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The Spanish-Barb |
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The Spanish-Barb |
In December of 1493, Columbus sailed to the island of La Espanola, or Hispaniola, which is now known as the Dominican Republic and Haiti, on his second voyage to North America bringing with him 25 horses. With five broodmares and 20 stallions, he established royal studs and colonized the islands with the first horses to set foot on North American soil since the Ice Age. Exploration and settlement of the Americas depended largely on livestock initially brought from Spain, which we now know to be a very mixed compliment of horses.
According to the original royal edict of May 23, 1493, which still exists today, careful provisions were made for breeding animals. The intended stock for the second voyage was to have been the finest Andalusian horses, perhaps even from the royal studs. From the writings of Columbus, we find that fraudulent dealers made a last-minute substitution, and Columbus complained that his crafty cavalrymen sold the valuable bloodstock, only to replace them with "common nags." These were probably the common mount of cowherders, the Sorraia, or a Sorraia-Iberian cross, obtainable at less than a tenth of the price of an Andalusian charger or top brood mare. These horses were hardy, had a smaller body conformation, and had a more pronounced convex profile. They were typically in the primitive colors of dun, mouse-grey, roans and sorrels, accompanied by the distinctive dorsal stripe, and faint zebra stripes on the legs. This was the only mention that "common" stock was ever brought to America.
With 8 horses, Capitan Diego de Valasques settled in Cuba in 1500, and in 1514 he imported more horses, establishing his famous Ranch which was noted for beautiful, highly trained Pinto horses. These Pintos came to be in great demand for Conquistadors who were sailing to the Americas.
In 1519, the first horses to land on the North American mainland were 11 stallions, 5 mares and a foal, the stallions being mounts used by Cortez to conquer Mexico. The horses were first introduced into the densely wooded southeastern portions of the continent, then into Mexico, Central and South America, and eventually to the vast southwestern regions of what is now the US. With the Spaniards establishing settlements in northern Florida and along the Gulf area and southeastern shore of the Atlantic, the southeastern Indians (Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek Indians) acquired many of the Spanish horses. Later, these finely bred horses would be called "native" by English colonists unaware that they were Spanish horses, who traded or purchased them from the Indians. Eventually English racing horses (Oriental-Barbs) were imported, and soon there were crossings with the Spanish horses - Spanish/Barb to Oriental/Barb - thus creating the Colonial Short Horse. The Colonial Short Horse later became known as the American Quarter-of-a-mile running horse - the Quarter Horse. The proponent gene of the Spanish-Barb was carried in all of these horses.
Spanish-Barb blood can be found in foundation stock of the early Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, Morgans, Quarter Horses, and the Plantation horse of the South. Color breeds as the palomino, buckskin, dun, paint and appaloosa also carried Spanish-Barb blood. Though pied and spotted coloring was bred out of the Iberian stock of Spain and Portugal, they were popular in Europe at the time of these first New World voyages.
Traits sought in frontier times were provided by the Spanish-Barb. The horses were graceful, agile, fleet, rugged, sure-footed, willing and enduring. These horses descended from stock used in the bullrings of Spain and Portugal, and proved the bravery, skill and superior ability of their ancestors on cattle drives and in buffalo hunting. The Spanish-Barb was, and still is, famous for its "cow sense."
As English and French settlers pushed westward into Indian and Spanish territories, they nearly annihilated the bloodlines of the Spanish-Barb during the 19th Century. These settlers continued to make erroneous distinctions between Indian horses and what they knew was true Spanish stock. The horses of the Indians were considered "native" and they were crossed on later English imports, becoming completely Americanized to the eyes of their owners. Horses which were encountered in western America where Indians and Spaniards lived were considered to be "foreign."
Horses belonging to the Indians were confiscated, sold or destroyed, in efforts to control their mobility and to contain them. The ranges were fenced and wild horses competed with cattle for the grazing lands. Even though these horses were viewed as "foreign," the cattle barons of the new west also recognized their unequaled working ability, stamina, versatility and temperament.
The remaining Spanish-Barbs diminished in size and beauty through effects of the harsh environment and careless breeding practices. And as a result, they were now considered too small to suit the rugged tastes of Americans of that time. By the middle of the 19th Century, experimental cross-breeding with larger eastern stallions and the slaughter of these horses nearly destroyed the pure, old-time Spanish Barb. Without a few individuals who had foresight, admiring and placing value on the breed's inherited traits and unmatched abilities, the horses would have only been a legend in North America.
Ferdinand and Robert Brislawn, who acquired several Spanish-Barb horses from the remote Bookcliff area of Utah, and Ilo Belsky, who began raising a small herd of dun and grulla Spanish-Barbs on his Nebraska ranch, owned the only Spanish-Barbs to exist in North America around the beginning of the 20th Century. When the McKinley family purchased a 3000 acre ranch from the Romero family in New Mexico, part of the purchase agreement stated that the McKinleys would look after and protect the remaining Romero horses, which had been kept pure since 1826. Selected horses from these three small groups, along with a Medicine Hat paint stallion sired by San Domingo, became the foundation stock for the restoration of the Spanish-Barb in North America. The goal of the restoration of this breed is becoming a successful achievement, though it is still a rare breed in the US today.
Specialized breeding for purely gaited horses in South America has resulted in the Peruvian Paso and the Paso Fino. These horses were conceived and raised exclusively for the smoothness of their gaits, making them no longer suitable for the wide diversity of performance for which the original Spanish-Barb horses were developed. The Spanish-Barb Breeders Association (SBBA) in North America purposely breeds these horses to retain all the characteristics of their ancestors.
The Spanish-Barbs gives the impression of being a larger horse than it actually is, and stands between 13.3 and 14.3 hands in height, the majority maturing at 14.1 to 14.3 hands. A variety of unusual coats colors are found in the breed, as blanket roans and medicine paints, due to the heritage of the African Barb (from which the Spanish-Barb originated). Also to be found are the traditional chestnut, bay and black coat colors, and the predominant colors endowed by the various phases of dun, which were inherited from the ancient horses of Iberia (Spain).
The head is refined, with moderate sized ears, intelligent forward-set eyes and a broad forehead, with a straight or slightly ram-nosed profile. There is great depth of both neck and body; a large deep girth; dense bone; and thick-walled, well-formed hooves. The size of the heart and lungs of these horses, in relationship to the overall size of the horses, endows the stamina and weight-carrying ability - the reason for it as a natural in endurance and competitive trail events. This also makes the shoulder longer, and aids to provide the long, reaching stride of the forelegs. The long, smooth muscling and natural motion, and a well-proportioned bone structure, may be adapted to the graceful, controlled movements required by dressage. These traits may also be used for the quick, darting moves necessary for the cutting horse, or for cross-country eventing covering many tough, strenuous miles.
The Spanish-Barb has excellent disposition and intelligence, and displays a cooperative willingness when correctly handled and trained - thus blending horse and rider into an unbeatable team. This breed is unique in several diverse areas. Not only is it an historic breed with many legends about it, but it is also the only breed of horse to be brought back form the edge of extinction in the US
If you would like more information on the Spanish-Barb, contact: SBBA International, Inc. PO Box 641, Lyons, CO 80540.
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© 1997-2007
NW Breyer Horse Club & Refiner of Gold Creations Equinealities in place since 1997, Section in place 2001, Updated 3/13/2007 |
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