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

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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.

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