According to the ARBA Standard of Perfection, mismatched toenails are always a disqualification. Non Showable colors are also an automatic disqualification. But how many judges catch either?
Mismatched toenails should be an easy item to catch. You don’t really need to look through the standard to determine what does and does not match. Yet my best estimate is that only 1/3 of rabbit judges actually catch a mismatched nail. How do I know this? I’ve seen rabbits at the show table that I know have mismatched nails and yet will not be caught by the judge.
I often write at shows, and while doing so will watch to see how closely judges pay attention to the nails. With many judges it is almost a symbolic touch of the foot. It seems to be done out of habit without a serious look at the nails. Its easy to press on the pads of the foot to expose the nails. However, this doesn’t always reveal the dewclaw.
The other issue is non showable rabbit colors. Again I have seen several rabbits in various breeds that are actually non showable. Again my best guess is that these rabbits are caught maybe once in every twenty. This would include wrong eye color, wrong fur/wool color, and everything in between.
I don’t find this to be as bothersome to me as mismatched toenails. Every breed has its own showable colors. They also have their own description of that color. So this issue becomes a little harder to judge.
Breeders complicate this as well. We have received pedigrees on rabbits we have purchased that genetically were not possible. It is important that the breeder understand their colors.
A judge that raises netherland dwarfs, will generally be the one that catches color related issues. That breed has a phenomenal color guide. Every breed should have that type of color description. Because they do not we will run into situations like this: the judge knows the color is wrong, but because of poor color descriptions, the wrong color will fit within the description and the rabbit is not disqualified.
Is color really that big of an issue? Yes. Every color introduced into a breed, has to go through the ARBA’s very meticulous approval process. The goal is consistency of the color across multiple generations. When we don’t stick to that meticulousness, we get colors on the table where breeders and judges are asking themselves if it is showable. That does not help the breed.
The question for exhibitors is should rabbits with mismatched nails, or non showable colors be brought to the show table? If you lay aside the ethics for a moment, the answer would probably be yes. Why wouldn’t a breeder still show those rabbits. If the nails are mismatched, 66% of the time your rabbit will be judged. You will receive sweepstakes points each time it is depending on placement of the rabbit. Best guess is 90% of the time, non showable colors will be judged, and points will be earned.
However, the issue is more than ethics. Its development of the breed. Mismatched toe nail tend to be hereditary. Color is definitely hereditary. If those two things are the case why would a breeder not cull those animals from their herd? I can understand occasionally keeping a nonshowable color. Often they can be bred into other rabbits to produce showable color. The effects though can be dilution of the good color.
To correct this issue is not easy. It will take dedication and commitment from judges and breeders. Judges need to be more thorough in their examination when judging, specifically on toenails. Breeders need to become more committed to producing rabbits that meet the standard, and find a willingness to cull rabbits with mismatched toenails and poor color, regardless of how they do on the table. Some fine tuning of color descriptions in many breeds, and even some classes on color for judges and breeders would be helpful.
So where do you take your stand on these two issues?
Rob Usakowski
Three Little Ladies Rabbitry