When shopping for new stock, really look at your herd, the whole herd, not just favorites. Yes, we tend to gravitate right to our favorites and forget the rest. Out of sight, out of mind? NOW, do you have more rabbits to evaluate than first thought? Yup. So create a score card if you need one to keep evaluations straight. Bring over a HL friend or two for their input. You may not always agree but it sure helps detour hutch blindness. Not only can they help point out faults, which you may not always see, but they will notice which strengths are stamped onto your line.
Are you looking for a better topline, higher headmount, auto-poser, thicker shorter bone, better crown, thicker ear... the list goes on and on. I once read that when trying to "fix" a weakness in a herd, don't go for just one thing at a time. Determine two weaknesses and find one animal that has the two strengths to offset them. Otherwise, you may be so focused on one area that you make another area worse. For example, if you need a better crown, better bone, better hindquarter, auto-poser. You find a HL buck with an outstanding crown and introduce him into your herd. He has a medium hindquarter, not to worry, right? The medium hindquarter isn't going to "hurt" your weak hindquarter herd. But after using him several generations, you'll have many nicely crown, poor hindquarter animals. You've selected the better crown offspring to keep but have doubled up on a not equally amazing hindquarter.
So try to fix two weaknesses at once or you may fix one weakness and set another weakness deeper into your gene pool. Some strengths go more hand-in-hand and are easier to work on at the same time. For instance, shorter bone/shorter ears or higher headmount/auto-poser. Just make sure that the higher auto-poser doesn't bring with it longer, refined bone structure and that is what makes him pose up higher. His front legs are so long that it can't help but stand him taller on the table.
A properly posed HL shows off all his best assets. His thickness and shortness of bone and wide chest, nice topline, his full-to-the-table hindquarter. It also focuses attention to his head, ears, crown and bright eye. Notice too that when the head is up, the ears appear a bit shorter as they hang against his cheeks/body instead of away from his body and hanging down towards the table. But remember there are no points dedicated to "the pose". Any points garnered are from what that pose SHOWS. If a real upright pose shows long front legs and refined bone, it isn't a plus. If a slightly lower pose is caused by very short tree-trunk legs, now that's a plus!