Barb basic information

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. Theere 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.