Peanut, denuded

Peanut's coat combs out just fine, but Peanut's opinion is that being combed is unending torture. Her breeder didn't handle her much, and I suspected Peanut's reaction to being combed was not really about combing, but a situation of responding to handling overload.

So, I decided to try shearing Peanut this year, even though she looks like a million bucks properly combed, and even though it limits her upcoming packing experiences to late summer on "the wet side" of the Cascades (her coat density is rather sparse, so it will need plenty of time to grow back for adequate weather protection).

Not every llama thinks shearing is OK — some carry on like they're being killed no matter what's being done (or not being done) to them — but Peanut's opinion was that even though being shorn was "handling overload", it was at a tolerable threshold as long as I caught all the signs of increasing fear and backed off. I was able to limit Peanut's unhappiness to some frightened whimpering hums and a few body slams (into the chute, not me). Beats the heck outta risking a sudden degeneration into screaming and repainting the area in smelly green. (Like everyone, when llamas are scared, they tend to freak and keep freaking. Thinking simply does not occur.) The real bonus is that no spitting means a treat afterwards is enjoyed rather than yet another cruel reminder that life totally sucks (because look, it's a treat and I can only taste YUCK).

Next year Peanut's guard hair will only have grown out halfway, so revisiting whether combing makes life suck will be in order, and appropriate choices will then made for the future based on Peanut's response.

Peanut was totally fascinated by the half-fleeces I pulled off each of her sides. What IS that? Can I smell it? Can I smell it some more???

Even though she isn't as glorious as when properly combed, Peanut is still a fine lookin' gal.