My name is Robert Applegate, I am a CameliDynamics Senior Consultant, and when I read Marty's article on 'slacklead' vs. 'Neutral Contact', I e-mailed Marty the following dissertation, along with two videos demonstrating 'light contact', she has asked me to post these. The videos are rather raw, and the dissertation rambles a bit, but the point is this (for me): When I am with an animal and I have them on a lead - it is MY responsibility to be aware of their actions and safety, thus I attempt to maintain 'light contact' AT ALL TIMES. This way I know of any activity by the animal within a 6 inch parameter, and can pre-empt, or allow the activity, with a very small movement of my 'working fingers'. I do not hold the lead in my fist, I drop the lead over the top of my 'working fingers' and in between my 'holding fingers' of my 'working hand' so all I have to do to affect my trained animal is crook my 'working fingers' in a 'Please come to me' motion or 'please stand' lift and they usually respond by balancing themselves, taking a breath, and responding to my signal. I hope my dialogue and videos are of use to all that wish to do the 'Alpaca Waltz', where you and your animal glide across the pen like satin using your imperceptible, clear signals with your 'partner' and your 'partner's' imperceptible yet clear response. It's really beautiful to watch a handler and their 'partner' glide. Here is my dissertation to Marty, I was not able to upload any of the videos - files were too large. Marty: Oh lord, after the recent newsletter discussing light contact, slacklead (J-lead); I'm mortified! I've been calling your 'light contact' slacklead ever since I was a kid walking daddy's horses. He called (and I still do) your slacklead 'lazy lead' or 'I don't care lead'. For purposes of this discussion, I'm going to refer to light contact as 'slacklead'. I've been trying to make some videos (attached) to describe what slacklead is, but these videos are raw and you can use them as you wish. I have not posted these (nor will I) on the web - they are exclusively for you to comment on and use as a teaching tool if you find any value in them. I am still trying to video and have been quite unsuccessful - battery dies, push the wrong button, mistakenly set for two minute timer, etc. Along with the video I was attempting to tell this little story as dialogue: When I was young (around 7 or so) I used to follow Dad around the barnyard as he was feeding the stock, and I loved the sound of dragging buckets. Well, Pa got kinda tired of me scaring the critters with those dragging buckets, so he gave me the lead to old Bike. Now Bike was half Percheron and half Morgan, called him Bike cause you had to peddle him like crazy to get him to go faster than a slog. And Pa said: 'This is not a lead rope, this is a conduit to communicate trust and respect between you and him. This is how you ask him to come with you' and he showed me two light clicks on the lead followed by a gentle 'Please come to me' in a form on the lead in a way that you call today the 'ratchet'. 'And when you want him to stop, you take two steps as you lift the lead and say whoa'. And so I got to lead the seven horses one by one as my morning and evening chores. Now everything went peachy-keen until one day in the spring when I wasn't paying attention, and let ol' Bike wander off on that lazy lead about 8 feet away and started munching on Ma's spring garden, to which I responded with the usual 'Come 'mere' and yank (which I see today at every Alpaca event I've ever gone to). Bike's response was to yank back. Now, fifteen hundred pounds of horse against 70 pounds of boy on an eight foot sling shot gets you free flight miles over the fence into the very squishy landing in the corral, to which your Father (amid tears of laughter) kindly lifts you out of the corral, hoses you off, takes you back to Bike, places the lead in your hand, and reiterates 'Son - like I said, this is not a lead rope. This is a conduit to communicate kindness and respect. If you use this for anything but a conduit for kindness and respect, you only end up with a piece of dynamite at the end of a rope. I do not want dynamite at the end of a rope on my place'. So, even to this day, even though I know that Alpaca at the end of the lead weighs no more than 200 lbs, I still remember (and always will) that 1500 Bike at the end of the lead, and thus will always attempt to maintain my 'slacklead' - you're 'light contact' so I know - I 'feel' the animal by the slightest of pressures within a 4 to 6 inch parameter and thus can adjust my balance, check out what the animal is doing, respond (or not) in a safe, respectful manner. So, heretofore when I am teaching students, I will refer to light contact as just that per your definition, but for me in my mind, it is still 'slacklead'.
