Written By: Christa A. Cameron

Revised by: Sean Day

Like many other things rabbit showmanship is governed by rules and guidelines. Knowing these rules and with practice, any 4-Her has the capability to master the skills needed to perform in a showmanship competition.

Rabbit showmanship, much like Rabbit judging, is based on a 100 point system. The schedule of points goes as follows:

Handling of Rabbit 10

Posing Rabbit on Table 20

Examination of Rabbit 30

Condition of Rabbit 20

Rabbit Quiz 10

Appearance & Attitude of Participant 10

Total 100

Looking at the breakdown of points its normal to feel a bit intimidated. Don’t fret, all of us at some point in time have all felt this way. As long as you study to know the steps and practice these steps you will do just fine in Rabbit showmanship!

Overall the rabbit you choose for showmanship should look nice! The meat, fur and the health of your rabbit should all be in good condition. As long as you’re taking good care of your rabbit you should have no problems in this area.

A few things that you are going to need to pay attention to take care of prior to entering into a showmanship competition include your rabbits toenails (trimming them) and keeping your rabbits coat in good condition. If you are using a long-haired breed such as a Jersey Wooly or Angora, regular brushing is a must! You should also make sure that your rabbit does not have sore hocks (open sores on the feet, usually at or near the hocks). Hutch stains also prove to be a problem in sexually mature bucks. All of these conditions can be held against you, even if they are something you cannot help.

The amount of handling you do to your rabbit, will make you or break you in a showmanship class. Regular handling is a must. You must get your rabbit used to be turned over and examined. Socializing your rabbit is also a good idea. Doing so will give you an idea on whether or not your rabbit "plays well with others". Allowing other people to handle your rabbit will prove beneficial as well. Any attention at all is better than no attention!

Appearance is very important! Judges know exactly what they are looking for, and expect to see it! Absolutely no jewelry is allowed! No open toed shoes, even in the hot summer months. Fingernails should be well groomed and absent of any nail polish. Clothes should be neat. Long dark pants or skirts and a lighter colored shirt are preferred. A white lab coat is also recommended.

Attitude is also important. The other 4-Hers you are competing against are not your enemies, and in most cases are already your friends. The placing the judge gives you doesn’t matter, no matter what it is. The most important thing is that you’re having fun and learning something at the same time. Poor sportsmanship will just give off a bad image of yourself. The more positive you are, the more people are going to want to be around you.

The key to handling the rabbit is being aware that it involves five steps, and that these steps are exactly reversed when returning the rabbit to the table.

When the time comes and the judge asks you to handle your rabbit, gently lift your rabbit from its posed position with your hands underneath the abdomen. Be sure that none of the feet are dragging on the table, as you turn your rabbit toward one side (left or right, your choice) in preparation to perform the five handling steps. For learning purposes, say you’ve chosen your right side (and in the case of the left, follow these directions with opposite hands).

The first step is to grip the shoulders of the rabbit with your right palm and fingers, being sure to have the eras held softly in your hand.

For step two, use this hand to life your rabbits front feet off the table. Check the rabbits back feet to assure that they are on the table completely. Some rabbits show timidity and possibility of going out of control if they are not rested flat-footed. Teaching your rabbit to keep its back feet down will assure smoothness of this step.

In step three, bring your other arm around the front of the rabbit and to the bottom of the hindquarters. This hand is going to support the rabbit as you lift it off the table, so you want to have a good grasp on the rabbit for support. The trick Christa used to assure good handling was using her last two fingers to feel that both feet are in control before I lift the rabbit off the table.

Step four involves lifting the rabbit off the table and bringing it so that its head is tucked into your left armpit. You want to make sure the rabbit’s head is tucked and make sure you are aware of both the rabbit’s feet being out of the judges sight. Dangling feet will automatically cause a loss of points, and the less "rearranging" you have to do, the better.

Step five is to lower your right arm to your side. When you are ready, go ahead and look at the judge, with your head held forward and high. Then take on step away from the table, keeping the posture at hand.

Chances are the judge will write down a few things. When he/she is done, they will either let you know that you are finished, or more often than not, they will ask you to pose your rabbit on the table. When the judge asks you to pose your rabbit, be sure not to forget that the steps to handling still need to reversed before moving on to posing the rabbit. The judge can easily trick you here, by having you concentrate on posing instead of the rest of the handling steps.

To move in revers follow this order exactly: Take one step toward the table, raise your right arm to your rabbit’s shoulders (keeping the ears tucked), lower the rabbit to the table (with continuous support of the hindquarters) [NOTE: Do not just let the rabbit fall to the table; allow only its hind legs to meet the table at this point; remember the back feet should be completely flat on the table], lower the rabbit’s front feet to the table and then support the abdomen, moving your rabbit to a forward facing position. At this point you are ready to being posing your rabbit. Glance at the judge to make sure you have his/her attention, smile and then proceed.

As you move through the steps, being to pay attention to your movements. You want to smooth and rhythmic, much like music. Flow at a steady pace so that the judge can see that you know the steps are separate, however you must remain fast enough to show that the steps are all a part of one process. The same goes for posing and examining your rabbit!

Posing your rabbit may seem like a part of showmanship that can just be blown off. Why on earth would you waste all of your time posing when you have to learn so much about the examination part of showmanship? However, knowing how to properly pose your rabbit is very important, and knowing this process can earn you an easy 20 Points!

To start, place one hand over the eyes of the rabbit. Should be easy enough. Next, use your other hand to put slight pressure on the hindquarter of the rabbit to bring the arch of the rabbit’s back up higher ("squish the bunny together- but not too much!").

After this, its time to set the feet. Begin with the front feet, followed by the back. Be sure to start on the same side with the back feet as you did with the front- left or right, it’s up to you. Here’s the tricks: For both the front and back feet, you want to set them up running parallel to the body. For the front feet, you want the tip of the foot to be placed in a position so that, if you looked at the rabbit from the side, it would be directly under the front corner of the rabbits eye. For the back feet, you want the tip of them to be placed in line with the foremost part of the hip bone. See the drawing below:

After setting the legs, set the tail, double check the feet. Take your hand off the rabbit’s head and stroke both of your hands along its back a few times. Place your arms at your side, take a step away from the table. Always keep your head up (but keep an eye on your rabbit at all times!).

Posing is a good time for your rabbit to show off all of the hard work that you have been putting into showmanship, because in most cases, rabbits who are worked with often will pose much easier. Keeping movement to a minimum is extremely important in posing. You must keep smoothness and flow in your mind at all times!

So you’ve made it this far, got a headache yet? The fun is just about to begin! This is where you will learn all the parts to examining your rabbit in a showmanship competition! Remember that this process is circular. In other words, you start at the rabbit’s ears, and draw a line down around the end of the rabbit’s nose, and then down the chin, down the abdomen to the tail and back to the ears. This hint allows most of the memorization to be much easier!

Another thing to remember is what exactly you are doing, and that is EXAMINING your rabbit. So actually examine him/her! All the steps are include for a purpose. Knowing these reasons will also help. One more hint before we actually get going....get down by the rabbit and actually look!

For easy reading, numbers will be used to separate the steps. The following procedure is modified directly from the 4-H pamphlet "Rabbit Showmanship".

1. (Starting of the circle at the head) The ears are where showmanship begins. Choose which ear you want to start with first, because this is the side that you should start every step on until the end of the examination. First, squeeze the base of the ear with your thumb and index finger, checking for any abnormalities in the cartilage. Do this for both of the rabbits ears. Now you are going to want to look for ear mites (this parasite causes the inside of the ear to appear dirty), so open the base of the rabbit’s ear using both hands, placing your thumbs and index fingers near the base and pulling them away from each other. Look down into the ear for mite. Now here’s a tip....BECAUSE OF THE PLACEMENT OF YOUR FINGERS, YOU CAN NOW SMOOTHLY TRANSITION INTO THE NEXT PART OF THE STEP. You want to check for nicks on the ear, a common DQ (especially in lops). NOW THE BOOK DOESN’T TELL YOU THIS, BUT INSTEAD OF JUST LOOKING FOR NICKS, ACTUALLY FEEL FOR THEM. From your place on the bottom of the ear, run your thumbs and index fingers up along the edge of the ear until they touch at the tip. You also want to check for the tattoo in the left ear. Now return to the second ear and repeat the ear mite and nick-checking procedure.

2. Beginning on the same side as "the first ear", point with your index finger at the eye. So now you’re thinking, this is retarded right? Well don’t just point, bend your knees slightly and actually look at what you’re pointing at. In other words, look your bunny right in the eye! The actually point of this step, is not the pointing in itself, its checking for any signs of blindness, or any weepy or cloudy appearance of the eye. Think of the different eye diseases and their symptoms (so now you’re saying that you don’t know or remember them, hmmm time to brush up!)

3. This is the "step of control". Of all the steps in showmanship, you want to make sure your rabbit can do this one. You do not want your bunny to go crazy and start kicking. Once again, working with your rabbit will prevent this. You are also going to want to keep smoothness in mind. As in handling, you want to grasp the shoulder skin so that the ears are resting lightly in your hand. Bring the rabbit up so that its hind-legs are still on the carpeted surface. Next, reach around to the opposite side of the rabbit (still like in handling). Support the hindquarters so that your hand cups around the rabbit. Now, lift the rabbit SO THAT THE RABBIT’S BODY DOES NOT TOUCH THE TABLE. Make sure the movements stay within about two inches of the table, one for the safety of the rabbit and to just show the judge that you are aware that the rabbit should not touch the table in this process. Performing the step in this particular way, will also help in the smoothness of this step. You always want your movements to be gentle and soft. Once the rabbit is on its back, allow it to rest naturally, with your hand still holding the shoulder skin.

4. (Here we go, more pointing!) The hand that supported the hindquarters can now be used to carry out the rest of the examination. Bring the index finger of this hand so that it is pointing to the rabbits nose area. Now, what exactly are you looking for? You should be looking for any discharge or matted hair due to the discharge...Question time....What diseases will cause nasal discharge? Hmmm sounds like you need to do some studying.

5. Now its time to examine the teeth. Approach the head from above. Pull back the upper lip with your thumb and index finger (see image below)

Look at the top teeth for any malocclusion( a DQ) or cracked, broken or chipped teeth. Don’t forget to check the bottom teeth as well. Question time.....how many teeth does a rabbit have?......any guesses.....any at all? Well the answer is 28.

6. Check the throat and dewlap area (neck if your breed doesn’t have a dewlap) by running your index finger flat from the bottom of the mouth, slowly to the front legs. THEN BRING YOUR FINGER BACK UP, BELOW THE MOUTH AND REPEAT THIS STEP AGAIN. The repetition will not penalize you, however it will show the judge that you are being thorough. During this step you are mainly looking for any abscesses or tumors that may be present.

7. Next, pull the front legs upward to see if they are straight. Place your thumb on the bottom of the foot and two fingers on the other side for good movement. When checking straightness, actually BRING YOUR EYES TO THE LEVEL OF THE LEGS by bending your knees slightly.

8. AFTER CHECKING THE STRAIGHTNESS OF BOTH LEGS, return to the first leg. Press your thumb into the bottom of the foot, causing it to flex. The toenails of the rabbit should flex upward to allow easier exposure of the toenails. Make sure you show the judge that you are actually looking at each toenail by BRUSHING THE FUR BACKWARDS ON EACH TOENAIL. DON’T FORGET THE DEWCLAW! Here you are looking for any dis-coloration of the toenails (white toenails etc..) TO EMPHASIZE LOOKING AT THE DEWCLAW, MOVE THE RABBITS LEG SLIGHTLY ON AN ANGLE, WHICH ALSO ALLOWS A BETTER VIEW. Other than color tone required for the specific breed and/or variety, you are looking for any broken or missing toenails.

9. Moving in the circular motion to the belly: place your fingers close together and use your entire hand to check the chest and abdominal area for tumors, abscesses or other abnormalities. Next bring a few fingers between the front legs at an angle (allowing you to feel all of the chest). As soon as possible, bring your hand perpendicular to the rabbit and move it flatly along the rabbits abdomen. As you are moving your hand flatly, allow the hand to naturally catch the leg bones of the rabbit so that your hands run along the thigh bones and cause the rabbit’s hind legs to become straight. STOP MOVING DOWNWARD WHEN THE RABBITS LEGS ARE STRAIGHT.

10. This step is a blending from step 9. For step 10, check the rabbits back legs for straightness, seeing if they are parallel with the rabbits body. For a better view. It may help to move your rabbit at a very slight angle for this step only, by rotating its shoulders so the head moves slightly toward me. After checking for straightness, then return the rabbit to its original position. The action just allows for a better angle for viewing.

11. Slowly release your hand from the thigh and check the hocks for sore hocks or other abnormalities. You can do this by holding the leg with your hand and moving the fur of the hock in the opposite direction (with your thumb) for emphasis.

12. Return to the first foot you checked the hock of, and then check the toenails, once again brushing back the fur to once again check for color and missing or broken toenails.

13. The next step deals with determining the rabbits sex. Approach the rabbit from the side closest to your body and put the tail between your index and middle finger, so that your palm is facing upward. Then use your thumb to gently press down in front of the sex organ so that it is exposed and sex may be determined. At this point of the examination, you should look for any visible signs of genital diseases and the presence of two testicles in male rabbits (with the exception of Junior Bucks, where either both or neither of the testicles is permissible, remember it is a DQ to have one testicle present in any age group!). If you don’t know how to determine the sex of your rabbit, ask! You need to be able to do to this!

14. Use your thumb and index finger to check the rabbit’s tail bone for any abnormalities, such as a broken tail. To do this, place your thumb on the visible side of the tail and your index finger on the other side nearest the base of the tail. Slowly slide your thumb and index finger together to the tip of the tail along the tail bone.

15. Turn the rabbit back over, exactly opposite of how you turned it over the first time. Do this by reaching around the table and moving your hand under the rabbit’s hindquarters so that you may feel the hipbones. Lift the rabbit’s hindquarters an inch or so about the table and turn the rabbit over so that only its hind legs are on the table. Allow the hind feet to completely touch the table, and then lower the rabbits front feet. Keep the rabbit so that its side is still facing you.

16. Release the shoulder skin and move your opposite hand so that it is covering the rabbits eyes. Then check the tail for proper carriage by setting the tail to the breed standard position and showing the judge that you are observing its carriage. Wry or screw tail are two common conditions that may cause the tail to be improperly carried and therefore lead to a DQ.

17. Time to complete the circle of the rabbit by returning to the position where you began, the ears. You want to set the ears to the breed standard, allowing you to check for proper ear carriage. To do this, move your hand covering the eyes down the nose so that the eyes are completely exposed. Then bring the index finger of your other hand down to the neck and press forward slightly on the base of the ears.

18. Just a few more things before you’re FINALLY finished. In this step, you want to check the rabbits meat quality by spreading your hand across the rabbit’s back and squeezing lightly in four place...the shoulders, ribs, loin and rump. Remember these areas, they could be on the rabbit quiz. If you would like, you can repeat this step to assure thoroughness.

19. Now its time to check the fur quality of the rabbit. Be sure to check the meat of the rabbit before the fur! It’s really easy to reverse these. First run your hand along the rabbit from the tail to the head and then back to the tail, not only once along the rabbit’s back, but again along the sides. It is best to make it a point to move from one side of the rabbit to the other until all the fur is covered. By doing this, you are checking for two important fur qualities: texture and density. After you have checked all the fur, blow in a steady stream somewhere along the rabbit’s back or side in an area you can easily see. Blow back and forth a few times. This allows you to not only emphasize the checking of density and texture, but also to check for ring color or under-color in certain breeds. (Quiz Question: How many color bands are typically seen in ring color?) For breeds with wool, pull out a very small portion of wool, twist it together and pull on the two ends. This allows you to check for the wools strength.

20. Remembering the steps to posing, move your rabbit so that it faces the judge. Pose the rabbit, place your hands at your sides, and take a step back. Keep your head held high and smile.

Now you’re done! Well almost, following this guide is a list of common rabbit diseases and their symptoms.