The Barb Horse Named Twice as the Early Father of the Western Horse
—Here's the First Time.
The earliest colonization that brought horses to the new world was mainly Spanish (and Portuguese) and brought horses that we define today as Andalusian (PRE). This breed, developed and cultivated in the Andalusian area of Iberian peninsula, is often also referred to as horses from Cádiz. Taking a closer look at this breed brings us to the Berber (Barb) roots of the Andalusian Horse Breed.
In 711, early in the 8th century the southern part of the Iberian peninsula 'Andalus' under the Visigoth (part of today's Spain) was invaded by the Muslims, descrided in history as the Umayyad Conquest of Hispania. This Moorish occupation of the region remained for 800 years until the fall of Granada Januari 2, 1492 when the combined forces of Aragon and Castille took the capital back and upended the Moorish period. The Moorish influence lead to a crucial cultural enrichment also in equine culture. The Moorish Northern African Barb (Berber) horse breed was a highly versatile breed that gave birth to the Andalusian and Lusitano horse. In the development of these breeds, the influx of the Arabian horse —also linked to the Moorish occupation— is clearly present. The Andalusian breed's evolution became fundamental in the further development of the later baroque horse for military usage that also found refinement in movement in the late renaissance 'manege' culture. This early form of equestrian dressage got styled and popularized by William Cavendish (Bolsover Castle, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England c. 16 December 1593 – 25 December 1676), who is often named the father of dressage culture. In his era we also see the birth of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna (1573), respected as the globe's temple of military dressage culture ever since. The Lpizzaner breed used in the Spanish Riding Academy is directly derived from the early Andalusion Barb-influenced horse breed. Qualities like stamina and hard-hooved feet (molecular density of the hooves) refer to characteristics that clearly trace back to the North African Arabian horse breeds that are part of an unforgiving biotope that require the utmost qualities in equine endurance and movement.
The Western Horse's Voyage to the New World.
The coquistadors selected sturdy and compact horses to travel to the new world. Health was of key importance to withstand the tolls of a transatlantic journey in crude circumstances. The Barb horses from Cadiz (you can call these Anadulusion if you feel like) were highly suitable. Not only in size and conformation but also in durability. After first landings in Hispanola in the Carribean, breeding activities got establihed. In the New Spain promising biotopes were discovered to raise horses and cattle. While the Spanish era developed fast paced with Northward expansion the New World descendants of the Iberian horse ran into a remarkable encounter with another —younger— member of the Barb-descendant family.
The study of the first horses of the Americas brings us to the Berber roots of the Andalusian breed.
The Western Horse — Horses of the Americas
An Interesting Re-Encounter
A Renewed Bond with a Far Family Member — the Re-Encounter with the Barb
More than two hundred years after the arrival of Spanish horses on American soil, the Thoroughbred stallion Bulle Rock set foot on American shore. The Thoroughbred's impact on the Western Horse eventually lead to the Western horse studbooks like the American Quarter Horse Association, founded March 14, 1940.
This Thoroughbred was a much closer relative to the earlier Spanish horses as one might imagine. The Thoroughbred founding father Goldolphin was not an Arabian as offten assumed to be but a Barb. Godolphin Barb may also demonstrate that the value of the Barb horse origins. Lineage that is also immensely fundamental for the very foundation of the Andalusian breed, the derived Lippizaner breed, and in later perspective also to the Thoroughbred breed as such. This may also confirm the overall conclusion that the Arabian influx is higly functional for the refinement of bloodlines, but the fundaments, the bedrock of the Western Horse more directly derived from the Barb foundation and its evolution in the Moorish period of Anadalus.
Conformation — Form to Function
Conolists, settlers and ranchers had little need for historical speculation and breed foundation philosophies. They had to raise cattle, herd cattle, expose dominnance on horseback, transport and travel. Horses got selected based on trainability, functionality, reliability, durability. Although the California cattle culture got put into daily practice by highly skilled vaqueros, the later Texas culture was rather a question of getting people in the saddle. Cow ponies shouldn't demonstrate too much gesticulation with high knee action etc. because that would cause stress and make cows loose weight and get riders out of balance. Plain and reliable horses was the way to go. Indeed, the stock horse of the late 19th century had to be a reliable partner that also could train the hungry unseasoned cowboy who signed up for a cattle drive.
When trains took over the long haul work of the cowboy and the wheels of trucks started to take care of the other long-distance miles, the western horse landed into a 20th century where it became part of a culture that also featured Western Horse sports and entertainment. English-tradition-inspired horse racing existed in the Eastcoast area as early as from the eaqrly 17th century. But the turn of the 19th century also highlighted modern-day American rodeos (a derivative of the rodear tradition at roundups in what's today's Mexico (then the Visceroyalty of New Spain) started to feature western horse sports in various classes. This also included timed events like calf roping and team roping, but also horse showing as such started to take-off with events like cutting, reining, western pleasure etc.
From Trail Blazer's Mount to Ranch Horse and Sports Horse
The Western Horse evolved over time and wore many hats — also in the spotlight as a sports horse. At first both as ranch and sports. Working cattle in the morning, showing in the afternoon and later that day teaching the youngest family members how to ride. Nowadays, many western horses are bred, raised and kept for the sole purpose of sports. Registered breed horses like American Quarter horses are part of sports-event dedicated breeding programs designed to produce for example winning cutting horses, or awarded reining horses or successful pleasure horses. In early stages the breeding and training process strived for versatile horses that participated in a wide variety of classes santioned by the breed registry. Later, the horses in the showing industry evolved into niche-specific landscape, with each discipline having their specific sanctioning organization like NRHA (National Reining Horse Association), NCHA (National Cutting Horse Association), NRCHA (National Reined Cow Horse Association), NSBA (National Snaffle Bit Association — for all-round performance horse classes in the western pleasure-related sphere), and others.
Also on the horse level. The desired conformation became discipline-related. While the cowhorse industries (cutting, working cow horse and reining—only dry work without a cow but cosidered as cow-related) strive for a rather 'cowy' type of compact muscled horse, the 'performance industry' desires a hunter type taller horse. This, for classes like Western Pleasure, Hunter Under Saddle, Huntseat Equitation, Western Riding, Horsemanship at Halter and other related disciplines. Another industry is the halter industry which strives for halter horses that are not shown under saddle. Quarter Horse Racing, Paint Horse Racing, Applaloosa Horse Racing are require race-type of horses of the same breed.
Western Horse Breeds and their Niche
The niche-oriented breeding activities in which line breeding are often inevitable, unfortunately also a number of genetic defects (hereditary diseases) have developed. HYPP, PSSM1, MH, GBED, HERDA and more recently MYHM are defined as genetic defects typical for the Quarter Horse related breeds. In a counter-movement to prevent and limit these the various Breed Registries developed regulations for their members that require DNA testing before breeding. The Veterinary department of UC Davis in Califormnia has conducted intensive research programs and offers a broad range of DNA testing and reporting in collaboration with breed registries like the American Quarter Horse Association.
In rodeo-related activities where horses are used as pickup horses or for trick riding, roping or barrel racing the horse breed is less pre-dominant. Often -just like in ranch work- also crossbreds are part of the scenery.
Next to the show arene Breed Registries like the American Quarter Hose Association develop programs and incentives to promote the versatile ranch tranditions with breeding awards and classes like ranch versatility.
The Barn Named Crossbred Western Horse
Far away from the show arena, at working ranches, we merely see successsful crossbreds to do the work. All of the work. Summer and Winter. Crosses like Quarter Horse x Thoroughbred or Appaloosa x thoroughbred or Quarab (Quarter with Arabian), 'good boy crossbred' x Thoroughbred. Horses without big-name pedigrees. Baptised as Jasper, Gipsy, Jack, Anny, Lucky, Star, Bronco, Blackie etc.
In 2022, in the United States the horse population is estimated to reach approximately 7.25 million horses all together.
This total represents:
3.89 million breed-registered western horses (sum of the number registered American Quarter Horses, the number of registered American Paint Horses plus the number of registered Appaloosa Horses)
2.5 million non-breed-registered western horses
0.3 million western horses registered with smaller breed registries
0.6 million English ridden horses (includes the number of registered Thoroughbred horses in the US)
0.05 million draft horses
Rik Raats for the Western Horse Project
Godolphin Arabian one of the three founding Thoroughbred fathers was actually Barb (Godolphin Barb)