Halter Training - not as you know it!

Sam had his first driving lesson yesterday - and really enjoyed it.  I have to book his theory test for him now and next week he is having a two hour lesson - if he can get the time off!

The last two days have been lovely and DRY which means the mud has been drying and moving around in the field is much easier.  Sam also had this afternoon off so we decided to get going with the halter training.  Now if you have not halter trained alpacas before take note first that this is NOT how it is done!  Read elsewhere for impeccably behaved alpacas being halter trained!

We started with Trouble - the bottle fed (Bert's baby) and Bea (Belinda's baby).  Both of them were not bothered about having their halters on, being held or halter adjustment.  They stood beautifully - and that was the problem!  They continued to stand beautifully and flatly refused to move!  My normal - ratchet, ratchet, ratchet technique had no effect, nor did a shove from behind!  So there we stood for a good 5 minutes!

Time to move on to the next two - Greeves and Yossarian.  Again - no problem to walk up to and catch, no problem with halter on or adjustment.  Greeves was marginally better as he did move, kind of - but more of a shuffle than a walk!  He looks okay when we are standing still!

Yossarian, however, was the worst ever!  And we were considering he might be our entree into the show circuit this year - maybe one little show with him and another youngster to be decided?  I think not!  He did move - a few paces and then either jumped in the air and slammed down on his side of just collapsed sideways!  In both cases he then lay silently feigning dead!  Spike got quite concerned about him!

And if you can bear to wait for it to download here he is in action!

And - yes- I know his halter has slipped down his nose!