Lauren, in a way, I totally agree with you and I feel similarly about my Thriantas. On the other hand, I have to wonder....the Brun's you all are working on here in N. Am. are considerably larger than the ones in Europe (which are the size of the Noirs) and when I asked why, Devon said it was because they would compete better against the likes of NZW. So, obviously you can see certain benefits in some cases of altering existing breeds for American/Canadian expectations.
I think the Argent breeds might not be so rare here in the states if they were one breed in multiple colors. If you look at the breeds that are popular today, most come in a multitude of colors whereas the breeds on the rare breed list with few exceptions come in only one or two colors. People like color, I guess.
I think it's a pretty sure recipe for success in a new breed, and it's actually one reason I worry about my little Thrianta. God forbid red ever fall out of favor! Mini Satins, on the other hand, will probably only become more popular as more colors are accepted.
And of course you're right, type is paramount. But many folks, especially in a smaller breed which arbitrarily becomes a "fancy" breed due to its size, are highly unlikely to take up the cause if the color doesn't do it for them.
AND, especially if we are recreating the breeds over here anyway instead of importing pure lines (I'm not completely sure which is happening in this case,) then I particularly feel that that gives us license to do whatever works for us, here.
Honorine, who is your buck from? I need a shoulders parts rabbit.
