[Jacob-list] Opinion regarding "true Jacob"

[snielsen at orednet.org]

Marguerite Van Beek wrote:


>   Do any of you think that a Jacob that does not have leg markings is not

> a "true Jacob".  That they are a crossbred.


In my opinion, true human beings have red hair. You will see lots of other
hair colors out there, but those are usually signs of cross-breeding and
dilution of the pure gene pool. You'll also see lots of attempts to alter
hair color in the direction of red. That doesn't make the individuals
red-haired, but it does point up the desirability of red-hairedness. Also,
natively red-haired individuals carry the gene for horns. Just because
they don't have phenotypic horns, that doesn't mean they don't have the
gene for horns somewhere in their make-up. With careful assessment of
progeny, the trait can probably be restored to the population.

Let's hope we can gently educate those breeders and judges who have a
rigid view of preference. "True" Jacobs are, fortunately, all across the
map. One of the important aspects of a heritage breed is its potential for
variability. It's one of the things that makes it tough for judges who
perhaps do not understand the nature of breeding rare lines. There is room
for preference here, and lots of room for variation.

Susan

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