Developed on the Barbary Coast of North Africa, the Barb is a desert horse, with great hardiness and stamina. Due to 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, not typical for a sport horse, but has had an incredible impact on today's modern breeds. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2288x1712, 717 KB) Berber warriors during a show in Agadir, Morocco. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2288x1712, 717 KB) Berber warriors during a show in Agadir, Morocco. ... The Barbary Coast, or Barbary, was the term used by Europeans till the 19th century to refer to the coastal regions of what is now Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, generally divided by the formidable barrier of the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... Horse breeding is the process of using selective breeding to produce additional individuals of a given phenotype, that is, continuing a breed. ...

History of the Breed

It is not exactly known where the Barb developed, but the breed originated in Northern Africa during the 8th century, about the time that Islamic invaders reached the region. There is considerable controversy over whether the Barb and Arabian share a common ancestor or if the Arabian was a predecessor of the Barb. It is possible that a native horse of the region was influenced by the crossing of multiple "oriental" breeds, including the Arabian horse, Turkmenian or Akhal-Teke, Caspian horse, with Iberian horses brought back from Europe by the Moorish invaders after they conquered southern Spain. Today there are several varieties of Barb, including the Algerina, Moroccan, and Tunisian. (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ... The Arabian horse is a breed of horse with a reputation for intelligence, high spirit, and outstanding stamina. ... The Arabian horse is a breed of horse with a reputation for intelligence, high spirit, and outstanding stamina. ... Anthem: Independent, Neutral, Turkmenistan State Anthem Capital (and largest city) Ashgabat Official languages Turkmen Government Single-party state  - President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedow Independence from the Soviet Union   - Declared 1991-10-27   - Recognized 1991-12-08  Area  - Total 488,100 km² (52nd) 188,456 sq mi   - Water (%) 4. ... The Akhal-Teke, Ahalteke in turkmen language, horse breed (pronounced Ah-cull Tek-y) is a breed from Turkmenistan, where they are the national emblem. ... For Caspian Sea, go to: Caspian Sea CASPIAN Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN) is a national grass-roots consumer group dedicated to fighting supermarket loyalty or frequent shopper cards. ... For the terrain type see Moor Moors is used in this article to describe the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus and the Maghreb, whose culture is often called Moorish. For other meanings look at Moors (Meaning) or Blackamoors. ...

When imported to Europe, they were sometimes mistaken for Arabians, even though they have distinctly different characteristics, in part because their handlers were northern African Muslims who spoke Arabic. The Godolphin Arabian, which was one of the foundation sires for the thoroughbred breed, may have been a Barb stallion, and is sometimes called the Godolphin Barb. ^{[citation needed]} Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... The Godolphin Arabian (ca 1724 - 1754), also known as the Godolphin Barb, was one of three horses which were the founders of the modern thoroughbred horse racing broodstock. ... Thoroughbred race horses The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known as a race horse. ...

The Barb has also influenced 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. A palomino Quarter Horse shown in-hand. ... Free-roaming mustangs (Utah, 2005) Mustangs at the Palomino Valley Adoption Center A mustang is a hardy, free-roaming horse of the North American west, descended primarily from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish conquistadors. ... The Appaloosa is a horse breed, in which the horse has one of several distinct patterns of spots. ... Andalusian Referring to Andalusia A type of horse: see Andalusian horse This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Lusitano is a breed of horse from Portugal that closely resembles the Andalusian. ...

Breed Characteristics

The Barb is a light riding horse with great stamina. 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. The Barb stands 14-15 hands high. There are different types of the Barb including the Spanish Barb, the Abaco Barb, and others. The Abaco Barb can come in different 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. As of 2006, there were only twelve Abaco Barbs left in the world. The Spanish 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 are a few left and they are chestnut, black, brown, and gray. Thoroughbred race horses The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known as a race horse. ... A palomino Quarter Horse shown in-hand. ... Standardbred harness racing horses are so called because in the early years of the Trotting Registry, the standardbred stud book established in the United States in 1879 by the National Association of Trotting Horse Breeders, only horses who could race a mile in a standard time or better, or whose... In geography, a bay or gulf is a collection of water that is surrounded by land on three sides. ... Chestnuts. ... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Abaco Barb

The Abaco Barb is an endangered breed of the Spanish barb that resides on the Island of Abaco in the Bahamas. The Abaco Barb is supposed to have descended from horses which had been ship wrecked on the Island during the Spanish Colonization of the Americas. The Abaco islands lie in the northern Bahamas and comprise the main islands of Great Abaco and Little Abaco, together with the smaller Wood Cay, Green Turtle Cay, Great Guana Cay, Gorda Cay, Elbow Cay, Man-o-War Cay, Strangers Cay, Umbrella Cay, Walkers Cay and Mores Island. ...

Very few Abaco Barbs are still alive today. At time of writing only four exist in the world. One of the stallions remaining, Capella, was made into a Breyer Model Horse in 2005. One of the mares names is Nunki.

References

External link

• Arkwild.org - The Abaco Wild Horse Fund