The Jacob Breed Standard is divided into three categories: Desirable traits, acceptable, but less desirable traits, and unacceptable/disqualifying traits.

	Desirable traits	Acceptable but less desirable traits	Unacceptable/ Disqualifying Traits
HEAD:	Slender and triangular head Clear of wool forward of the horns Large symmetrical eye patches incorporating the cheeks Clear white blaze from poll to muzzle Straight profile Nasal septum and mouth should be dark pigmented in adults even though the muzzle patch may be absent	Having only one of the three facial markings Slipped (below the eye) eye patch or patches Pink noses Slight tendency to Roman nose Young lambs, up to a maximum of 6 months of age, showing baby wool forward of the horns	Absence of facial markings Wool forward of the horns Large, square non-Jacob looking head
EARS:	Small, erect and slightly above the horizontal White, colored or spotted	Slightly larger but proportional to body	Large pendulous ears and/or disproportionate to body
EYES:	Clear, bright eyes, no evidence of split upper eyelid deformity Color: brown, blue, or marbled	Grade 2 or 3 split upper eyelid deformity causing no injury to the eye which would require surgical intervention	Grade 3 split upper eyelid deformity or more, causing discomfort or injury to eye Wide, broad bone structure between the eyes
HORNS:	Color: black or black and white striped Rams: Any number provided they are well differentiated (cleanly separated) and balanced Flesh between horn bases Two horned rams should have wide, well spaced horns with good clearance of checks, nose, and mouth at maturity Lower horns should be well spaced from face, cheeks and neck Ewes: Horns firm, fine featured with femininity, balanced, and well differentiated	Rams: Fused even horns Slightly forward tipping horns which do not impair grazing Insufficient spacing between upper and lower horns (must be differentiated and balanced though flesh may not be present) Ewes: Unbalanced horn set Fused horns Ewes with scurs in place of lower (secondary) horns	Polled sheep, or sheep with scurs only. Two-horned rams having small, weak, feminine looking horns. Multiple-horned rams having fewer than four strong horns, with scurs in upper or lower horn position. (it is fully acceptable for rams with at least 4 or more strong balanced horns to have additional scurs or horn buds) Two-horned ewes having small or weak horns. Multiple horned ewes having scurs in the primary/top horn position Solid white horns Forward pointing horns curling towards the eyes, or growing over the nose impairing the ability to graze naturally Narrow or close horns on two horned rams that lack space between the growing horns and his neck or jaw, encumbering his well being Undifferentiated and unbalanced set to four horned rams, i.e., fused in an irregular pattern on one or both sides Small, feminine horns on rams Lower (lateral) horns that grow into the face, cheek or neck
NECK:	Medium length
TAIL:	The natural Jacob tail reaches almost to the hock Is wooly, not hairy
LEGS:	Set square on all corners, standing firm, well-balanced Fine boned and of medium length Free of wool below the knees Color: white with or without colored patches Hooves are black or striped	Slightly cow hocked One to three dark colored legs White hooves	All dark colored Wool present below the knees and hocks
BODY CONFORMATION:	Mature rams weigh between 120 and 180 lbs. Mature ewes weigh between 80 and 120 lbs. Long framed, smooth muscled with well-sprung ribs Fine boned with straight back The rump slopes toward the tail head Rams have short scrotums holding testicles closer to the body than modern breeds Ewes have small udders held closer to the body than modern breeds		All conformational and/or congenital defects leading to unsoundness for breeding Large, heavy boned Fat or short tailed Rams over 180 lbs. Ewes over 130 lbs. Long, pendulous scrotal sacks on rams Large, loosely attached udders on ewes Excessively large teats on ewes
BODY COLOR and FLEECE:	The Jacob is a randomly spotted sheep, basically white with colored spots or patches Preferably an approximate 60% white and 40% black or lilac spotting Skin beneath white fleece is pink, skin beneath colored spots dark Fleece is a medium grade with an open character and soft springy handle (Bradford count 44-56, demi-luster / 26.40-36.19 microns) Fleece staple length is 3-7 inches, fleece weight 3-6 lbs, with little grease and high yield	Random colored patches on front half of body only Not less than 15% colored markings nor more than 85% color Patches of color with some bleeding, mottling or freckling Small amount of freckling in white wool Small amount of kemp	Fleeces grading 60 Bradford count or higher (23.50 microns or finer) Fleeces grading 40 Bradford count or lower (38.09 microns or coarser) Double coating More than 85% colored markings Less than 15% colored markings Short, brittle fleeces with heavy kemp Fleeces on adult sheep which shed Fleeces weighing 8 lbs. or more Excessive quilted appearance to the fleece (where the dark fibers are shorter than the white or vice versa) occurring after the first shearing. Excessive freckling in the white wool of young animals