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An awareness of the positioning of other people, animals or the inanimate objects around us is a key part of the positioning equation. For example, it is obvious when we wish the llamas to leave the barn that we do not stand in the doorway. Not so obvious perhaps, is the position of the door itself. Is it slightly open, wide open… is the wind banging it around? What awareness do we have of our positioning while teaching a llama to jump a low pole? While concentrating on the act itself, we often forget where we are - what is our overall positioning? Holding the lead rope and standing in the middle of the jump on the other side of the pole is not the optimum positioning for success. The llama may feel there is nowhere to jump as we have severely compromised the "landing strip". Yet, I've done it - we've all done it. We must position ourselves out of the way! What about positioning as it relates to the overall health and well being of our llamas? Understanding what might be the more normal positioning for the herd as a group or of a specific llama can serve as a base line for noting when something might be different.
One of the more profound uses of positioning is in the catch pen. The fastest way to meet with success in any training lesson is to understand and make use of positioning dynamics. The actual "training lesson" is built upon our use of positioning as a base. A clear example of positioning as a basis for training can be seen when teaching our llama the meaning of the word "stand". If we position ourselves in the optimum place to cause our llama to stand, half the "lesson" has already taken place. Our body posture and mental stance combined with physical location is instrumental in a successful training lesson. Body and mental positioning does well in the form of assertive confidence. Not aggressive dominance nor shrinking violet but a calm, attentive confidence. Stand upright rather than hunched or stretched. Move about in your normal fashion rather than faster or slowly creeping. If you normally move a little faster or a bit slower, do just that. Move as you, yourself, normally do. It is you who they have come to know and as keen observers, they will not miss changes in your behavior. Do any talking in a normal confident tone of voice. Simply, you should behave normally with no added drama either escalated or depressed. Be yourself. Behave as though you know what you are doing. Maintaining these behaviors which are for the most part, our natural selves, is important no matter what the circumstances - from training to accessing and assisting a compromised llama. Physical positioning shares equal importance. As a training example, you have entered the catch pen but not yet begun. Position yourself clearly off to one side so the llama feels he has the opportunity to move about the majority of the pen. In this way, you can do all manner of things before the actual lesson begins without seriously escalating the anxiety level on either side. For a compromised llama, behaving in a more normal, calm and confident manner will help to mitigate the effects of an already stressful situation.
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