Excerpts from his book "The Working Llama" by Wes Holmquist
GENETICS AND TYPE
To breed for the ideal we must select genetics. Genetics determine the ideal not the animal. When crossbreeding has occurred, as it has in the llama industry, there is no telling what the average offspring will be like unless you do your homework. A purebred animal is a mirror of his/her parents and his/her offspring if bred to an animal of the same breed. A throwback or crossbred does not breed true to its structure and appearance. A throwback is an unusual type that inherited its structure from many generations back. I will suggest we think of Guanacos and Arabian horses as purebreds for this scenario. They have been bred true for many generations. To get parallel results with llamas you will have to look at many generations of brood stock and find a strain that is breeding true. Size consistency is a significant indicator of genetic stability. In my llama buying years, I have seen trends in breeding and have observed offspring from many older females that consistently have tall classic babies in spite of the fancy studs involved. From this I assume those females have a sound genetic makeup and by breeding them to studs of similar parents I should develop some thoroughbred classic llamas. I have discovered some simple guidelines in selecting good pack animals that I will share.
Sure there will be the exception to the rule but to be successful one has to follow guidelines. To many people have made conclusions as to what is the best packing type on the basis of just a few animals. I have trained and packed with hundreds to base my conclusions on. I have learned that the heart has less to do with packing performance than most people think. The fact is, it is structure that most often makes the difference. If packing is easy for a llama because of superior structure we say he has a lot of heart. If a llama has a weak shoulder structure and tires out quickly we say he doesn't have the heart. For brood stock you must do your research and study the mothers and their offspring.
ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET?
When I was a little boy on the farm I remember riding to the barn with my dad after feeding the cows in our old 36 Chevy truck and asking "Daddy what is better, raising cows or raising potatoes." My dad pondered the question and answered. "You don't want to get all your eggs in one basket Wesley. Sometimes cows are better and other times the potatoes. So the cows carry us when the crops are bad and the crops carry us when the cattle prices are down." Like a politician my dad carefully answered my question by avoiding the answer and giving me the gist of how things work. I also get asked "How do you choose a good pack llama?" And I think I will answer the same way. "Don't put all your eggs in one basket. There ae a lot of indicators- but you can't depend 100% on any one of them. Here are some of the baskets for telling what a good llama is. Shows, pack obstacles, llama pack races, pack llama trials, conformation, legs, athletic ability, temperament, heart, genetics, and the real thing "use". Our own skill and experience becomes a big factor in determining the validity of these selection egg baskets, so most of us need an experienced friend or commercial packer to help us. Even an experienced person can sometimes use a second opinion. Nobody sees everything.
SHOWS?
Shows are a great thing for the llama community. Many of us don't get a chance to really pack, drive or generally work llamas, so shows give us something to do with our llamas and a way to promote and showcase our stock, but we have to realize they are not the real thing. Judges are subjective in their judgment of conformation and an ALSA pack obstacle course is not a true test of a llamas packing ability. Great conformation is not a guarantee that a llama can pack or drive. Good conformation is assumed in combination with all the structural style guidelines that I have discovered.
I once read an article in a llama magazine on selection in breeding. The nutshell of the article was if you want to win at a show, find out what the judges like and breed accordingly. It should be; Judges find out what llama packers like in the mountains and judge accordingly. At a show a judge summarized some of my llamas as not having enough substance (because they were too tall looking I guess). He should pack with me in the mountains to see what substance is. But in fairness; Judges have an impossible task. Every judge has a particular conformational style of llama he/she likes the best (and that changes). Any of the styles might or might not have workability built in. There are several styles that work. If you breed for the "best of the best" working llama you will find a style that will probably win in the ring as much as any other type of llama.
When choosing my studs for packing I picked "The Best of the Best" packers in the mountains for studs and their offspring are winning at shows.
LLAMA TRIALS...
Before I started the trials I envisioned a llama test that folks could watch and determine that a llama had what it takes to do the job. I knew there was nothing going on that would do that. So I designed the pack llama trials that I held at my event each year. The Western Idaho Llama Association folks attended my trials but wanted to do their own and eventually came up with the PLTA (Pack Llama Trials Association). And, while copying the PLTA, the ALSA started their trials. Then the ALSA decided that a judge had to look at these llamas before they could get an ALSA pack certification. Of course many structural deficiencies are under the surface and even a real good judge couldn't see it anyway. That's why we had the trials - so those things could surface. You have to get them out packing to really know.
It is fantastic for the llama industry that the PLTA standardized llama trials. This is one less thing I have to do to promote the working llama and I encourage everyone to get involved with the PLTA. These trials are much better indicators than ALSA pack obstacles courses of a llamas working ability but they don't really guarantee that a llama is a pack success either. No matter how you design a test it is still not the real thing. I have disqualified a few llamas in my pack trials but some passed that I wouldn't have bought for packers. I have seen llamas pass PLTA trials too that weren't adequate pack animals. So we can't depend on these certifications 100% either.
The only way to be sure. When you're buying a working llama, at least take it for a walk. The only way to tell for sure is to get it away from home and use it on the trail. How long a llama will last is a question. Some of them develop shoulder problems after a couple years of just get heavy and cumbersome as they age. Look at genetics. A llama that works for me might not work for you. Or vise versa. Or a llama that doesn't work for me might work for you.
If you can get some help do it. Be careful though. Breeders sell what they have. Packers often sell what they want to get rid of. What is the breeders or packers reputation and warrantee?