunch of kids let out of school for Christmas holidays.

One bright and sunny New Year's day we were heading up the mountain and had turned the youngster, Rowdy, loose to burn off some energy. He was somewhere ahead of us. We heard a snowmobile approaching and hoped Rowdy had enough sense to get off to the side. The snow was deep and trails were narrow, wooded, and uneven, so snowmobiles never traveled very fast. We came around a bend to see a young man on his machine at a dead halt, face to face with Rowdy, who wasn't about to yield an inch. The look of stunned disbelief on the man's face was priceless.

He was expecting moose, he said. For a few brief seconds, he had feared he was still suffering the aftereffects of wild partying the night before. We all had a good chuckle, shoveled out a passing lane, and continued on our way.

Another favorite winter pastime for the llamas and us is sledding. My carting team took to this like ducks to water. A child's sturdy molded plastic sled, a few lengths of plastic conduit pipe, a few fittings, and Voila! A llama open sleigh. Often we'd have a lineup of neighborhood kids waiting for a turn when we hitched up a llama and sleigh. It was a great way to meet the neighbors.

So don't let winter slow you down. Put on your thinking cap, look in the garage at the kids' old winter toys -- maybe something could be put to use. Or get out the packsaddles and panniers, the camp stove, hot chocolate and cookies. Dig out your winter long johns and hit the trails for a day of adventure. Even overnight camping trips can be a delight with proper winter equipment.

The hushed silence of the woods after a fresh snow; the startling rifle crack of freezing pitch pockets in the tall sentinel pines; the sudden flurry of a grouse exploding out of the powder snow -- wonderful ways to refresh your spirit after a hard week at work. The sparkling rainbow prism of hoarfrost on wild rose hips, mysterious tracks through the bush and the llamas' quivering noses and ears thrust keenly forward at every bend in the trail all add a little spice to those long dreary winter months. There's a whole new season out there just waiting for you and your llamas.

Hmmm… just think what fun you could have with a two rope and skis...

Bev Henry has been involved with pack llamas since 1997 and is now breeding athletic pack stock along with husband Barry in Barrier, British Columbia, Canada. Bev and Barry are focusing on preserving the old style Ccara llamas. Bev comes from a background of a lifetime training and riding performance horses, is an amateur outdoor photographer, and an artist who interprets her images in pencil and watercolor.

Keeping Them Warm

By Bev Henry

Camelid Quarterly, March 2009

Many areas of North America are experiencing severe and usual weather conditions, and this past winter was a harsh one. Most of us have some sort of shelter for our llamas to take refuge from the weather. But when sub-zero temperatures are accompanied by winds, a simple shelter, or even unheated barn, may not give enough protection. Deep bedding such as straw will help, but even that may not be adequate for our seniors.

Old llamas tend to have difficulty maintaining their weight at the best of times, with their worn teeth and less efficient digestive systems. Bitter cold weather will drain energy reserves and our faithful companions can drop weight very quickly under such conditions. A simple coat can make a world of difference, and now is a good time to start planning for next winter. There are many good and reasonably priced llama coats on the market, but for those of you who like to create, they are easy and relatively inexpensive to make. You will need:

• About 1.5 yards of 60” wide water repellant outer fabric.
• A single bed size gray wool army blanket or similar.
• About 6.5 yards 1.5” wide webbing and 2 or 3 one-inch Fastex buckles.

Check the outdoor wear section of your local fabric store for suitable fabrics. The remnant table is a good place to look for bolt ends at bargain prices. For the outer shell, you will want a tough and water repellant fabric such as ripstop nylon or Cordura, and those gray army blankets are perfect for liners. Try the army surplus stores and thrift shops for any sort of wool blankets — they don't have to be new. It's a good idea to wash them first, to allow for shrinkage.

The 1.5" polyester webbing is for binding the outside edge, and for tail loop, girth, and chest fasteners. There are several types of synthetic webbing available, but if you can find it, I like the soft polyester webbing rather than the stiffer and less Flexible nylon webbing used for halters.

The best way to custom fit your llama is to use an old sheet for a pattern. But for the average llama, a rough measurement from the base of tail to base of neck plus 12" will be fine. A llama weighing about 325 lbs and about 45" shoulder height with a back length of 38" will need a coat measuring about 50" along the bottom edge from chest to tail end. I use these measurements for a medium size coat. Add or subtract about 2" in overall length for larger or smaller llamas. Depth (top of shoulder to bottom hem of coat) should be 26" or maybe 28" For tall llamas.

Lay out the fabric for the shell, folded in half- the way the fabric came off the bolt and the way it will sit on your llama. Mark the start of the cut for the neck opening about 14" back from the neck edge. Make a second mark about 11" down from the front edge. Cut a smooth curve between these marks for the neck opening. Once you have the shell cut, use it as a pattern for the wool liner.

Lay the two pieces together right sides out and pin & stitch a length of web binding (about 1" ? width) folded over to bind the raw edges. I double stitch this for strength, with the two stitching lines ?” apart.

Or, if you don't want to bother binding the edge, you can just lay the two pieces together, right sides to the inside, and stitch around the edge, leaving a gap to turn the whole thing right side out. Finish with one or two lines of topstitching around the edge.

When I made my first llama coat, I patterned it after a standard horse blanket, with a girth strap, chest straps and straps to go around the hind legs to keep it in place. Llamas, however, are far more agile and flexible than horses, resulting in torn coats and spooked llamas. Being a packer, I then thought of the crupper strap (under the tail) used to hold some packsaddles in place. That worked perfectly.

For the crupper strap, cut a piece of webbing about 20” long, fold in half lengthwise and stitch securely to the tail end of the coat, about 2" down each side from the center fold line. Overlap the webbing onto the coat by a couple of inches to leave plenty of room to secure it.

Velcro fasteners on the chest straps tend to come undone on a very active llama. Better to use one or two Fastex buckles or a metal snap here. For the girth strap (belly band), I used a Fastex buckle as well, together with a slider for adjustment.

Stitch the chest straps to the coat so that the edges of the coat overlap an inch or two for warmth when the buckles are fastened. Check the girth strap for length on your llama before attaching it.

Webbing and Fastex buckles should be available in tack shop or army surplus stores, if you can't find them in your fabric shop. Or check the thrift stores - many kids backpacks are loaded with webbing snaps and buckles that can be re-used.

I do machine wash and dry these coats from time to time, and rejuvenate them with a spray on waterproof product formulate for tents and outdoor use.

Keep safety in mind. Make sure the girth and chest straps are snuggly fastened to lessen the possibility of the llama hooking a toenail in a strap. Unless you are sure the coat is totally waterproof, I would be very cautious about leaving it on for long periods in wet weather. I know from experience as a hiker that a leaky wet coat is a good way to get chilled in a hurry.

Check your barns and paddocks for any places where a coat could get snagged. And do keep a close eye on llamas wearing coats, to ensure their comfort and safety.