Llama Training

Llamas.  Cute, cuddly, and all the rage.  That's what I thought as I entered the new (to me) and exciting world of 4-H Llama showing.  And then we went to our first meeting.

My two boys wriggling with excitement, we were shown where to find the lead lines and harnesses, the leader pointed out our llamas in the herd, and then she said, "Go!"  We looked at her.  You mean we have to catch them?  She smiled.

So off we went.  We started out running after them, and then discovered that they're quite quick.  Quickly we learned to work together to herd them, trap the one we want, and then hug them quick to get their halters on them and lead them to the barn to tie them up for grooming.  My older son jumped into this as if he'd been doing it all his life.  I was more tentative, worrying about breaking the llamas by mistake (I have since learned not to worry about that).  My youngest attempted to groom his llama from about five feet away, leaning way over to briefly touch it with the tip of the brush.

I was quickly introduced to a baby named Iron Will (just Will for short).  He is small, with brown and white patterns, and he is fluffy and adorable.  I discovered quickly with llamas that they'll dart away from your hand if you reach out, but if you lean forward with your head and leave your hands at your sides, they'll lean in with their noses and sniff you, essentially giving you kisses.  So I leaned in toward Will to do a llama kiss, and he puffed back at me the most foul breath you've ever smelled coming from a llama.  Now I call him Smelly.  I tried brushing him, and discovered quickly that he doesn't like his back legs brushed because he ninja kicked backward and managed to nail my thumb on my right hand.  Then he looked back at me, batted his eyes, and seemed to say, "I'm so sorry; I did not mean to do that."  And I forgave him in the name of instinct.  Llamas will kick out because predators come for their legs.  I have since learned that every time Will does something naughty he gives that charming look and manipulates his way out of trouble.  Now I call him Smelly and Evil.

My boys and I have learned much about llamas.  Did you know that you can train llamas to do tricks?  They have been teaching them to go through tunnels, up and down stairs, walk through hula hoops, and my favorite, let the handler hold one of their legs.  Llamas instinctively sit down which has invariable pinned both of my boys underneath them in their attempt to accomplish this task.

Now it's fair time.  The boys will be showing off their new talents at controlling llamas, a completely laughable thing since I'm pretty sure the llamas are in control of us.  We love them, despite all of their evil tendencies, and look forward to our successes and failures at the fair.  My boys are already talking about next year...

Here's a funny Youtube clip with llama tricks: