Tuesday, November 21, 2006
No Slopes, Please
In virtually every breed, the body counts for a lot of points. Even in Holland Lops, where the unique front end counts for so much, the body counts just as much (42 points for head, ear, and crown, 42 points for body and bone). To have a really good Holland, you can just be about the head - you need a good body, too.
One thing that absolutely ruins a body, in my opinion, is peaking too soon and sloping off. Sure, chopped, pinched, undercut, and all of the rest can ruin a rabbit, too. But judges seem to be clued in to those better and will mention them often.
Too many breeders and too many judges, in my opinion, either ignore or do not know how to evaluate a rabbit's top line. This sloping problem is a combination top line/hindquarter problem.
The ideal Holland, according to the Standard of Perfection, has deep shoulders "with the depth exhibited at the shoulders of an ideally posed animal being carried back to the hindquarters of equal or slightly greater depth."
Pose your rabbit properly. Check the depth at the shoulders. Run an imaginary line back to the hindquarters. Would that line still be touching the rabbit? Or has the rabbit already fallen away at that point, sloping down toward the table?
Are you sometimes confused about why one rabbit loses and another wins? Maybe the winner does not slope. Seeing a nice rabbit with the depth carried back over the hindquarter and a top line that makes a beautiful turn toward the table is a delightful thing. It's definitely well worth working on.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
¶ 4:12 PM
One thing that absolutely ruins a body, in my opinion, is peaking too soon and sloping off. Sure, chopped, pinched, undercut, and all of the rest can ruin a rabbit, too. But judges seem to be clued in to those better and will mention them often.
Too many breeders and too many judges, in my opinion, either ignore or do not know how to evaluate a rabbit's top line. This sloping problem is a combination top line/hindquarter problem.
The ideal Holland, according to the Standard of Perfection, has deep shoulders "with the depth exhibited at the shoulders of an ideally posed animal being carried back to the hindquarters of equal or slightly greater depth."
Pose your rabbit properly. Check the depth at the shoulders. Run an imaginary line back to the hindquarters. Would that line still be touching the rabbit? Or has the rabbit already fallen away at that point, sloping down toward the table?
Are you sometimes confused about why one rabbit loses and another wins? Maybe the winner does not slope. Seeing a nice rabbit with the depth carried back over the hindquarter and a top line that makes a beautiful turn toward the table is a delightful thing. It's definitely well worth working on.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
¶ 4:12 PM
