For those of you who know us, we are big believers in ARBA’s registration system and do our best to register all of our rabbits. Being able to find stock that’s registered is a great help to newer breeders who may not know the ins and outs of a breed!

For those of you unfamiliar with this, here’s a description of registration from the ARBA website:

“The American Rabbit Breeders Association has a unique and exacting registration system. Unlike other animal registration systems, each rabbit or cavy must be examined by a licensed registrar, certified free from heritable defects and found to meet specific breed requirements as outlined in the ARBA Standard of Perfection.

The ARBA does not issue registrations of litters or register individual rabbits based on the registration or pedigree of its sire or dam. Each rabbit or cavy must be at least six (6) months of age before it can be inspected by a licensed ARBA Registrar. Because of its exacting requirements, the ARBA Rabbit/Cavy Registration system is arguably the single best livestock or pet stock registration system in the world.”

Because we believe in the system, I’ve had the idea of attempting to become a registrar in the back of my mind for quite some time. But the application process is not a walk in the park:

“In order to receive an ARBA Registrar’s license, each individual must be a continuous member of the ARBA for at least three (3) years, as well as have secured the written endorsement of 20 ARBA members in good standing prior to submitting an application to the ARBA office. Upon being approved to apply for an ARBA Registrar’s License, the applicant has two (2) years in which to pass a written and oral examination delivered by an official examining judge appointed by the ARBA and must work under three (3) judges at three (3) shows, assist one (1) registrar with registering animals, and secure the endorsement of the registrar and at least two (2) of the judges under whom he or she has worked.”

Big sigh. Time to set the goals high, right?!

At Arizona State Convention last month I was able to obtain the necessary signatures of support from other members (THANK YOU FRIENDS!) and since then have been trying to prepare myself to take the exam.

There’s a lot to learn and memorize. Like, a lot. It’s a little bit like trying to take a sip from a firehose.

Now, our kids are involved in programs that require a TON of memorization, so after becoming overwhelmed with all of the information in the Standard of Perfection to study, I decided to pretend I was going back to elementary school and use my kids memorization techniques, applied to rabbits.

First, I purchased and started working through the ARBA Registrar Study Guide:

Next, I channeled my homeschool vibe and made a lapbook of the pertinent facts. This is expandable, so if more items come up, I can just add another flap using colors, shapes, and placement as a tactile Memory Palace, or Method of Loci (yes, a Memory Palace is a thing):

Then, I took yet another step down the rabbit hole of super-kooky and… created songs and chants. (Yes, You May Laugh At Me Now.) (I’m laughing at myself. But kinda proud all at the same time.)

Now, before you click on any of these links I think it’s really, really important to note that I am in no way a professional musician, singer, or anything else that would cause people to admire my warbling. BUT, if a method is quirky and kind of strange, that in itself is part of the memory technique! I’ve found myself singing these songs in my head before I go to bed, which is a sign that something is working correctly in the memory banks!

So feel free laugh at me for these songs, but be gentle with your comments because ain’t nobody got time for nastiness ’round here.

Ear Length Disqualifications

Types of Fur

5 Body Types

4 Class Breeds

6 Class Breeds

If these are helpful to you, please use them! It’s general information that might be good for children studying for 4H exams, Registrar or Judge hopefuls, or people who just really like to embrace their best quirky self and know random facts about rabbits! Perhaps this will be a Jeopardy quiz show winning answer at some point in time! (And if you win $1,000,000, please be sure to send a chunk of it back to me as an expression of gratitude!)

I’m not exactly certain when I’ll take the test. Hopefully sometime in the next month. I’d rather be prepared than fail, so I’ll have to take the rest of our crazy life and schedule into account and right now, finishing up our school year with projects galore, may not be the best time to focus on studying.

The more time to memorize the better, right?!

If you’ve taken the exam, I’d love to hear your tips for success in preparation!

Tagged: 4H study guide, ARBA registrar preparation, how to memorize stuff about rabbits, memory palace