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| Show Preparation |
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There are many aspects of show preparation, some that should be made
running up to the show season and others that can be done well in
advance of this time. Preparing for shows can be as simple as choosing
which show you would like to go to in time to get your animals
entered, trained and go to the show or ...... You can spend much more
time and look to the future shows and start preparing with your
breeding program. Show preparation should be considered whether you
are entering halter classes or fleece shows. Some areas to focus on
are grooming, preparing fleeces, your breeding program, halter
training, and presenting your alpaca along with yourself.
“Groom your pastures not your animals”
If
you have had any experience showing other animals, you will be pleased
to know that there is no grooming or shampooing necessary to showing
alpacas. So unlike the cattle lines we do not have to get up at 3 am
to start grooming the alpacas! However, you need to make sure your
alpacas fleeces are clean and this should be a critical part of the
management of your animals whether you are showing or not, because at
the end of the day alpacas are bred for their fleece. The easiest way
to keep your fleeces clean is to keep your paddocks clean. Make sure
there isn’t anything in the fields that will get in their fleeces.
Remove all cleavers, thistles, docks, nettles. Basically anything with
seeds or anything else that will get stuck in their fleeces. It is
also advisable to put your show team in a paddock that does not need
topping. Freshly topped grass is a nightmare to get out of fleeces.
Learnt this one the hard way! If your alpacas come out of the paddocks
clean and ready for showing, life is much easier. After all the BAS
rulebook states that they should be shown in ‘paddock condition’.
Preparing fleeces
Another
alternative to halter classes which requires less commitment in time
but still gives your farm publicity is entering fleece classes. Again
this needs to have some preparation. At Bozedown when we are shearing
and sorting our fleeces we are always looking for that show fleece to
come across the sorting table. We sort all of our fleeces as they come
off the animals and we know exactly whose fleece we are sorting. When
a show fleece is spotted then we carefully skirt the fleece and make
sure that there aren’t any second cuts on the underside of the
fleece. Having a good shearer is very imporant both for show fleeces
and for commercial fibre. Once we are happy that the fleece has been
properly skirted and it is clean of any vegetation, we fold the fleece
in half lengthwise and put it in a large clear plastic bag. We label
the fleece with the alpacas name, tag number and date that it was
sheared. These fleeces are then stored in a dry, moth free and clean
area awaiting the next years fleece classes.
As shows are
getting earlier in the season it is important to be looking this year
when you shear, for your fleeces to show either later this year or next
year. Showing fleeces is also a way for breeders to show off their
prize breeding females without the added stress of the female going to
the show. So for those of you with fantastic fleeces in your herd but
don’t show in halter classes or even if you do, get your fleeces
entered.
Breeding Program
Your
breeding program should be considered as part of your show
preparation. What shows would you like to participate in? What time
of year is the show? If you want to show your juniors, will they be
old enough? Will they have enough fleece or will they be over
fleeced? When do you need to start training? How do you get the
alpacas ready for showing?
If your crias are born early in the
spring and you want to show at various shows throughout the season you
need to consider length of fleece. With a country of high quality
alpacas the juniors are now producing vast amounts of fleece which is
great until you get into a show situation and your alpaca is suddenly
over fleeced, and what once was a beautiful fleece is no longer holding
together and your beautiful alpaca needs to be shorn not shown. One
way to help avoid this from happening and to avoid trimming (as this is
not paddock condition) is to cria shear. We tend to cria shear in the
middle of July and we do all the crias that are at least a month old.
This removes all the fluff and allows the fleece to grow back more
organised and will help prevent the crias from being over fleeced in
the next show season. Cria shearing in July also allows enough time
for the crias to grow back enough fleece before winter arrives.
Halter Training
Alpacas
are quick to learn so they don’t need vast amounts of time put into
their training. Depending on how much time you have or how many
alpacas you need to train before a show will depend on when you get
started. I don’t recommend training your youngsters until after they
have been weaned if you can prevent it. Once they have been weaned
there is no risk of imprinting. We start our training at least a month
before the first show, ideally two months. We use a mixture of methods
but we keep the training to about 5 - 10 minutes an animal, a couple of
times a week. Always end the training on a positive note and have a
correctly fitted head collar. If a head collar is not fitted
correctly the alpaca will focus its attention on the position of the
head collar rather than focusing on the training and what you want it
to learn. Teaching mature males to lead is very easy, put the head
collar and lead rope on and lead them to a female. They catch on very
quickly!
If you are getting ready for your first show do not be
intimidated by showing; anyone can show and not all animals behave
perfectly their first time showing. I also find any animals that just
don’t seem to be progressing forward in the training, it helps if you
take them to a new area. If you live along a quiet road, take them for
a walk along there, you don’t have to go far but it is different from
their paddocks and new and interesting, and before long they are so
interested in what is around them they forget that they are not
supposed to walk! They tend to react the same way when they get to a
show, so if they are not perfect before a show don’t worry. Take
them! They generally surprise you and if they don’t, you won’t be the
only one there with an alpaca who does not behave one hundred percent.
Presenting your Alpaca Well
However,
how you present yourself and your alpaca in the ring does make a
difference. Some animals walk into the ring, head held high and demand
the public and the judges attention. Others can seem to slouch into
the ring. With these animals a good handler can make all the
difference. Not only should you be training your alpacas you need to
train your handlers and each alpaca may have a slightly different
requirement to feel comfortable on the lead. Some prefer you to walk
slightly in front, others beside you, either on a short or a long
lead. Knowing these things about the alpaca you take into the ring
helps to present them well for the judge, so they can judge them fairly
and accurately. It is also important to not only train your animals to
walk but also so that they can be looked at in the ring, teeth, fleece
and genitalia.
Before heading to the show, take one last look
through the alpacas to make sure all toenails are trimmed, topknots are
tidy and do any dagging that is necessary. Judges do not appreciate
lifting a tail to check genitalia and instead finding a nice
surprise! You may find that you move to the back of the line. Also
make sure all your alpacas are healthy and strong and have no signs of
fresh mites (check bellies, armpits and under the tail).
Showing
in halter classes or fleece classes is a good way to meet people, get
your herd known and have fun with your alpacas. It is also a great
way to have your alpacas critiqued by the judges which can be very
informative or a steep learning curve!
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