Update on HiHo

Little HiHo is a bit bigger but still pretty small for a camel over 18 months of age. He's most likely going to stay on the short side. He's about the height of a medium sized horse at this point.

I guess this entry is basically a further acknowledgment of the excellence of Carolyn Resnick's method with horses, which we employ with our camels. For whatever reasons (size, breeding, born character, karmas) HiHo is an unusual mix of traits from sweet and loveable to mean, cranky, incredibly stubborn and willful, mischievous, even sly.

Now at 18 months or so he's of an age where we are now concentrating on bringing him through all this, but still retaining his special spark for life.

The basic method we are employing is what Carolyn Resnick calls "leading from behind". We walk him without lead rope or halter, walking behind him, moving him forward. And we walk quietly and gently for half an hour or more. All the camels love this "herding activity". It calms and balances them and serves the creation of a bond of respect and affection like few other things can.

As expected HiHo requires more "leading from behind" than the others but the results are really encouraging. He's becoming calmer, more receptive to contact, more respectful of boundaries and better at listening and responding.

Stuart