Boreas has rye face which is a condition wherein the jaw becomes twisted more and more as the llama ages. He was trained and handled the same as all of our crias. But almost from the beginning, he was totally UNRULY with a halter on. The show ring was a fun (LOL) experience with him jumping around and acting crazy. Haltering was a chase. To shear him we took him to the vets where they totally knocked him out. Then we sheared like mad before he woke up. We did this for several years because we just could not take the ‘fight’ and man-handling any more.
About 2 years ago, I took a 2-day Camelidynamics clinic. At that time, I purchased several Zephyr halters to try. But first, I tried many of the other CameliDynamics techniques with Boreas all with the same result: crazy.
Then I put a Zephyr halter on him. It was a miracle the first time. Now he is his totally loving, well-behaved self. Easy to halter and easy to shear. We use no drugs now to shear him; .he just stands in the chute, stomps his hind legs (very funny to watch) and voile, the fiber come off.
Hind-sight is a beautiful thing as I now realize that the previous halters, with his mis-shapen face, were restricting his breathing so of course he went into a panic. No more.
I use Zephyr halters on all of the llamas now. They all, even with ‘normal’ faces are more relaxed and easier to handle.
Kathy Stanko, Colorado
