A British breed of domestic sheep that combines two characteristics unusual in sheep: it is piebald, dark-colored with areas of white wool, and it most commonly has four horns. The origin of the breed is not known; broken-colored polycerate sheep were present in England by the middle of the seventeenth century and were widespread a century later. A breed society was formed in 1969 and a flock book was published from 1972. The Jacob was kept for centuries as a "park sheep" to ornament the large estates of landowners, and in modern times is reared mainly for wool, meat and skins.
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