| In the Beginning |
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A Spin With Pincy by Ron Shinnick |
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Recently, my wife's grandmother came to visit
our family, o Well, I know you may wonder why I told this story. It was hopefully to illustrate the point that llamas are fun, intelligent and can be more than just another animal in the backyard - much more. If you have owned llamas for more than, let's say a few minutes, and someone finds out - what is the question they always ask? That's right, "What do you do with them?" Then we say, "Well, they make great pets, you can use their wool, great pack animals, breeding, etc . . . ." But we almost always forget one important thing and that is why I am here - to remind you that you can train your llama to pull a cart with you in it and anyone else you would like to take along. When we bought our first llamas we bought them
That's how it all started for us, cart driving llamas. The past couple of years we have been treated to a wonderful experience. Saturday mornings, Dr. Mike and I can often be seen riding to the local post office or just taking a relaxing ride through the streets of Cohutta. Everyone in town is quite amused and it is not uncommon at all for people driving down the road to stop and ask questions and if they can take a picture. No telling how many family photo albums we are in. And what a great way to make new friends. Finally, just a couple of quick suggestions as you and your llama buddy get ready to hit the road. 1. Remember, not all llamas like pulling a cart, especially with a load of people in it, just like all horses are not race horses. So don't be disappointed if he doesn't like pulling a cart, it's just not what he likes to do. Select a male llama that has both the personality and physical characteristics necessary. 2. If you are training your llama yourself, you'll soon discover how quickly they learn. Likewise you'll also be surprised how much you have to learn and you probably won't be near as quick to learn as your llama. You have a lot to learn, so be patient, mostly with yourself. 3. After much practice, you will be ready to hit the road (figuratively speaking, of course). Remember driving on a road with a car or even your llama is serious business, very serious. Be ready for any and all eventualities that may distract, you or your llama, such as dogs, horses, cows, motorcycles, big trucks, etc. - you get the idea. There is no substitute for good training. 4. Finally, work on that smile because everyone you meet will want to get a picture of this new-fangled contraption you're driving. And don't forget if you see any 84-year-old great-grandmothers out there, how about givin' them a ride! |
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r should I say the great-grand kids, and to check out our new
family pets, llamas. Now before we go any further, I should inform you that my
wife's grandmother is 84 years old and lives in a Florida condo. So the idea of
owning llamas was not only unusual but bordered perhaps on the bizarre. But once
she met Pincy (named after my wife's grandmother, by the way) and
Dr. Mike, she fell in love with these beautiful, gentle animals.
In fact, shortly after she arrived I invited her to take a ride in the llama
cart with Dr. Mike. Needless to say everyone was a little
apprehensive about an 84year-old, let alone their very own, grandmother, being
pulled by a llama in a cart. Without hesitation, Grandma, the brave individual
that she is, climbed aboard along with myself, as the great-grandkids, grandkids
and her daughter looked on in amazement and off we went. We rode for nearly half
an hour that day around ponds and on the roads of Cohutta, Ga. What a woman! And
our llama companion, Dr. Mike, was a perfect gentleman.
for all the
before-mentioned reasons except the last one, of course. After a few months I
realized that I probably was not going backpacking anytime soon with our llamas,
but we still wanted to enjoy a similar experience with our animals. And it's
then I began to wise up and realize instead of me doing all the walking and
leading, let's put this llama to work and let him walk and I'll do the riding.
Sounds like fun, doesn't it?