[Jacob-list] Registered vs. unregistered

[fourhornfarm]

Juliet,

   Thank you very much for responding with your information on the Jacobs in 
England.

Carl in Indiana USA
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Juliet & Gordon" <westergladstone at btinternet.com>
To: <jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 3:51 PM
Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] Registered vs. unregistered



> 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

>

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