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A KEY TOWARDS RESOLUTION MAY LITERALLY... "Hang in the Balance"

By Cathy Spalding ©
www.gentlespiritllamas.com
www.gentlespiritalpacas.com

Kushed alpacas and llamas should present with clear overall body balance. Sitting upright on their brisket, the legs should be squarely and comfortably tucked beneath the body with the neck and head vertically balanced and fairly square to the body. The front legs may be tucked underneath or stretched forward. At times, one front leg may be neatly tucked beneath the body while the other is stretched out forward. The hind legs are sometimes out to one side while still maintaining an overall comfortable body balance. The rear legs might be shifted back while still squarely beneath the body to give rise to the rear. This is often done for cooling in warmer weather to allow some airflow beneath the body. An alpaca or llama that is kushed out of balance could indicate an alpaca or llama that is out of balance in other ways such as stress, illness, a pregnancy concern or injury. It is important to consider their kushed balance in concert with other noted indicators as well as the surrounding circumstances to assist in determining any course of action.

This llama is kushed with both her front legs forward and exhibits good overall body balance. Her back is fairly flat and centrally balanced indicating her rear legs would be squarely and comfortably underneath her. Her neck and head meet with the rest of her body in a nice vertically centered and slightly forward manner. Her eyes are bright and alert with her ears in the forward alert and interested position. She appears to be chewing cud and generally enjoying a relaxing afternoon.

This group of alpacas seems to be having an enjoyable afternoon in their show stall. They are comfortably kushed beside one another with their front legs forward and show an overall interest in their surroundings. The top lines of their body flow evenly back from the neck in a centrally balanced manner without any hunching or twisting to the side. With ears in the relaxed, half-mast or listening position, it appears as though they may be having quite a conversation regards the human activity outside their pen. It seems typical that the comfortably kushed alpaca will often hold their neck and head a bit further forward of the vertical than will the llama.

This young llama is completely out of balance. Though she had likely hoped to lower herself down into a more normal and comfortably balanced kush, it seems she was unable to maintain that position. Out of balance, her neck would necessarily be quite tense in the attempt to keep her head upright. All four of her legs are visible. The bulk of her body is rolled over to one side. An additional cue in this instance is the large amount of hay or straw debris present in her fiber. It is important to consider the body positioning of an alpaca or llama as well as the positioning of other things in the environment. She appears to be in a pasture area without a source of hay or straw in the immediate vicinity. There is also a fair amount of hay or straw littered upon the ground around her. None of the other llamas near her look to have much debris stuck to their fiber. To have collected so much hay or straw in her fiber suggests she has been rolling elsewhere. That there would be hay or straw littered about in her immediate vicinity suggests she has continued to roll in her present location.

Viewing this llama from a different angle, we can now notice a number of facial cues in concert with her out of balance body position. She has tightened her facial muscles causing an overall appearance of tension and tightness in her face. Her lower lip is significantly pulled back. The nostrils are somewhat flattened suggesting an irregular breathing pattern. Her eyes appear dull suggesting possible notions of worry, concern or distress. Taking these many cues into consideration - both in her presentation and in her immediate environment -- it seems clear that this little llama may not be feeling well and requires further investigation.

This female would certainly seem kushed out of balance. None of her legs appear to be squarely or comfortably beneath her. The bulk of her body appears slightly rolled to the right and her neck does not rise from her shoulders in a normally balanced manner. However, the cues in her mental and emotional presentation do not follow her body presentation.

Though she certainly presents out of balance, the bulk of her body is just slightly rolled to the side. She shows clarity and alertness in her facial expressions. Her eyes are bright and clear with ears forward and alert. She is quite interested in her surroundings. Though she would seem to be seriously expressing herself in relation to something happening out beyond her, her face does not appear particularly tensed or tightened. Her facial expressions are clearly in response to external stimuli as opposed to internal stimuli. In this instance, her body balance and mental/emotional balance differ from one another. Her body appears out of balance while her mental/emotional stance would appear balanced. The cues in this instance point to a very healthy llama. One who is balanced emotionally, mentally and as best as she is able, physically. She is very soon to give birth to a new cria.

Body balance in all of us reflects our mental, emotional and physical state. For each of the alpacas and llamas presented, their body balance in the kushed position combined with other presenting mental, emotional and physical cues provide a strong basis for how they might be feeling. It is important to consider how each noted cue presents in concert with one another as well as any positioning cues in the environment in our overall assessment regarding the healthy balance of our alpacas and llamas.

Every picture tells a story.

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