Barb horse
Developed on the Barbary Coast of North Africa, the Barb is a desert horse, with great hardiness and stamina. Because of the amount of cross-breeding, it is difficult to find a pure-bred Barb today.The horses generally a fiery temperament and has less-desirable conformation (for a sport horse), but has had an incredible impact on today's modern breeds.
History of the Breed
It is not exactly known where the Barb developed, although it is unlikely that the Barb and Arabian share a common ancestor. The Barb originated in Northern Africa during the 8th century. It is possible that is arose from crossing Turkmenian (the breed that also produced the Akhal-Teke) and Caspian horses, and descendants of Iberian horses. There are several varieties of Barb, including the Algerina, Moroccan, and Tunisian.
When imported to Europe, they were often mistaken for Arabians, mainly because their handlers were northern African Muslims who spoke Arabic. The Godolphin "Arabian", which was one of the foundation sires for the thoroughbred breed, was actually a Barb stallion, and is now called the Godolphin Barb. He was given to King Louis XV of France by a Moroccan sultan. It is said that he was working as a cart horse in Paris when an Englishman Edward Coke bought him and took him to England. When Coke died, the horse was acquired by renowned breeder Lord Godolphin, who used him for breeding to English mares.
The Barb has also been used for creating the Spanish Barb, the American Quarter Horse, the Mustang, the Appaloosa, the Andalusian and the Lusitano, as well as others. It is now bred primarily in Morocco, Algeria, Spain, and southern France, although, due to difficult economic times in its homeland, the number of pure-bred Barbs is decreasing. The World Organization of the Barb Horse, founded in Algeria in 1987, was formed to promote and preserve the breed. However, due to political situations, it is difficult to say how much of an increase in numbers or purity the breed will have.
Breed Characteristics
The Barb is a light riding horse with great stamina. In the hands of a skilled rider, the spirited horse can be handled. It has a powerful front end, high withers, short back, a sloping, narrow croup, and carries its tail low. It is hardy, with clean legs, and small, round, sound hooves. It does not have particularly good gaits, but has gallops like a sprinter, which has influenced the racing breeds such as the Thoroughbred, American Quarter Horse, and Standardbred. It usually is gray, but bay, black, chestnut, and brown horses are also found, and the Barb stands 14-15 hands high. Theere are different types of the Barb including the Spanish Barb, the Abaco Barb, and others. The Abaco Barb can come in diffrent colors than the usual Barb. It comes in a Splash Overo color which is rare in other horse breeds, pinto, roan, chestnut, black, and the other Barb colors. There are only 12 Abaco Barbs left in the world! The Spainish Barb is the Spanish influence of the Barb. Cortés brought the Spanish Barb over from Spain and the type has pretty much died out. But, there's a few left and they are chestnut, black, brown, and gray.