[Jacob-list] Registered vs. unregistered

[Juliet & Gordon]

Victoria wrote: <<IN Great Britain, as Juliet will tell you, they
crossed their Jacobs and now the original registered
Jacob is gone and it is only here in the United States
that we have the "original" breed that came in the mid
last century to America>>

I think the change in Jacob characteristics in GB is partly due to blood
from other breeds, especially Dorset, as you say, but a greater effect has
come from breeders consistently going for size, especially in the show ring,
and repeated over many generations. This has led to some enormous Jacobs
here which I think you would recognise only by their spots ! Hornsets in 4
horns have gone down the drain too, with a tendency for ram horns to point
backwards, even crossing behind the head, in an effort to avoid
forwards-pointing horns. In fact most 4 horned Jacobs are in the north,
especially Scotland, whereas England goes more for 2 horned sheep. I suppose
they could be bred back again, but no-one seems worried about it.
To be fair to the Jacob breeders of the past, when the breed was being saved
here, they needed to find a niche for it; what they went for was trying to
breed a Jacob which could compete with some of the big commercial types -
remembering that we have an awful lot of sheep in Britain so to be popular
it has to have something special about it. Now we know that the spots and
horns and general beauty of Jacobs are enough, but this is only so today,
and was not the case back in the 60s and 70s. Today there is much more
interest in the old primitive breeds, small and independent, but so sadly
for the Jacobs over here that type is lost , at least amongst registered
animals.  Unregistered Jacobs cannot be registered here, so those
unregistered animals which retain the ancient characteristics are lost to
the flock book.
My point is, that we all need to beware and be aware of the possible effects
of registration on the breed itself - too strict and some traits can be
unintentionally lost, too lax and sheep which are not true Jacobs could
creep in. The Great British Jacob shows how the type can be altered so much
in a series of very small steps, without any overall control, and in the
process something valuable can be lost.
I know that in the US you are very aware of this and delight in keeping your
sheep small and primitive (and long may you do so), but having been speaking
to one of the 'huge' breeders today in the supermarket (!) I felt I just had
to remind you all. She is so proud of the way Jacobs here are now!  Sadly,
we have stopped keeping Jacobs at the moment and have turned our attentions
to the Hebridean breed, which is small, primitive and black, with 2 or 4
horns, and to Soay, another small and primitive Scottish breed.  We keep the
lesson of British Jacobs very much in mind with our Hebrideans and the
Society has now introduced a maximum acceptable size into the Breed
Description.

Finally, may I say how graciously you have all dealt with the recent
controversy in this group, and what interesting points have been raised by
it.

Juliet in Scotland UK