Sidelines
Analyzing differences in Himalayan Sidelines:
I remember running my hands down my himmies and wondering what was "wrong" or "right" about their sidelines. What should I be breeding for? What piece(s) was I missing from the overall puzzle? One of the areas I learned about showing and feeling Himalayan rabbits, other than my own, gave me insight into the elusive "smooth transition" and "smooth hindquarter". I realized a couple of years ago that, while the interpretation of the SOP is nuanced and has many factors, the overall winning rabbits USUALLY, but not ALWAYS, FELT good in the hand. That meant the rabbit had to transition smoothly into the hip and hindquarter. Please do not mistake this for a rounded hindquarter. A Himalayan should not have a rounded hindquarter, nor should a judge ever comment on a rough hindquarter due to the body type of this breed. A rough hindquarter refers to, as I have always known it to be, the "rump" right after the spine and hips when being felt/judged at the topline and is not what is being referred to in this post when I mention hindquarter. I began to really study my animals and the animals I brought in and began to work on smoothing the sidelines. Here are some observations I have made when it comes to evaluating sidelines on my animals (photo reference below being used): 1) The first diagram below shoes the ideal sidelines on a Himalayan. Notice there is no flare and no hollowing of the loin. If your hand were to run over this area, it would encounter no indication of hips, flare or hollowness. It would be a smooth transition from midsection to hindquarter. 2) The second diagram is an example of an animal that hollows in the loin (but not badly). The reason this gets an OK is because you can breed this out. You can absolutely work with it and this won't necessarily spoil the feel of the animal. If a Himalayan looks like this when it is young, there is every chance that it may fill in it's loin once it reaches maturity, which depends on the lines. 3) The third diagram shows an example of an animal with ample loin but has a definite catch in the hips. For me, this would be an automatic cull because it will not improve, nor does it help in smoothing out the transition into the hindquarter. 4) The fourth diagram gives an example of an animal with a hip flare and a good loin. This type gets an OK because a) the loin is full, which is what you need for that smooth transition and b) the flare is usually muscling, which you need. It is easier to slim down a Himalayan than it is to add muscle back in. A flare, depending on the severity, is something that CAN be worked with because it is more about refining the muscling than it is a structural change. 5) The fifth diagram shows an example of a hollow loin AND a hip flare. This one gets a MEH because it is one step above hips but a step BELOW having either a hollow loin or a flare. You CAN work with an animal like this if necessary, but these are also usually culls in my barn. That hollow loin is something I DON'T ever want. 6) The sixth diagram is an example of a hollow loin AND protruding hips. This would be an immediate cull for us. It is not an animal we would ever try to work with because it would be a backwards trajectory for our program. I would advise anyone to breed AWAY from this. This, of course, isn't canon but rather my own experience with breeding this beautiful animal. My best advice is always: Feel as many animals as you can, study your lines, breed the best and nom the rest, ask questions and don't be afraid to try. You lose nothing from trying something. It is always a learning experience. |
Sidelines: Direct Comparison
We were evaluating some jrs and came across something we don't get much of anymore.
**PLEASE NOTE THE RABBITS PICTURED ARE YOUNG JUNIORS AND STILL NEED TO FILL IN AND MATURE** and I stink at taking pictures lol The first rabbit pictured has a "catch" in the hips. It is something you can SEE and FEEL when the rabbit is correctly posed. In the case of a catch, the hips protrude outward (sometimes a full belly will cause hips to appear to have a catch; just wait a few hours and re-evaluate then) and will cause your hand to briefly get caught up. (Not pictured) A "flare" in the hip may LOOK like a catch (especially on an extremely well muscled rabbit) but it doesn't FEEL like one, meaning your hand won't get caught up in it. With a flare, the hand will widen around the muscles. Large hips and a flare are NOT always the same thing. Sometimes, the hindquarters are just wider than the body and/or shoulders and may or may not catch without the extra muscling. The second rabbit pictured is smooth throughout the shoulders, body and hip. You can pretty much draw a straight line down the sidelines (though it looks better when the rabbit is in prime coat, flesh condition and mature). Regardless of the SIZE of the rabbit, you want to feel smooth lines. Now both these does were in the "cull" category this morning. LOL Not anymore! Now the second one is going in the "grow out" category. She looked SO DIFFERENT this morning. Hence why it's important to evaluate continuously rather than in spurts. Not obsessively but often enough that you can SEE the development of the line. |