The Whip-In - A Touch of Class

The whip-in is the area at the base of the head formation on a Jacobin. Beginning at the base of the neck just above the shoulder and is the area of the head formation from which all of the feathers of both the Mane and the Chain radiate upwards and outwards. The base of the whip-in should be the narrowest point of the entire Jacobin when viewed from the side in profile and should in effect sharply contrast with the eye-line which is the area of the head formation which runs horizontally through the center of the eye and should be the widest point of the Jacobin in profile.The rose should be well below the eye-line on the centre of the side of the neck. It should be noted that in order for a Jacobin to show proper whip-in the Jacobin must first have a long neck. The Jacobin should also have a long, slender, streamlined body, as the standard calls for, so that the upper body and shoulder give way to the whip-in with a flowing, gradual, continuous effect.

When you look at a Jacobin with great station you must realize that it is not just leg setting that creates good station and that wonderful upright stance. It is actually a very complex combination of physical attributes that sets the bird off. Of coarse we start with the legs that lock in at the hocks with the ball of the foot centered directly below the center of the rose. the pants should then cover the legs to give the nice dressed appearance. Moving up you then want a long slender body and waist to give the bird more elevation and height. Then you want to stretch out and lengthen the neck to give the bird even more reach and to allow the whip-in area to be as narrow as possible giving a more dramatic uplifting effect as the feathers of the head formation then radiate upwards and outwards to the widest point at the eye-line. Finally to finish we now want as much top feather reaching far above the head as possible. All of this gives an up, up, up effect and gives us the appearance of a noble elegant bird which after all is our Jacobin. The whip-in however is a very critical component that gives the Jacobin that added touch of class that creates a true Champion. The correct whip-in on a Jacobin will give the entire head formation the appearance of an inverted light bulb or inverted pear. Some breeders think that the entire head formation should be completely round as if drawn by a compass when viewed in profile. This is not the way it should appear. Only the part of the formation above the eye-line should be perfectly round and create a half circle - this would consist of the upper chain extension and the upper mane extension. From the eye-line down both the chain and the mane should cut in much more dramatically to give a more contoured appearance. Probably more than any other feature this is what separates our modern show type Jacobins from those of the past as we have bred our birds closer to the standard.

Many of the winning Jacobins of the 60's and 70's did have a much more overall round appearance to their head formations. However, these same birds had shorter necks and thicker bodies which is why they lacked nice narrow neck-lines and whip-ins. The lower chain and lower mane broke away from the body at a more horizontal angle while the best Jacobins of today have a more gradual vertical lift to the lower chain and lower mane as it rises up and away from the body. The mane is thus carried up off of the back and the Jacobin is much taller and stretchier.

Clint Robertson   Email: clint@jacobins.ca