Harlequin Standard of Perfection Overview
Markings are the most import part of a Harlequins standard of perfection! A whopping 60 points of 100 are toward markings. Color is the next important trait, with 15 total points. General Type (head, ears, bone size, body shape) and Fur are equal consideration at 10 points each. Condition is 5 points.
Harlequin Standard Points Breakdown
General Type: 10 points
Fur: 10 points
Color: 15 points total
- Quality of Color: 5 points
- Clarity of Color: 10 points
Markings: 60 points total
- Body & Chest: 20 points
- Head & Ears: 20 points
- Feet & Legs: 20 points
Condition: 5 points
General Type
Harlequins under the ARBA Standard are a commercial breed. However, in other countries, Harlequins have a different body type. This means we had to reinvent the wheel with our Harlequins! Crossing them to other breeds to try to fix the type has, in the past, resulted in a heavy loss of marking quality and the introduction of undesirable color genetics like self, non-extension, and shaded. With only 10 points total toward body type, it has been an uphill battle for breeders to maintain the uniqueness of our breed with the focus on markings while still improving body type. We propose that breeders focus on the hindquarters. Pinched hindquarters are a huge problem in the breed, and it is a health risk because it can result in birthing complications for does and a higher risk of sore hocks. For a full breakdown of assessing commercial body type, check our Commercial Body Type Assessment page.
Fur
Harlequins are to have normal, flyback fur. This means that when the fur is stroked from back to front, it should snap back into place. While fur is not worth a lot in the Harlequin standard, we argue that it is a very important part of the rabbit. Poor fur quality means the color and markings will not be set off well. Fur that is prone to being pitted, going into dead coat, or is too long all affect the markings. Tight, proper flyback coats really show off the markings well!
Color
Color is divided into two parts: Quality of Color (5 points) and Clarity of Color (10 points).
Quality of Color
All color varieties in a Harlequin should be richly colored with dense pigmentation. In the Japanese group, Black Japanese and Chocolate Japanese will have orange bands and Blue Japanese and Lilac Japanese will have Fawn bands. All Magpie group varieties will have white banding instead of orange or fawn.
Clarity of Color
Each color should be distinct without mixing or brindling. Each color should be as close to 50% of the total as possible.
Some Tips
We have found that many judges put a lot of emphasis on these 15 total points of color, even over the many more points worth of actual marking placement. Clarity of color especially tends to make rabbits win, even when we would disagree on the winning rabbit. Often it has been our own rabbit winning primarily on clarity, and while it is nice to win, it feels cheap to us to win on 10 points worth of the standard. Keep this in mind as you are selecting your next generation to breed, though, as clarity of color is a fairly heritable trait compared to exact marking placement! Both 'all the parts' and flashy 'wow factor' harlequins have a place in a herd, but despite the 'all the parts' ones being technically better by point values, you may find they struggle to get their grand championship when up against the 'wow factor' rabbits. As you are showing rabbits, look for judges who have bred or currently breed harlequins to get legs on those rabbits with all the marking parts that just lack in clarity. We have had wonderful luck with Tom Green (he was a large contributor to the breed standard!) and Lynn Eden, both of whom have found the 'all the parts' harlequins among the flashy, clarity harlequins. We value a good judge, even when we don't win that day! We will always show to a judge who places the best rabbit up instead of the flashiest!
Examples of 'all the parts' but lacking clarity rabbits
Above is Dichrome's Fan Brush and Dichrome's Titania. Titania was 2nd place Magpie Jr Doe 2023 National Convention. She won a Best of Breed shortly after. Then she struggled for some time to get her next two legs, finally granding under Tom Green. She has every marking part. 3 part front (ears alternating with each other, which alternate with face, which alternates with chest and legs), alternating all four legs, and enough body bands. However, her face and ears have poor clarity, as do her hind legs. Fan Brush is a bit more clear 3 part front, but he lacks clarity on his face split. While many other harlequin breeders think he's absolutely lovely, he has yet to be found by judges for more than 2nd place (often losing to the wow factor of the rabbits below.)
If you excuse my mediocre-at-best mouse drawing skills, below I have gone over the different marking parks of the previous examples to show what a perfect marking would look like over that rabbit.
Cleaned up face and removed the white foot.
Again, cleaned up face and colored in the white foot. Also cleaned up the chest split to make it perfectly centered and even.
Cleaned up her face, fully colored in the (barely) colored ear, and got rid of the little bit of color at the base of the white ear.
Not a major fix here. Just made the white leg more clearly white and got rid of the white patches on the colored leg and foot. Though note that in this photo, she was still plucked from a litter, so she is a little clearer marked underneath than she looks!
Wow factor but missing parts!
Judges absolutely love Italic and Erik. We do, too! They are great additions to our breeding herd. However, they are perfect examples of the wow factor of clarity over all the parts being there. Italic has what is called a 'cut front', meaning all of his front markings are on the same side. Erik does alternate from ears to face, but not face to chest. Both have lovely distinct markings (clarity), which has gotten them easy passes to best of breed several times over rabbits we feel are better, since the total point values add up more for the other rabbits.
Markings
Markings are divided into three parts: Body & Chest (20 points), Head & Ears (20 points), and Feet & Legs (20 points)
Body & Chest
The body markings should be bands, bars, or a combination of both. Any marking that crosses over the spine and is visible when viewing from the side should be considered a body marking. Please note that mileage on this will vary from judge to judge, but most harlequin breeders assess their rabbits this way! 5-7 body markings per side is the ideal. These body markings begin with the chest, as per the standard of perfection! This is something that is so often missed by both breeders and judges! That means the chest counts as a band or bar! Anything behind the neck should count as you assess your rabbits. Again, mileage will greatly vary from one judge to the next, but a knowledgeable harlequin breeder or judge will count the bands/bars starting with the chest!
The chest marking is its own distinct thing, and a good chest marking is a thing of beauty! It is one of the most striking markings on the rabbit, with only the face split being comparable, in our opinion. A perfect chest split marking will be equally divided with one color on one side and the other on the other, carrying all the way down the leg and to the toes. Though keep in mind that the legs and feet are part of the Feet & Legs section of the standard. So if you are counting up points, make sure to put them in that category!
5 nicely balanced, fairly clear bands. Little brindling, but pretty clear. These are great body bands! Hers carry all the way across.
5-7 clear bands. Color balance is lacking on this side, with the chest band extending so far that the total color takes up more than 50% of the body. Some judges will count those thin bands near the tail, some will not.
Pretty clear body bands, shown from the top to distinguish between them and bars. Bands are an unbroken circle of color from one side, over the spine, and across the other side.
An example of (messy) bars. Bars often but not always take the appearance of a checkerboard when looked at from above. She has a lot of brindling, but her bars are an appropriate number.
Nice chest split, not quite equally divided but close. His one white paw on the colored side would take off a few points from the Feet & Legs section.
Gorgeous chest split, equally divided, carrying all the way down to each leg with the correct color.
Near perfect chest (tiny bit of brindling), though the leg on the colored side has more brindling, which would take off a few points from the Feet & Legs section.
Nice chest with little brindling, but it is not equally divided. Instead, some of the color leaks into the white side. The color does carry all the way to the feet, though, which we love!
Head & Ears
While technically this section is equal points to the other sections, we find judges put a lot of emphasis on this, as it is two of the three parts that go into the quintessential '3-part front'. The head should be equally divided between each color. The ears should also be equally divided, with one ear being wholly one color and the other ear being wholly the other. The ears colors should alternate with the head colors. The head colors should, in turn, alternate with the chest/legs, to complete the '3-part front'.
The head marking, also known as the 'face split', is an exceptionally important marking, despite not being actually worth more than any other. This is because lack of a distinct face split is a disqualification! Harlequin breeders generally understand that if there is a clear division between colors, it counts. If one side is at least 51% the appropriate color, we generally count it as a face split. Note that not all judges will, while other judges will let fly faces most harlequin breeders would consider a clear disqualification!
A face split of near perfection! Equally divided straight down the middle with very little brindling. His ears do alternate, though they are heavily brindled so would lose points in clarity. His chest/legs do not alternate with his face, meaning he is only a 2-part front.
Near perfect ear alternation! Very little brindling in the colored ear, and a perfectly white ear on the other side. Alternates with the face, but the face split is unfortunately very lacking in clarity and is not perfectly equal between the colors. It does then alternate with the chest and legs, making him a 3-part front.
Ears alternate nicely, just a little brindling in the colored ear. Face split is pretty good, though it is not quite equally divided between the color and the white. Neither alternate with each other, nor does the face split alternate with the chest/legs, making this a 'cut front'.
An example of a checkered face! This is a rabbit lacking a distinct face split, so she would be disqualified. She does have fair alternation between ears, and she does also have a chest split. If she had a face split, she would be the whole package!
Feet & Legs
Unfortunately, this section gets the least attention from both judges and breeders. We've seen judges not even turn the rabbit over to check the feet and legs! This section should be checked by flipping the rabbit over onto its back, not just looking at the feet! It is feet and legs, not just one or the other! The perfect set of feet and legs would be as follows: one front leg (ideally the same one as attaches to the colored chest!) should be fully colored, the other should be fully white (or orange/fawn if it is a Japanese) all the way to the toes. One hind leg should be fully colored, the other should be fully white/orange/fawn, all the way to the toes. All four should alternate with each other in a checkerboard pattern.
Gorgeous front legs, showing distinct color on one side all the way to the toes, and white all the way to the toes on the other. Hind legs do try to alternate with each other and the front, but the color is brindled and patchy.
Nice hind leg alternation carrying all the way down to the toes, though ideally the white leg would be a bit clearer. The front legs are both white so do not alternate with each other or with the hind legs, unfortunately!
Front legs have lovely alternation and clear color. Hind legs alternate with each other and the front to make a checkerboard pattern, however the hind legs are rather brindled. The parts are there, but they could use a lot more clarity!
Another messy set of all four legs alternating.
Condition
Condition is as much genetics as it is environment. If you take away environmental factors, what is left is the genetics. A rabbit that holds body condition well (firm flesh, doesn't tend to run boney or flabby) and keeps good coat condition (doesn't molt out excessively through the year, holds color well) is one which has good genetic condition. A rabbit should be able to hold good condition on any quality food. Breed to the food you feed. Don't keep switching feeds once you find one that works. If it works, and one rabbit is not doing well on it, that is a genetic issue.
Disqualifications
With this exception of general disqualifications and weight limits, all harlequin disqualifications have to do with color and markings!
White spots in Japanese: Any white spots in Japanese are a disqualification. This does not include normal agouti markings (eye circles, under jowls, tail, and belly) which may be cream or white. When assessing for white toes, it can be difficult to tell in kits if the toes are white or cream from the agouti markings. Check for white nails in this case! White toes will have white nails. Hold a blank piece of white printer paper up to the nail to compare color. Totally clear or white nails in Japanese is a disqualification.
Lack of face split: any harlequin lacking a distinct face split should be disqualified. See the Head & Ears section for clarification on what makes a face split.
Dutch-like body markings: any harlequin with body markings like a Dutch (belt and saddle marking) should be disqualified. Note that the AHRC voted against making it a disqualification for only one side being Dutch marked, though judges will often still disqualify for this!
Lack of a discernable face split is a disqualification. This gal tried to do a top to bottom face split hah!
An example of Dutch-like markings with a saddle and belt. Her other side has more bands, but if both sides looked like this, it would be a clear disqualification.
No color split on the head at all! She has a fully colored head. This is the same doe with the one side like a Dutch. She's obviously not show quality (but she makes the best babies, so we forgive her!)
While unfortunately mess, this gal does have a face split, as the one side has more than 50% color. It is broken up on that side, but it is still distinctly dark compared to the white side. Not a DQ, but some judges may DQ her.
Another close one! She does have a white side of the face and has been shown twice, once with a best of breed win and a leg. She is a very close call but is technically a 3-part front. Not a DQ, but some judges may DQ her.