American Sable Rabbit (USA)
Learn about the American Sable Rabbit, and the UK's Siamese Sable and Sable Marten rabbit breeds. Beautiful rabbits on the Rare Rabbit List. Most of the time. The other times, you might get a sable, seal, or Californian-marked rabbit. Sable rabbits were discovered in chinchilla rabbit litters separately in California and in England, and developed concurrently within their separate breeding lines on both sides of the world. The English rabbits came first. The very first Sable rabbits are believed to have cropped up in the herd of Mr. David Irving, an Englishman who lived near Liverpool. He had imported some Chinchilla rabbits from France in the mid-1910s. The Chinchilla breed was itself still showing evidence of its newness in the various sports seen in the early litters. Shaded brown rabbits, as well as martin-patterned sports, could be found in the nestbox now and again. The sepia-shaded bunnies in Mr. Irving’s nestboxes invariably landed in the stew pot, because he was focused on the Chinchilla color. What happened was, if the genetics were just right, they could produce more of these very attractive rabbits. Although the color didn’t entirely breed true - it was never the only color in the nestbox - they could still standardize the type and medium sable hue of the rabbits. (In the nest box: Californian, seal and brownish-gray sables. All three photos kindly supplied by Ms. Donna Williams of Whistler, BC Canada. Click on any picture to go to her website.) Hop on over to California in the year 1924. Mr. Otto Brock of San Gabriel, California, found the first shaded brown rabbits in the nestboxes of his ‘purebred’ Chinchilla rabbits. The rest of the story of American sable rabbits in California reads much as it did with the breeders in England. In 1929, the American Sable Rabbit Society was formed and a working standard adopted. They named the new breed the American Sable, and called for medium-colored shading. The breed was formally recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association in 1931. Included were medium-shaded Sables, and the lighter Siamese Sables. Tan-patterned (marten) sables were also occurring in the US, however instead of recognizing them under the umbrella of the American Sable, they were called Silver Sable Martens, and these were accepted as a new variety of Silver Marten rabbits. After the great start to a challenging breed, the sables did not fare so well, at least in the United States. By 1976, the Siamese Sable variety was excluded from recognition due to below-minimum numbers. At the same time, the breed name was shortened to Sable. In 1981, just ONE Sable was shown in the ARBA National Convention, owned by Mr. Al Roerdanz of Ohio. This triggered shock, and then a flurry of activity in an attempt to save the breed. Mr. Roerdanz scrambled, scrounged, and secured seven purebred Sables, which he began breeding. He also, logically, turned to the UK and imported a trio of British Sables. Additionally, he added to the gene pool with Sable Silver Martens, Sable Rex, Havanas, Californians and the Standard Chinchilla. Several other breeders were recruited to the cause, and a few other breeds donated their genetics to the gene pool. The American Sable Rabbit Club was formed in 1982 with 13 charter members. Just one year later, at the 1983 ARBA National Convention, more than enough Sables were shown. The breed is still alive today, and now recognized by the ARBA with the old name - American Sable Rabbit. American Sables are still rare. Today, 2010, they rank #10 on the Rare Breed Rabbit List, no change from the ranking given in 2006. Estimated numbers of American Sable Rabbits as of 2005 are 500-800. The American Sable is not listed as endangered. The Standard of Perfection can be obtained from the ARBA, or you can inquire at the American Sable Rabbit Society. The American Sable Rabbit is a medium-sized rabbit with a commercial body type. The Standard of Perfection describes the gradations of shading without actually specifying the intensity of hue, other than the "rich sepia brown on the ears, face, back, legs, and upper side of the tail." Weights: The UK’s national organization, the British Rabbit Counsel (BRC), lists their breeds as the Marten Sable and the Siamese Sable. Weights for both varieties: 5-7 lb (2.26 - 3.17 kg) In the UK, both Marten Sables and Siamese Sables come in Light, Medium and Dark shading, the main differences being "width of saddle, in tone and intensity of sepia colours." Judges are instructed to "award the appropriate number of points for shadings and penalise those exhibits which lack shadings, i.e. are self coloured" (BRC-Marten Sables). The UK Standards of Excellence for both varieties are available online at the BRC website. Is This Your Rabbit Breed?
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