The head on a Holland Lop is worth 24 points, which is almost a quarter of the schedule of points. As such, understanding how to correctly evaluate the head is of paramount importance in this breed.
Heads are not a particular strong suit in my herd, so I employed the help of my good friend Chris Zemny for example photos of ideal head structure. All credit for the examples of correct Holland Lop heads goes to her. Thank you, Chris!
Heads are not a particular strong suit in my herd, so I employed the help of my good friend Chris Zemny for example photos of ideal head structure. All credit for the examples of correct Holland Lop heads goes to her. Thank you, Chris!
The first element of the head to understand is the size. The ideal ratio would be one part head to two parts body. The tort buck on the left has ideal head to body ratio. The head is extremely large and balances correctly with the body. The broken blue otter buck on the right has a very poor head to body ratio. His head is much too small to balance with the size of his body.
The tort buck on the left has excellent width between the eyes. You can’t see either eye when viewed from the front. The black otter doe on the right has extremely poor width between the eyes. Both eyes are quite prominent and visible from the front.
The tort buck on the left has excellent curvature to the brow. When viewed in this side profile, the skull is rounded over the forehead. The chocolate otter doe on the right lacks curvature to the skull. She flattens over the top of her head rather than rounding correctly.
The tort buck on the left has an extremely wide, full muzzle and cheek. The blue otter doe on the right is narrow through the muzzle and square in her cheek, lacking width and fullness.
The tort buck on the left has an extremely short muzzle. There is a very short distance between the eye and the nose. The tort doe on the right has a long muzzle. There is too much distance between the eye and the nose.
That concludes this article on heads! I hope that the information and example photos were helpful.
That concludes this article on heads! I hope that the information and example photos were helpful.