The Spanish Barb
Rowdy Fichtner, Ryan Tufte and Todd Small
Winston Churchill once said, “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” Horses have been a part of American and world history from the beginning of time. Helping settlers in new countries migrate across the land; horses have been influential across all parts of the world, especially in North America. There are many different breeds of horses in today’s world; however the primary focus breed here is going to the Spanish horse. Whose development throughout the years has put this breed second only to the infamous Arabian horse. The famous Barb horse of North American is the chief progenitor for the Spanish horse. For an astonishing 300 years to the end of the 18th century the Barb horse had a great impact on European and American breeds. It is still thought to be a worthy horse and is known as “the world’s most noble horse” (Hartly, 106).
The Spanish Barb is a horse blended of pure grace and strength. The Spanish Barb was brought to and bread in the Americas by the Spanish during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. “The name Spanish Barb was coined in the United State and refers to the famous horses of Spain known as Andalusian and Spanish Jennet” (Bonnie, L). The Barb is second only to the Arabian as one of the foundation breeds of the world’s equines (Edwards, Hartly). The famous Spanish Barb horse has many distinct features. The head is sculpted and sophisticated with a convex and sub convex silhouette with a tapered muzzle. Their almond shaped eyes sit low and forward on the head and are preceded by beautiful crescent shaped ears. The Barb horse has a strong shoulder area and the fore quarter overall has dominance in comparison to the hind quarter. This is all possible with a well proportioned head, strong shoulders, a short joined back with legs fit suitably under the torso. The Barb horse is usually a solid color, black, sorrel, chestnut, or any variety of a buckskin color (Hendricks, 394).
The Spanish Barb breed has been polished to perfection as the world’s finest war, stock, and pleasure horse. Its versatility allowed for a continual edge as a performance horse once it was transferred to American Soil. The vast adaptability of the Barb horse allowed for a quick adjustment on the wild interior of the North American continent. With different conditions across the continent the now North American Barb thrived under the worst conditions. It was said that Spain achieved the unimaginable, by producing the finest horse through the melding of opposites of nature into one. The Barb horse fits the designation of “fire and feather” and only 250 true Spanish Barb horse exist in the United States today (Hendricks, 395).
Although the physical features of the Spanish Barb horse are relatively obvious the genetic and DNA structures that have made those horses hit peak perfection is a complicated process. The source of the first horse was in Spain, and at the time its purpose was used for advancements of the horse breed across Europe. According to historical records at least 250 horses were shipped to Spain from the second voyage of Columbus in 1493 to Nunez de Cabeza’s trip in 1540. These horses were dispersed quickly and like most domestic animals had no problems adapting to the new environment. At the time there were three different morphological equine types: the Celtic type, the Spanish type who was a descendent from the African Barb, and then a hybrid between the Celtic and Barb (Dulout, 356). Reproductive isolation was a major consequence due to local use and management. The isolation effected population size and has been contributed to genetic subdivisions that could be detected through drift based measures. They are based on the variations that are observed at micro-satellite loci (Dunner, 39). This reproductive isolation in theory could play an important role in maintaining genetic variations, because it reduced the loss of alleles. Alleles, by definition are one of two alternative forms of a gene that occupy the same position locus on a paired chromosome and control the same inherited characteristic (Encarta). Since the Spanish type was more in the Southern part of the country, when those areas began to migrate towards America, the Spanish Barb breed was taken as well (Dulout, 356). This explains how the Spanish Barb horse through intense breeding and genetics became an inhabitant of North America.
The Barb horse as mentioned before is held to high regard in the horse breeding world. It is thought that this magnificent breed may have escaped the ice age and if that is true then it would be considered the oldest horse surpassing the infamous Arabian horse (Hartly, 30). According to Pam Brown, “a horse is the projection of peoples' dreams about themselves - strong, powerful, and beautiful - and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence.” Horses have allowed many people and cultures to make a mark in the history books. The Barb horse is no exception to this, and this exceptional breed has put high standards on other horses to meet the character, and uniqueness of the Barb horse. Even though they are a rare breed today their legacy goes with them. Known for their great qualities and reputable characteristic the Barb horse has impacted North American horse breeding, and will continue to do so in the Future. The potential to breed the world’s best horse is something many breeders only imagine. The Barb horse is a great paradigm of this, and provides a goal for all breeders and horse owners. Their individuality and distinctiveness have allowed this breed to go down in history as, “the world’s most noble horse,” which is a hard attribute to compete with even in today’s modern era (Hartly, 106).