Slips, trips and falls. Only you can prevent them!

Avoiding Slips

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There is something so unattractive about a long folded eared slipped crown Holland, yet you see it all the time. I really can’t say much, this hazard has been the hardest for us to avoid.

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Contributing Factors
· Judges that only look at the Holland with their hand wrapped around the head
· Not enough good examples to remind us it needs work too
· Bad crown and ears being labeled as an easy fix
· Because this type of Holland still wins some breeders aren’t as apt to want to work on it
· Nice(r) bodies outweighing the other issues
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Preventing trips in your rabbitry!
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We’ve all witnessed this horror at one time or another. Chatting amongst other Holland breeders and watching the judging, when all of the sudden WHAM, a dip so bad you could trip on it.

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Contributing Factors
· Certain style of over posing that really masks this flaw
· Labeled as an easy fix
· Perhaps seen as the ‘lesser of two evils’?
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How do falls happen?
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Falls are a reoccurring problem. You see someone posing up a really nice Holland but every time they remove their hand from its chin it slumps back down to the carpet.

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Contributing Factors
· Incorrect build for a naturally upright stance.
· Breeder(s) excuse the rabbit as being ‘lazy’.
· Judges holding a Holland (by their head) up off the table with the front feet literally not touching the table while examining them.
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Why is the prevention of slips, trips and falls important?
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Each of these disasters have been labeled as ‘easy fixes’. But are they really? I think if that were the case they wouldn’t be so prominent in our wonderful breed.
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I believe Mom said it best when she said, ‘we all have the same goal in mind it’s just that each breeder tolerates different flaws to get there.’
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Happy Friday
Melanie