Starting to feel the itch

That would be the show itch. I’m sure that after we get home from the Futurity in a few weeks time I’ll be over it of course but for now it just feels like opening day of the baseball season: all things are possible and we’re eager to hit the road with the animals again after 6 months here at home.

You know that the training regimen for the rookie show animals (there are 15 of them plus a couple of potential alternates) has come a long way when yours truly is even out walking the neophytes. Not known for my endless patience, Jen and Kim took care of all of the broad stroke stuff over the past few weeks and then I was called in to see whether the animals that they had trained would indeed walk on a slack lead for what amounted to a stranger in their eyes. It’s not uncommon for newly minted show critters to often times bond specifically with the person that trained them initially. Not always a bad thing of course, except that since half of our string will be shown by other people at the NAAS (we still can’t go in front of one of the judges because of a prior business relationship) we need to make sure that the weaners have a broader understanding of the new concepts that they have just learned. In the end it’s really just about earning their trust so that they will stand, follow, and lead wherever that lead goes regardless of the human face on the other end of it.

So it was that I spent a couple of hours the past couple of days testing the chops of most of the newbies. It turns out that all of the beautiful stone work —  a series of walls and terraced patios with big granite steps in between — we had done a couple of years ago on the front of our new house is dual purpose. Both Jen and I took several of the debutantes up and down and around all of those steps multiple times in an effort to build their confidence. It never ceases to amaze me what a little repetition on even the dopiest of “obstacle” courses can do for an alpaca’s show training, presence, and calm. It’s highly recommended! We’re hopeful that with some rain in the forecast for later this coming weekend, things seem to be coming together quite nicely. Seven more days and we’ll be in Springfield, MA whether we’re ready or not so here’s hoping for the best.

Lastly, today March 22nd, is Jennifer’s 40th birthday! Whether she always feels the same way or not, I feel privileged to say that we have spent the past 22 years together, the last 14 as parents, and the last 15 as the owners and managers of this crazy little three ring circus we named Cas-Cad-Nac Farm. Jen, as is her way, is of course spending the day working and training alpacas, though we are going to take her out for a little family celebration tomorrow night with her folks. Here’s to many many more years to come: happy birthday Jenny, I love you!

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