[Jacob-list] Primitive trait list

[Grose]

Louise says that when all is said and done, the sheep that looks "right" to all of us is the first one that we saw. First and foremost we look for a triangular, deerlike head and a pompous "Ram-I-Am" air [What Edd refers to as an upright stance]. Mary Spahr's list of traits is right on target.  -but-  Thom is also right. Cosmetic traits such as markings, coloration and horns have no relation to how primitive the sheep is unless they are so extreme in expression as to adversely affect survivability. Therefore, it is a primitive characteristic that the expression of cosmetic traits is broad. [I'm getting in trouble NOW] The heritability of these traits is low. It is not that % white is extreme so much as it is that the expression is so thoroughly scattered through the range. Given enough sheep, we would probably see a bell curve.
                                                       -but-
Jacob sheep have never been a completely primitive breed. Twinning is not a primitive trait. I do not like white faces [small eye patches].I do not like them on Holsteins. I do not like them on Jacob sheep. This has no relevence to  "primitive" or "true- type". I do not care, I do not like them. Every breeder that has owned Jacob sheep has had similar biases. The problem comes in when we rationalize the support of these cosmetic traits at the expense of functional or primitive traits. For example, we all appreciate large horns on rams, but support of larger horns is invariably at the expense of having coarser boned sheep. 
 
I guess our goal is to find a balance we can all find mutually agreeable.
                                                                                              Neal Grose

                                                                          
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