Excerpts from his book "The Working Llama” by Wes Holmquist
"How much can a llama pack?" is a question I hear over and over again, and I'm sure all other llama packers do too. The question sounds simple enough, but it is one of the hardest questions to answer correctly. So many circumstances and variables, if overlooked, could be the end of any new llama packer's career or at least the ruin of a trip. There are so many variations of terrain, how the load is packed, and the pace at which the packer expects to go. All of these factors enter into how much a llama can pack as well as the llama's conformation, training, conditioning, experience, and "heart". No the question is not a simple one to answer. How much a llama can pack is not like the amount of gas your cars tank will hold or the number of pop cans in a case. There are good answers, but they all apply to different llamas, handlers and situations. It's almost as easy to answer, "How many points do the Chicago Bears score in a football game?" Well, it depends on the day, how well they are playing, and what kind of opposition they are up against. How much you pack on a llama is an art, not a given. Novices shouldn't even think of packing extreme loads until their second or third year of packing when they have learned some of the ropes. My efforts here are to look into the questions with some depth so that llamas can give their most efficient performance. Yes, some llamas can pack over a hundred pounds for a qualified handler under the right conditions. You may hear of one packing as much as a hundred and sixty pounds in a unique situation. It's hard to separate facts from fiction and even bragging. Goat packers will tell you their little goats will pack up to eighty pounds. It's a bit hard (even for me) to tell these goat packers that my llamas pack seventy to eighty. If their goats pack, eighty, my llamas should pack two hundred pounds -right? Wrong! Novices sometimes think it's that simple, but that's the wrong way to approach it. Some mule packers will tell you that their mules will pack ridiculous amounts too. I argued with a guy one day who said mules could pack 350 pounds (and I've heard other mule packers say 500). It didn't gain me anything but frustration. It's strange that most horse packers who do it for a living say they seldom go over 200 pounds total. I had a customer who said he hauled 160 pounds of elk meat on a llama, and I believe him. Boned meat is denser and therefore easier for the llamas to haul. He had been using his llama hard all summer, and that animal was in top condition. He went very slowly, and it was only about a mile-and-a-half hike down hill. His llama gave him an extra effort most llamas won't give because he was tuned into a working routine and was in very good condition. He was a bigger-than-average llama, but not huge by any means.
HOW MUCH WILL A LLAMA REALLY PACK? I also know of a horse packer who hauled a piano into a mountain cabin on a big work horse. He made two tripods out of poles and hauled those on a pack mule. He stopped the work horse often to rest him and would hurry to stick the poles under the piano to take the weight off the huge horse's back while he rested. So there are exceptions to the rule, but usually we should stay within guidelines that give us a margin for error if our gear weighs a little more than we planned. I think it's fair to say a llama will pack about half the weight a horse or mule will, or maybe a little less. Tremendous weights that well exceed the guidelines have been hauled on both llamas and horses, but doing this is risky to the animal and takes much more skill. I would say a safe weight to pack on a mature llama is between sixty and eighty pounds depending on the situation. The most I have ever hauled on a llama is 120 pounds, and I have some big llamas. When I'm hauling out big game, I plan to haul around ninety pounds on my animals; I usually aim for about seventy-five during normal packing. In the text to follow, I will discuss the following important variables: saddle positioning, saddle pads, load balance, bulk, load compression, pacing, elevation gain and loss, miles traveled per day, trail travel or bushwhacking, conditioning, temperature and mental fatigue.
SADDLE POSITIONING Ideally, the load's center of gravity should be as close as possible to the llama's center of gravity, which is somewhere just behind the shoulders- and so the saddle will go ideally just behind the shoulder. I've instructed in my book, "Introduction to Llama Packing", to lap the saddle over the shoulder three to four inches. The purpose of that is get the load forward and closer to the llama's center of gravity. However, the saddle cannot touch the llama's shoulders blades, or it is very uncomfortable for him. By holding the saddle in place and feeling for the blade with your hand you can find where the pack should be. If you have to put a saddle clear behind the foreleg to keep it out of the shoulder, do it. It's important to keep the saddle in the right position. When the llama is going up and down hills, the saddle wants to slide forward or backward. The poorer the equipment, the harder it is to keep in place. Rump straps and breast straps are sometimes necessary for this. Cruppers have received some criticism, but they are also effective to keep the saddle from going forward. I sometimes use my rump strap as a crupper when the saddle won't stay in place for me. Actually, the tail then becomes a stabilizer for the strap, but most of the pull is directed toward the rump because it is attached down to the cinch rings to the animal's sides, not on top of the saddle. I have seen cruppers that I would not use because they are covered with plastic hose. I don't feel that anything like plastic, rubber, or steel should be used against the animal's body because it won't breathe and let moisture escape. My rump straps are covered with wool felt that absorbs moisture. If I have a long, downhill grind, I will set all the saddles back an inch or so to shift the weight more to the rear.
SADDLE PADS Saddle pads might be the most overlooked item in llama packing. Even good saddles need padding to protect the llama from saddle movement and shifting loads. Most soft packs should have pads under them also to protect the llama from pressure points where there are seams or straps pressing on the animal's back. A narrow llama with a high back bone needs more padding because he doesn't have the rib spring to support the load. His ribs come down at a steeper angle and cause the saddle to have more of a pinching effect on his rib cage. Padding is especially important with poorer fitting saddles, and it should not be fastened to the saddle but should be allowed to float under the saddle and packs. If your pads are fastened to the saddle, you have pressure points in the same place on the padding continually, and your padding will eventually break down and become ineffective. This would only come into play with heavy use, but in general, this applies to all llama packing. If you only plan to go on picnic hikes and haul light loads you can get by with lower quality equipment. The more intense your llama packing the more all of these factors come into play, and it becomes necessary to have the best equipment. It is imperative for a llama that packs day after day to have good padding under his saddle, or the pressure points will come through after a couple of days, and the saddle and load will tire him quickly and eventually sore his back.
LOAD PLACEMENT The ideal placement is a compact well-balanced load that doesn't rise much above the level of the backbone, and with the bottom about two-thirds down the llama's side. This load is up on the llama's rib cage, so the ribs share the weight with saddle-bearing muscles on both sides of the backbone, and it allows plenty of room for air circulation around the llama's body to cool him. Top loads are trouble for llamas and horses. Top loads sway and absorb energy from the pack animal and should be kept as light and as close to the animal as possible. Anything sticking way out from the llama's body is going to work against him, especially if it has any significant weight.
LOAD BALANCE It is important to balance the load of the llama not only because the saddle might turn, but because it is tiring for the llama to pack more weight on one side than the other. A bulky load on one side and a compact load on the other is also awkward. It is common knowledge that a cowboy is easier to carry on a horse than dead weight because the rider is continually balancing himself. When dead weight shifts to one side, there is nothing to pull it back. Loads that are poorly balanced will not turn the saddle as easily if they are slung lower on an animal's side, but low-slung loads are harder for a llama to pack because they are too far from his body's center of gravity; low-slung loads also trap more body heat.
LOAD BULK The bulkier the load is, the harder it is to carry for two reasons. It is farther from the center of the llama's body, so it has more leverage when it is shifting around; therefore, it takes more energy to keep it upright. Also, it is harder to keep a bulky load from shifting because every movement in the llama's body is greatly magnified in the load - and it's always trying to sway out of position. The bulkier the load, the lower on the llama's sides the load's center of gravity needs to be to keep packs from turning the saddle.
LOAD COMPRESSION Loosely packed loads that continually have cargo shifting around in the pack annoy llamas and waste energy. Loosely loaded panniers will swing forward going downhill, moving all the weight to the front legs, and swing back going up, moving all the weight to the back legs. A swinging load is hard for the llama to balance and is always working at the saddle, trying to turn it or move it forward or backward.
PACING YOUR LLAMAS Proper pacing of llamas might be the single most important aspect of llama packing. On a long trip, an easy pace is the key to keeping your llamas going day after day. We are pretty selfish to want the llama to pack the load but still go as fast as we want to walk. If you pack with llamas, you have to go their speed--about the same speed you would go packing half the load they’re carrying (80 to 90 steps per minute). Your llamas need a lot of short rest stops of around 45 to 60 seconds apiece. When climbing, your llama should have one of these stops for about every twenty-five feet of gain. On long downhill stretches, llamas need about as many short rest stops going down. Their front legs tire going downhill although they’re not aerobically tired. At 90 paces per minute with two-foot steps, you are covering about two miles per hour. On the level or slight downhill, you can stretch those steps out some and get two-and-a-half miles per hour comfortably with few rest stops. For every thousand feet of gain in a mile, you will have to allow thirty minutes worth of short rest stops and use your slower time (80 steps per minute), which will cover around one-and-a-half miles per hour. Of course this all varies according to the load and the individual llamas, but when I’m packing ten llamas, I have to set my pace for the slowest llama with the heaviest load. If I do that, my less experienced llamas will go all day, and on an average pack trip, I can average two miles per hour. If some of your llamas start to lie down when you give them their short rest stops, they are tired and you are pushing them to hard. At this point, they should have a twenty-minute rest before you continue at a slower pace. You might need to reevaluate your load distribution. Let’s see, did Gus get more than his share? Could I put that top load on Fast Freddy? If you have a couple of steep stretches, it’s good to plan a lunch break between them to give the llamas their extra rest.
MILES TRAVELED PER DAY Of course the distance per day you want to cover is a factor in how much you can pack, too. Even a heavily loaded llama can make one-and-a-half miles per hour with a lot of short rest stops on uphill grades or steep downhill trails. If you want to go faster and take fewer stops, you need to lighten the loads, make them more compact, and be sure they’re up on the animal’s sides rather than hanging way down by his belly. If you want to go farther – you need to get an early start and go slower with more rest stops – to keep the llamas fresh all day.
TRAIL TRAVEL OR BUSHWACKING Obviously if you are bushwhacking through rough terrain, you will have to give the llamas more rest stops because it requires much more energy to travel off trail. When I’m climbing, I usually go really slowly with the llamas, but when it gets really steep the llamas can’t climb well at a slow pace. In those cases, you have to let them go faster and give them short rest stops more often.
CONDITIONING It’s unbelievable how we think llamas should be able to go like wildfire in the mountains when we take them out packing only twice a year and give them no conditioning. Believe me, conditioning is everything with llamas. A mediocre pace llama that is conditioned before the trip will perform better and pack more weight than the best llama that is out of shape-and it’s not that hard to get your llamas into shape. People are used to driving cars that are designed around them, but when we pack with llamas, we have to design ourselves around the llama to be successful, and we are making a joke out of llamas as serious pack animals if we try to take them on a serious pack trip when they’re out of shape and we try to push them to fast. A friend took three llamas down into a deep canyon, and they were lying down before he got them down the long hill. He had to hire horse packers to haul his gear out. To condition my llamas, I use little pack bags that hold ten to forty pounds of sand (depending on the llamas age and experience). It takes only about four two-hour walks with the sand to get them in pretty fair shape for starting the season if they’ve packed the previous season. If they are beginners it takes more like thirty days to get them conditioned and liking to work. I try to find a trail with some elevation gain so they can get used to going up and down and strengthen their legs. A couple of miles a day is really enough to condition them if they are working.
TEMPRATURE Heat is a factor not only because there is danger of heat stress, but because it also tires the llama more quickly than normal-and in turn, a tired body produces more heat for the same amount of work because it is becoming less efficient. Llamas (or any other pack animal) need to take a slower pace and be rested more often when it’s hot. I define an easy pace as about 80 to 90 of my steps per minute. In hot weather, if you can find a trail that follows a creek in the timber, rather than hiking a bare ridge, it will make a tremendous difference to hike in the shade. Llamas need to drink water daily when it is hot, but don’t think you can take them faster if they have plenty to drink. Work produced is also heat produced, and heat doesn’t dissipate rapidly from a still-working animal. A lighter load and easier pace produce less heat. Loads strung higher on the animal trap less heat around the body, comparable to tying long hair up to keep it off your neck when it’s hot. Air currents need to flow freely under llamas to cool them properly. The material of pack bags is also a factor. Rubberized materials are hot-have you ever worn a pair of rubber boots on a hot day? I think canvas is the best material because it naturally wicks moisture away from the llama’s body to cool it. Woollier llamas need to be shorn for their comfort, but even short wool retains heat. A big advantage to shearing is being able to get all the tangles, mats and burrs out of the wool which will help prevent saddle sore.
MENTAL FATIGUE A big part of a pack llama’s stress is mental. Young llamas tire out before their bodies tire. Mental stress is very tiring physically as well, and makes an animal want to quit. Part of conditioning is teaching a llama he can do more than he thinks. Even a seasoned packer will start to tire if too many things are worrying him. Some llamas are naturally more nervous, and it might take a full summer of packing to get a novice over fretting about everything. This type of llama will be totally exhausted after a short hike with a light load even if he is big and strong and in good condition. All of the variables I discuss above can wear on a llama. For instance, how the load is packed will affect him mentally. Any stoves, chairs, or what-have-you with hard corners should be packed in tightly with metal edges away from the llama. Be sure to check your packs to see that nothing is gouging them. The biggest problem that compounds a llama’s mental stress is a fast gait. With a fast gait, llamas (especially in a string) don’t have enough time to think through their obstacles, and they more or less have to stumble through them. This takes more energy physically, and they also begin to worry. A fast gait also makes the loads sway back and forth, which also works on the llamas physically and mentally. If they slow down to think through the next obstacle, the llamas in front of them jerk them through it--sometimes on their knees—and they have to scramble and waste more energy to regain their footing. If their loads are not well-balanced, that worries them—and the faster you take them, the more it magnifies all of these problems. At a nice easy pace, the llamas’ loads ride better, they have extra time to negotiate downfall or boulders and then catch up—there is no worry, and they will go all day.