Teach a llama to be caught, you say? Certainly! But how? Well, that’s precisely the challenge. In this article, I shall outline the situations we face in catching our llamas, and share some ideas on solving the problems. Over the years, I’ve heard of several techniques, tricks, gimmicks and methods. Unfortunately, because long ago I evolved a system that works for me, I have not tested all these myself. Nevertheless, since they have worked for some, I shall pass them along, as they might be useful to others.

Whatever catching techniques one may adopt, it is clear that being caught is something llamas learn to accept. They learn it most quickly by being caught regularly using the same method, just as they learn to be haltered and led. In this matter, as in the other basic lessons, firm, gentle, consistent methods bring the llama to realize and accept that he will be caught.

Before Getting Started

Before examining possible methods for teaching llamas to be caught, we should consider two things: the llama’s circumstances and the physical facilities we have available. As for the llama in question, the most important point is whether we are dealing with an animal that is already halter-broken and trained to lead, or whether we have to bring in, or “catch,” a wholly untrained llama so the dociling and halter training procedures can be started.

Catching Facilities

The arrangement of pastures and corrals or catch-pens is the single most important factor affecting how efficiently we will be able to catch llamas. Best of all is an arrangement by which the llamas can be funneled from a large pasture into a smaller area or holding pen, and then into a small corral where individuals can be caught with a minimum of running about. If the smaller areas are also where the animals are fed, watered and sheltered, so much the better, because they congregate there naturally several times a day and feel thoroughly at home in these surroundings. In addition, depending on the size of the herd, if the smaller areas are connected by sorting gates, it is possible for one person to select and separate individual llamas without help.

Lacking the ideal arrangement, a minimal requirement is that any large pen or pasture have a catch-corral connected to it. One can easily set up a temporary pen using two portable panels, ten or twelve feet long, enclosing a corner of the pasture fence. One must be careful about safety and be sure the external fence is nothing the llama might get hurt on or try to jump over, once he is confined in the corral. Being safety conscious should become second nature to anyone training or helping with the llamas!

Teaching Verbal Commands to the Herd

With workable facilities established, we can begin training our llamas to be caught. Our aim can be double: making the overall herd management easier, and teaching an individual llama to be caught with minimal difficulty. The first step is to teach all the groups of llamas you have to be herded and to respond to some auditory commands. I prefer verbal commands. With repetition, a group of llamas will learn nicely to respond to such commands, minimizing the time you spend herding. While all my females know their individual names, they respond as a group to certain verbal orders.

For example, if they are all sitting around the back pasture, and I need them to come in, I sing out in my habitual form of address to them, “Lady llamas! Come ladies! Time to come in, ladies!” Almost as one body, they get up and start to wander in. If there are any laggards, or one or two who feel they just have to have a good roll before they come in, I call them by their individual names, and they soon join the group. When I want them to leave the corrals, they respond to, “OK, ladies, everybody out.

Herding Techniques

Approaching llamas with arms held straight out to the sides is a standard herding technique, and using a ten-foot length of PVC pipe or lightweight pole makes an excellent extension of the arms. In a very large pasture, a long rope carried at intervals by several people, is effective for gathering and herding. The flat-weave, 24-foot stake lines many of us have can be linked together for the same purpose. Once a group of llamas is accustomed to being herded, these devices are seldom necessary, since just walking behind them is usually sufficient. If the group is not particularly keen on coming in on some occasion, it may be crucial to make them hurry faster, as one or two may decide to break ranks and lead the others off, merrily playing games with you. There are always one or two “smarties” who understand the tactic of divide and conquer. They are most apt to put this to practice on a crisp evening with a waxing moon when you are running behind schedule and have a dinner engagement at 6:30!

Sorting Out an Individual Llama

Once the animals are in the smaller pens or in the vicinity of the catch pen, the next step is to get the one you want into the catch pen. Either herding or enticements can work here. Enticements are by far the easiest; but a back-up strategy is always necessary, and that usually means herding again. If the one you want is spooky, it is much easier to herd a group of llamas into the pen and then let out the ones you don’t need. Until your llamas have learned to respond to a more subtle form of herding, it may be necessary to begin by spreading the arms wide, using the herding poles or even the linked stake lines. If you are by yourself, it can be useful to clip a stake line or long rope to a fence and use that to help corral the animals. When herding in smaller areas, it is important to work more slowly so as not to panic llamas that are not accustomed to having people close to them.

The Catch Ritual

Responding well to herding in a smaller area and then to being caught is something llamas learn. An important principle of teaching llamas to respond well is to not crowd them too quickly—not to try and get too close too soon. The goal here is not to get physically close to the animal so that we can overpower and grab him with arms or ropes. What we really want is to have the animal submit obediently to our approach and accept our touch. We achieve this by developing a catching ritual or routine—a procedure that is repeated in such a way that both you and the llama understand that through certain actions, he will be caught. These actions should be as gentle as possible, so as to build the llama’s trust and confidence in you, rather than creating dread.

In my own mind, I like to call this a “ritual,” because over the years I have found that when I come to catch a trained animal, particularly one of the pack studs, he sees that I want to catch him, and yet for a few moments, he runs back and forth around me a time or two, as if to assert his sense of freedom and independence. However, in just a few minutes, as I insist on cornering him from a little distance, he suddenly stops, the base of his neck dips just a bit, and his ears flop back to half-mast—a gesture that says, “OK, I’ve had my say, I’m ready now”; and he doesn’t move as I put my arm around his neck, and he slips willingly into his halter. Then we are off to do something together.

As an example of what happens if this routine is badly disturbed, I can report many times visiting llama owners who don’t understand our ritual, nor the principle of not crowding the animal, try to help by herding the llama with arms raised, perhaps running after him and trying to close in on him too soon. For my trained animals, the ritual is broken, he doesn’t understand, and he feels threatened. He charges back and forth, fleeing from the hoard pursuing him, even breaking away if one of us manages to get an arm on him. He doesn’t give in until I get the assisting visitor to back off enough that I can approach quietly as usual.

Funneling a Llama to the Catch Pen

This brings us back to the question of how to teach a llama to be herded from a relatively small area—say, an eighth to a quarter of an acre—into a small corral, or just into a corner where he will stand to be caught. One can begin by using poles or ropes, as mentioned above; but all actions should be calm and deliberate, avoiding any kind of chasing as much as possible. There is nothing wrong with letting the llama find some sort of food reward in the corral when he goes in. If the llama is unaccustomed to being caught and worked with, just keep him in a short time, let him eat, and then let him out. With a few repetitions over several days, he will begin to come in more easily, and you can abandon the poles or ropes.

At this point, you will begin to hone your herding technique. While still at some distance, call the llama’s name and give some command such as, “Go in now.” If the llama moves in any direction other than the one you want, you should move—even at the distance you are from the llama—in the same direction to cut off his escape. You should balance all his movements, keeping parallel with him and only go in closer as he begins to retreat in the direction of the corral where you want him to go. If he does not cooperate soon, you may want to take up the herding pole again; but try using it at a distance. Developing this routine requires both concentration and close observation of your llama’s movements and attitude. You don’t want to press him so quickly that he feels afraid and bolts past you. Instead, he should be maneuvered so steadily that he feels there is no escape.

Training Stages

It is interesting to note that as your routine develops and the llama accepts the notion of being caught, you may not need to catch the llama in the same place all the time. A good example was my driving gelding, Squire, who went through three distinct stages in learning to be caught. At first, early in his harness training, he was quite wily about avoiding being herded into the corral. I had to bring the whole group of males to catch him. (See Using a Decoy Llama later in this article.) But when I established a regular schedule of driving him three days a week, after a short while, he entered the second stage. When I went out with his halter and addressed him, he knew I was coming to get him. With very little herding, he would run into the corral by himself and be caught. In a very short time, stage three developed. Then I could go out into the pasture where he and his buddies were, and “corner” him from a distance. He would stand quietly anywhere in the pasture and wait for me to come with his halter. If he had not been caught for some time, he reverted to the second stage and fled into the corral when he knew I was out to catch him.

Cornering with a Stake Line

With a partially trained llama, a stake line can serve as a catch pen if it is clipped to the fence and laid out to form a triangle in corner of a larger pen. Through observation, choose the corner the llama indicates he feels most comfortable in. Once he has entered this corner, pick up the loose end of the stake line and, watching his movements and talking calmly to him, keep the line taut as you slowly approach. If you approach too quickly, he may learn that he can bolt through the line, and this is not a useful lesson!

Training to Stand on Command

Other methods have been used to teach a llama to stand on command when one approaches to catch him. One is to let him trail a long rope or stake line from his halter. Again, safety must be the first priority, so this should only be used if the llama is alone in the pen, and only if there is nothing at all which he could catch the line on. It would probably be safest if the llama is already taught to be on a fixed stake line, so he wouldn’t be frightened by getting the line around his legs.

Sundry Enticements

While the procedures outlined above involve a more disciplined way of bringing a llama into a corral, there are times when some other tricks may be much quicker and do not seem to interfere with developing a solid routine.

Enticing a llama into a small catch area with a food treat is one of the few situations where I feel bribery is useful. It can be the first step in gaining a llama’s attention and the beginning of developing a “habit.” In fact, it is often helpful to have your llamas hooked on food treats. This does not necessarily have to be grain, though grain may be more enticing to many llamas. Cut-up apples, carrots, grapefruit and orange peel, lettuce leaves, broccoli stems, green beans, cauliflower—all kinds of fresh vegetable and fruit scraps, including even banana peels, may appeal to llamas. For some, these things are an acquired taste, but this is where they definitely learn from each other.

To accustom the llama to being called in, use a particular call, command, whistle, bell or whatever else suits you. Then make it worth his coming in, either because it is his regular feeding time, or because he knows you’ll have some interesting treats for him.

Using a Decoy Llama

When the opportunity arises, I’m not above using one llama as a decoy to entice others into an area where I want them. This trick plays on the llama’s inherent curiosity and on the territorial nature of males. If it happens that a friend has brought a llama over because we are going to go driving or hiking together, the “foreign” llama can be led to a position that lures my llama into his catch pen, since he has to check out the intruder and be ready to defend his territory from the interloper. Sometimes, the whole herd of females will come in to see who the visitor is. One of your own females can likewise be used as a decoy. In fact, any llama on the farm who is led out of its usual place often becomes an object of intense interest for the others. Most of the time, using a decoy requires two people.

Catching Llamas in a Small Corral

A small corral—approximately ten by twelve feet square, or up to twelve by sixteen feet—is ideal for accustoming any llama to being caught. A llama that is already halter-broken, but who has not learned any catching routine, will learn quickly if he is herded or enticed into this corral and caught with some regularity. At first, such a llama turns away from you, fleeing to this or that corner. Usually there is one corner, and sometimes two, that the llama feels more attracted to, either because he thinks it offers the most likely direction for escape, or because that is the corner closest to where his living companions are. Standing toward the center of the corral, quietly with your arms down, approach the llama just enough to make hm move about so you can observe which corner he prefers.

Once you are sure which corner he feels more comfortable in, the real catching lesson can begin. Without moving quickly or chasing the llama, let him settle in that corner. Begin your approach from such a distance that the llama does not race away to some other corner. If he does, and this may happen several times depending on your skill and his degree of wariness, back off so he returns quickly to his preferred corner. Begin to approach again moving so slowly, almost step-by-step, so you can match any movements the llama makes to one side or the other. Keep your arms down with halter and rope coiled neatly in the left hand. Use a quick, outward movement of the arm only when the llama tries to make a break to one side, but avoid running at him. The object is to keep him settled in his “safe” corner. Throughout your maneuvers, observe carefully the llama’s attitude and mood. This is a good time to learn to “read” the fine points of your llama’s gestures—ears, eyes, tail—his whole body language. As you move in gradually from a distance, balancing every step he takes to move out of that corner, he comes to realize that your approach is inexorable, and there is no escape.

When you have approached him within an arm’s length of the llama’s neck, your next actions will depend on the llama’s degree of trust in you and previous training, if any. With llamas that are basically trained, but have simply not learned to be caught, this is the point at which you can look for that significant gesture of resignation: ears flopped back and a slight dip in the neck. Usually the llama will not try to flee if you make your final approach from the left wide with your right arm raised to the level of about mid-neck or below. Talk to him soothingly as you slide your arm around his neck and pass the end of your lead rope from the left hand up to the right and around his neck. Then halter him gently and slowly.

Dealing with a Few Bad Habits

If you have a trained llama that has the habit of turning his head away from you even while you are standing next to him, ready to put the rope around his neck, here is something that works with some llamas. When you are close to him on one side, without touching him on the neck, stick your arm and hand out, behind his neck, across to the far side almost level with his head. He sees your hand with his excellent peripheral vision and so is discouraged from turning away to that side.

If the llama persists in turning away from you, or if you have one who sticks his neck out through the corral fence to avoid you, drop the snap end of the lead rope over the base of his neck and maneuver hm so that you can grasp that end. Raise the rope to about mid-neck if you can; and holding one end of the rope in each hand, pull the llama abruptly and vigorously toward you, forcing him to face you. Scold him verbally when he tries to turn away, and praise him warmly and reward him when he faces you. If your corral is on the large size, you may want to fasten the rope around the neck by snapping the rope to itself. This way, you have a longer line, and the rope won’t come off if he moves about. (First, be sure you have a knot tied in the rope at the right place to prevent forming a slip-noose if you should pull hard!)

This same technique with the rope can be used on llamas that will not settle in one corner at all. However, in these cases, you have to move closely with the animal so you don’t pull the rope off his neck before you have grasped the other end.

There are a few llamas that are totally unafraid, but have another tactic for keeping you at bay. They stick their heads in the corner and block your approach with their rumps. They may happily accept patting on the rump, because they know full well that you can’t really catch them from that end. With these llamas, it usually works to place your right hand firmly on their left hip and push the rump toward the fence as you continue up toward the neck. You may have to hold the rump there while you begin to touch him on the neck with the left hand before you can move the right hand up and put the rope around his neck. An approach from the right side can work, too, on llamas that are shy about being approached from the left or that avoid you by blocking the left side.

A llama that has developed one of these avoidance techniques gives it up quite soon when he finds it doesn’t work anymore. You can then proceed to develop a normal catching routine with him.

Conclusion

Learning to understand the subtle and complex gestures and body language by which llamas communicate with each other and with us greatly facilitates getting along well with them. The llama’s gesture of ears half back is so common that I have found it often when catching other people’s llamas, and many other owners have observed it as well. It is in no way a threatening gesture—as a sign of displeasure, ears are held tightly pinned low against the head with the chin raised—but rather signals a resigned tolerance of our approach. In a few trained llamas, I find that they also arch their necks forward in preparation for diving into their halters, a sure sign of their readiness to acquiesce.

It may take some experimentation to discover the best catching routine for your and your llamas. It will depend partly on the physical set-up of your pastures and corrals, how many llamas you have, and the time you have available to teach them the catch ritual. However, in the long run, it is worth developing at least a rudimentary catching routing with every llama you have. Then you know that you can manage them in any emergency, and they will know that when you handle them, it will not be a traumatic wrestling match.

About the Author

Bobra Goldsmith has been breeding, training and loving llamas for over 25 years. A frequent winner in the Rocky Mountain regional and national show scenes, she’s well-known for breeding exceptional pack-quality classic llama, as well as providing highly effective training clinics in basic llama handling and cart driving. She also owns and operates a llama and alpaca product catalog available in print or online.