[Jacob-list] Inspector Games

[Thomas Simmons]

Mary - 

Thank you for your honest comments.  The pictures that were posted were from last november; as soon as the updated ones come back from the photo lab, they will be posted as well.  Ironically - the horns have actually been moving apart, not closer together as he has aged. 

It is confusing to me that the "disqualifying" criteria specifically says "Undifferentiated AND Unbalanced."  It does NOT say "OR" unbalanced.  Clearly his horns are differentiated. 

 I think this also goes to the issue of whether we will only register Jacobs that "look good," or all Jacobs that are truly Jacobs.

The issue is further clouded, to me, by the fact that I was lead to believe that there was a significant possibility that since this was a purely aesthetic rejection, his progeny would be allowed to be registered.  Then, without a single fact changing, there was a unanimous decision NOT to permit any of his progeny to be registered through JSBA.  This was all done without an on-site inspection, without further discussions with me, without ANYTHING changing.

(an aside: I am really amazed that everyone was so surprised that Max had a 5th horn.  I am no expert, but it was clearly visible to me the day I got the poster.  I never saw anything in the standards that penalized a ram that was "asymmetrical" in pattern, which appears to be Esau's downfall.)

Remember, I am not asking anybody to buy his offspring, or him.  I am not asking anyone to "like" his horns.  But I am puzzled that a full-blooded Jacob (as full as is reasonable) with horns that do NOT threaten life or health can be denied registration when he clearly has differentiated horns.

I suppose one of the real issues is this:  What does "Registration" actually mean in JSBA?

Does it mean, "He looks just the way we want all our Rams to look?"  Or does it mean, "Yes, he is recognized as a Jacob."

And if it is "This is how we want our rams horns to look,"  is the "Two-up and two-curled" the only acceptable pattern?  Why not get rid of all two-horned rams if our goal is that image?

Perhaps the good that will come out of this is not Esau's registration, but a frank discussion as to what the JSBA Inspector's goals are, and what the organization's goals are, and whether they are consistent and clearly spelled out.

thom
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