Winter - Classical Mileend Alpacas

Health and Welfare Showing Off
steward knows that the movement will
likely be away from the judge’s body
so he assumes a position on the right
side of the animal. The handler forms
the third side by standing directly in
front of the alpaca about a foot away
from the nose – right hand on the lead
close to the halter fi ngers of the left
hand lightly on the neck (see photo
below) The handler focuses on the feet
and works to keep the animal’s weight
evenly distributed over both front feet.
Remembering to release when the
animal is in balance. Balancing can
always be ‘Plan A’. If it is obvious that
the animal needs more support the
handler and ring steward are both in
a position to move to ‘Plan B’ and add
more restraint but remember…
LAW OF CAMELIDYNAMICS:
Alpacas get better at what they
practice. Fight with your alpaca
and he will get better at escape
and evasion!
Alpacas generally fi ght restraint to
one degree or another. Try to hold an
animal still and his fi rst response is to
fi ght that restraint. There are generally
two kinds of alpacas; the kind that
give in easily to restraint and the kind
that don’t. The kind of alpaca that
gives in easily really doesn’t need to
be restrained and will quite happily
stand in balance when he learns that
he can. The kind of alpaca that won’t
give in just gets worse and becomes
more and more determined to fi ght
his way out of what he sees as a
dangerous situation. I have seen big
strong athletic people end up on their
keister in the ring when they tried to
fi ght one of these alpacas. Not only
does this look unprofessional but it
42 Alpaca World Magazine Winter 2004/05
can also result in injury to animal,
handler or both and renders the animal
unshowable by all but the strongest
of handlers. The good news is that a
majority of the animals that fi ght the
hardest when restrained, respond
the most positively when given an
opportunity to stand without restraint.
The trick is that most people do not
know how to fully release pressure on
a lead and put an animal in balance. †
Most handlers feel more secure with
pressure on the lead and that pressure
is what pushes the panic button and
actually causes the problem.
I want to leave you with just a
couple of examples of how the
principals of balance and containment
can help problem solve for ring
stewards and handlers.
Scenario 1: An exhibitor is having
trouble showing the animal’s bite. The
animal rears and twists away from the
handler before he can show the bite.
In my experience the handler is
likely taking the animal out of balance
by pulling the animal into his body
thereby causing the animal to carry all
the weight on the left front leg. This
pushes the fi ght button. This problem
happens to lots of people but is really
common with shorter handlers.
Solving the problem. The handler
concentrates on lifting the elbow of
the right arm so that it is higher on
the neck as he shows the bite. With
the arm up high the handler has more
leverage and control over the head.
The handler also concentrates on
putting more weight on the animal’s
right leg. The ring steward can also
help out by moving up next to the
right side of the alpaca near the front
of the animal. This builds the catch
pen-handler on the left, ring steward
on the right and judge in front looking
at the bite (see photo right).
Scenario 2: the alpaca swings his
body away as the judge approaches
on the left to fl eece check.
In my experience this is often
caused by the handler applying steady
pressure on the lead rope. An alpaca
pivots around his front legs where
most of his weight is naturally borne.
Holding steadily on the lead while
standing on the animal’s left the
natural tendency is for the alpaca’s
butt to swing in the opposite direction.
Solving the problem: As the judge
approaches the animal from the left
the handler uses his lead rope to
move the animals weight to the right
front leg and moves to the front of
the animal. This will help prevent the
alpaca from swinging his butt to the
right and closes the ‘front door’, the
ring steward moves to the animal’s
right side to form the third side of the
catch pen as the judge walks up on
the left.
Notice in both of these examples
the ring steward can help immensely
without touching the animal. Many
people object to the ring steward
grabbing their animal. The job of ring
steward is a tough one. The judge
expects the ring steward to help him
inspect the fl eece the exhibitor quite
often wants and needs help. A ring
steward that learns where to stand
without reaching for restraint fi rst off,
can do a good job of helping both the
judge and the exhibitor – a win-win!
What more could you want at a show!
* You can just as easily use these
techniques standing on the right side
of the animal checking the fl eece
on the left just remember the ring
steward will always stand on the side
opposite the judge.
† Learning to balance an animal is a
handling skill that requires practice.
I have written many articles about
the concept of balance and my book
“The Camelid Companion” has
entire sections devoted to the topic.
Reading this material and practising
the exercises will help you learn the
technique.
Part Two of Marty
McGee’s Showing Off!
follows in the Spring
issue of Alpaca World
Magazine