Spanish Barb

[Revenant]

SPANISH BARB

The four main components for evaluating a Spanish Barb can be found in its guidebook. This includes the ideal height, build, body size, and type. A Spanish Barb added to the studbook should meet this ideal, however any Spanish Barb can be registered.

HEIGHT: Mature Range 14.0hh to 15.1hh.
BUILD: Light to Medium.
BODY SIZE: 35% to 55%.
TYPE: 72% Horse Type to 50% Pony Type.

Beyond this, there are two somewhat contrasting breed standards that will be modified for the use of HWO. The first comes from The Livestock Conservancy and the second comes from the Spanish Barb Horse Association (SBHA). TLC considers all Colonial Spanish Strains, from Banker to Wilbur-Cruce, to be one breed: the Colonial Spanish Horse. SBHA considers the Spanish Barb, like HWO, to be a unique breed; however, this is the modern version of the Spanish Barb and not the historic horses brought over by the Conquistadors. Because HWO includes extinct breeds, I think a look back in time may be required. This leads to the consideration of all strains, as well as history, to produce this breed standard.

As for said history? It is that of conquest. The Spanish Barb was created by Spain's occupation of North Africa: the horses of the Berbers' crossed with that of the invading army. In the year of 1492, one of the bloodier conquests of the world began. The Europeans brought their plagues, but they also brought their horses. These horses. By royal edict, they began breeding farms to produce more war horses. Ironically these horses were often confiscated in war, stolen by the Native people, and they spread this way throughout North and South America, used by both sides. Eventually the English and French became more involved, infusing their horses' bloodlines into this line of survivors of combat. Later on, these lands fragmented into nations, including the USA, and few remained aware of this horse's proud lineage. Instead the USA government had its Native Americans' livestock butchered, especially during the Trail of Tears, and the breed was considered alien and useless. This breed's survival depended almost entirely on the survival of Native peoples and a few sympathetic Western farmers. Lucky for us, because imagine a world without this breed's descendants: Lipizzaner, Paint, and many more.

As for HWO, the Spanish Barb is also the progenitor of many breeds: twenty-four (24) of them to be exact, from the Abaco Barb to the Welsh Cob.

HWO-
(Basic) Conformation: 14.0hh to 15.1hh. 700-900 lbs. The Spanish Barb should be graceful but sturdy. The breed has a deep body and thick neck. They are narrow in the front with the fore legs joining in the chest in the shape of an “A”. The legs should be flexible, short, and strong, as well as be capable of long strides. The ribs should be wide, allowing for deep inhales and exhales. Their hindquarters should be rounded and not overly muscular. The croup should slope with the tail set low. The horses have rounded V-shaped faces with broad foreheads and narrow muzzles. The head should be refined with its profile straight or convex.
Colors/Patterns: All colors of horses appear in breed.
Disciplines: While capable of many sports, the Spanish Barb is uniquely suited to Western competitions and endurance racing.
Other: Many, but not all, Spanish Barbs are gaited. They should be of gentle temperament. They should be intelligent and have good action/carriage (agility, movement, and tempo).

TLC-
Conformation: 13.2-15hh. 700-900 pounds. “The horses are generally short coupled and deep bodied, but narrow from the front so that the front legs join the chest in the shape of an "A" rather than the shape of a "U" that is seen in the stock horse breeds. The croup is sloping and the tail is set low. The horses have broad foreheads and narrow faces, and the profiles may be either straight or convex.”
Colors/Patterns: “Nearly all colors of horses occur in this breed.” Black, bay, chestnut. Cream and dun dilutions. Gray and roan. All pinto patterns and all of the leopard complex.
Disciplines: “Spanish horses are athletic and useful for a variety of riding disciplines, among them ranch work, endurance competitions, and pleasure riding.”
Other: “They have an unusually long stride, and many of them are gaited. They are renowned for their even temperament and gentle dispositions.”

-SBHA-
Conformation- 13.3-14.3hh. “The overall appearance of the Spanish barb is one of balance and smoothness with depth of neck and body, roundness of hip, short, clean legs and a well-set, distinctively refined head.”
Head: “distinctly Spanish”, “lean, refined, and well formed”, “profile is straight or slightly convex”.
Ears: “short to medium, curved inward and slightly back at the tips”.
Eyes: “set well forward on the head” and “prominent bone structure above the eye is characteristic”.
Muzzle: “refined”, “short and tapered”, “set of by a shallow mouth”, “firm lips”, “nostrils are crescent shaped”, nostrils made for easy breathing during exercise.
Chest: “strong, medium in width”, “sufficiently muscled inside the forearm to form an arch”, “ribs are well-sprung, never slab-sided”, & “heart girth is deep”.
Shoulders: “well-angled” and “in balance with the back and heart girth”.
Back: “in proportion to the length of the shoulder, forelegs and depth of girth; “loin is short, straight, strong and full”; & “croup is round and sufficiently full in width and length to be in balance with the body”.
Legs: “straight, strong, well formed”; “long muscling in the forearms and thighs”; “short, clean cannons and the bone is dense”; “in the summer feathering is either lacking or curled tightly against the lower leg”; “joints are well developed, strong and free of excess flesh”; “chestnuts on the front legs should be small, smooth and non-protruding”; “chestnuts, when they appear on the hind legs, should be extremely small and flush with the leg”; “ergots are either lacking, very small, or appear as a callous”; “pasterns are strong, medium in length, slope and have good flexibility which contributes to the smoothness of the gaits”.
Mane/tail: “Under normal conditions the mane, forelock and tail are quite long and full. An exceptionally full mane will sometimes fall naturally on both sides of the neck.”
Colors/Patterns: All colors are found within the breed.
Disciplines: N/A.
Other: “The classical style characteristic to the Spanish Barb and all Iberian/Barb descended breeds is displayed by their natural carriage, action, intelligence and temperament under saddle. These somewhat elusive traits remain an important part of their heritage and appeal and are basic to the successful restoration of the breed.”

http://www.horseworldonline.net/wiki/breed/21

[Revenant]

STUDBOOK

Ch.++ Notorio


Fortune's Fall


Phoenixio

[Revenant]

REGISTRY

Ch.++ Notorio
Fortune's Fall
Phoenixio

Gartai Ramondo
http://www.horseworldonline.net/horse/profile/297348

[Revenant]

ACTIVE BREEDERS

Coastal Plain Ranch (CP) owned by Revenant

[ЯR] Riverside Ranch owned by Rodeo_Ace
http://www.horseworldonline.net/farm/view/12588

Dreams of Color (DOC) Farm owned by Jorlana
http://www.horseworldonline.net/farm/view/83

Qim's Farm owned by Qim - Breeds Spanish Barbs for Boulonnais and Noriker
http://www.horseworldonline.net/farm/view/325

Rivercat's Farm owned by RiverCat
http://www.horseworldonline.net/farm/view/13156

Merrimac's Farm owned by Merrimac
http://www.horseworldonline.net/farm/view/3932

Ton0011's Farm owned by ton0011
http://www.horseworldonline.net/farm/view/1210

[Qim]

: )

Haven't noticed I've been listed as a breeder of the Spanish Barb until now; tis a good initiative, Revenant

Might be of interest to note that my Barbs are primarily of the heavier type used for Boulonnais and Noriker.

[Revenant]

: )

Haven't noticed I've been listed as a breeder of the Spanish Barb until now; tis a good initiative, Revenant

Might be of interest to note that my Barbs are primarily of the heavier type used for Boulonnais and Noriker.

Ha, yes. Hope that was all right! I just noticed you were the breeder of some of the current foals.

This is good to know. I will put that down. I figure many Spanish Barb owners are using them for the creation of the multitude of breeds they produce: all the more important to keep purebred SBs around, for those who wish to create those.

[Revenant]

In relation to the above post, here is a quick look at all the breeds produced by the Spanish Barb!

Abaco Barb
Abtenauer
Boulonnais
Cayuse Indian Pony
Chickasaw
Chilean Corralero
Chincoteague
Choctaw Indian Horse
Colorado Ranger
Florida Cracker
Frederiksborg
Kiger Mustang
Knabstrupper
Lipizzaner
Maremana
Missouri Fox Trotter
Mustang
Nordestino
Noriker
Paint
Rocky Mountain Pony
Sable Island Pony
Salerno
Welsh Cob

[Revenant]

As an update, I was mostly on hiatus during April for Camp NaNo but I'm back. I'm happy to see the SB's numbers are holding steady and we've gained a couple new breeders.

As of the moment, I only have half/mixed/part Spanish Barbs, but I'm crossing back into others' lines to create purebreds. If anyone has any interest in a breeding from a stallion or mare, please let me know.

[Rodeo_Ace]

I have also started breeding Spanish Barb's as needed for my Welsh Cob program. I'm thinking however to have a pure line as well, it's very hard to find a pure Spanish Barb anymore.

[Revenant]

I have also started breeding Spanish Barb's as needed for my Welsh Cob program. I'm thinking however to have a pure line as well, it's very hard to find a pure Spanish Barb anymore.

Glad to hear it. I've added you to our breeder list.

I've noticed that unfortunately quite a few breeds that produce a large number of breeds end up being "bred out" into their progeny. This may end up being something the overall player community will need to address. As of now, I have four breeds I'm working with: American Cream Draft, Exmoor Pony, Hispano Arabian, and Spanish Barb. The ACD is an end result (no progeny), but the EP produces a number of breeds and the Hispano Arabian produces one. The SB has a large number of progeny breeds but is also fairly difficult to attain, unlike the EP. Because of this, it's incredibly important to keep a viable population of them.

Once I have a few of my other goal breeds pinned down, it's likely I'll try to help with other breeds with a large number of "children". If only because in doing so, I'd be helping other players in general reach their goal breeds.