Module 137 · Breeds & Heritage
The Horses
of Morocco
In the 2nd century CE, a Roman writer described a North African horse that was extraordinarily fast and strong and withal so tame that it could be ridden without a bit or reins and guided simply by a cane. That horse is 3,500 years old. It shaped every major breed on Earth. And it is still the most underrated horse in history.
Five Breeds
The National Herd
Barb (Berbère)
حصان بربري~5,500 purebred
14.2–15.2 hh
Convex (ram-shaped)
Tbourida, endurance, heritage
Five lumbar vertebrae instead of six. Short-coupled, explosive sprint speed. Sure-footed in mountain terrain. 3,500 years in the Maghreb.
Arab-Barb (Arabe-Barbe)
عريب بربري~60,000
14.0–16.0 hh
Straight/slightly concave
Tbourida, sport, breeding
90% of Morocco's horse population. Created during French colonial breeding programs. Versatile, docile, adapted to all climates.
Arabian (Pur-Sang Arabe)
حصان عربي أصيل~13,000
14.0–15.2 hh
Concave (dished)
Racing, shows, prestige
Introduced with Islam. Five foundation mare lines (Al-Khamsa). Obedience bred into the line from wartime selection.
Thoroughbred
حصان إنجليزي~3,500
15.2–17.0 hh
Refined, straight
Racing
Descended in part from a Moroccan Barb — the Godolphin. 867 races organized annually by SOREC.
Anglo-Arabian
—Small
15.0–16.2 hh
Straight, fine
Racing, equestrian sport
Must have ≥25% Arabian blood. Set to replace non-Thoroughbreds at national racetracks.
Sources: SOREC, WAHO, OMCB, Mad Barn. © Dancing with Lions
Comparative Anatomy
The Barb Is Not an Arabian
Europeans confused them for centuries. Same handlers, same language, similar size. But the Barb and the Arabian are anatomically distinct.
| Feature | Barb | Arabian | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Narrow, convex (ram-shaped) | Small, dished (concave) | This is why Europeans confused them — similar size, different head. |
| Vertebrae | Five lumbar (majority) | Six lumbar (standard) | Five = shorter, stronger back. Key to Barb endurance. |
| Croup & tail | Sloping, low-set tail | Flat, high-set tail | Low tail = classic Barb marker. |
| Build | Powerful front end, short-coupled, compact | Refined, lean, elegant | Barb: sprint and collection. Arabian: grace and distance. |
| Speed type | Sprinter over short distances | Sustained endurance over long distances | Barb gallops like a sprinter. Arabian runs like a marathon runner. |
| Temperament | Intelligent, eager, gentle | Sensitive, spirited, loyal | Both hot-blooded. The Barb is the more trainable. |
Infrastructure
Five National Stud Farms
SOREC operates five haras nationaux and 35 regional reproduction centres. Breeding season: February 1 – June 30.
Satellite imagery © Mapbox / © OpenStreetMap. Tap markers for details.
Global Descendants
What the Barb Built
The Barb has had more influence on racing breeds than any horse except the Arabian. The irony: a Moroccan Barb is one of the three stallions that founded the Thoroughbred itself.
Global · 1680–1750
Spain · 711–1000
Portugal · 711–1000
Americas · 1493+
USA · 1600s
USA · 1700s
South America · 1535+
Latin America · 1500s
Austria · 1580
USA · 1800s
Sources: Wikipedia, SBHA, Oklahoma State, Woman O'War. © Dancing with Lions
3,500 Years
Timeline
~3,500 BP
Domesticated horses arrive in North Africa through Egypt and possibly via the Strait of Gibraltar. The ancestors of the Barb begin adapting to arid, mountainous terrain.
~1,000 BCE
Berber tribes develop sophisticated bareback riding — no saddle, no bridle. Voice commands, a neck rope, a thin stick between the ears.
~300 BCE
Numidian cavalry emerges as the finest light horse in the Mediterranean. Livy: "by far the best horsemen in Africa."
218 BCE
Hannibal crosses the Alps. Numidian cavalry ride with him. At Trebia they lure the Romans into a trap. At Cannae (216 BCE), 3,500 Numidian horsemen close the encirclement — the worst tactical defeat in Roman history.
202 BCE
Battle of Zama. King Masinissa switches sides with 6,000 Numidian cavalry. Numidians against Numidians. The horse decides the war.
2nd c. CE
Claudius Aelianus: the Numidian horse is "extraordinarily fast and strong and withal so tame that it can be ridden without a bit or reins."
711
Tariq ibn Ziyad crosses to Iberia with Berber cavalry on Barb horses. Three centuries of Umayyad rule produces the Andalusian and Lusitano.
14th c.
Richard II of England owns a Barb called Roan Barbary — mentioned by Shakespeare. Italian noble families establish racing stables with Barbary horses.
1493
Columbus brings horses to the Americas. Many are Spanish Barb stock. They will become the Mustang, the Quarter Horse, the Appaloosa.
1509–1547
Henry VIII purchases Barbary horses from Federico Gonzaga of Mantua — seven mares and a stallion.
~1724
A colt foaled — Yemen or Meknes, accounts differ. Reaches the Bey of Tunis, then Louis XV of France. Not valued. Reportedly pulls a water cart in Paris.
~1729
Englishman Edward Coke imports the horse. He becomes the Godolphin — one of three foundation stallions of the Thoroughbred. His blood flows in Man o'War, Seabiscuit, War Admiral.
1886–1914
First Barb studbooks: Algeria (1886), Tunisia (1896), Morocco (1914). The breed is formally documented for the first time.
1947
Horse breeding transfers from military control to Morocco's Ministry of Agriculture.
1965
African horse sickness strikes Morocco. The virus devastates the North African Barb population.
1987
World Organization of the Barb Horse (OMCB) founded in Algeria.
2003
SOREC created under royal patronage. National herd at 130,000 horses, declining.
2005
Morocco reaches 160,000 horses. Five national stud farms operate. 35 regional reproduction centres.
2014
Marrakech Academy of Equestrian Arts inaugurated. Trains riders in classical dressage and vaulting on Barb and Arab-Barb horses.
2021
UNESCO inscribes Tbourida on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The cavalry charge becomes world heritage.
The Horse That Changed Everything
The Godolphin
Around 1724, a colt is foaled — in Yemen according to some sources, from the Meknes stud farm according to SOREC. He passes through Syria, then Tunis, then arrives in Paris as a gift from one monarch to another. Louis XV does not value him. The horse reportedly pulls a water cart through the streets of the French capital.
In 1729, an Englishman named Edward Coke spots the horse and imports him to England. He is small. He is lop-eared. He has a bad temper. But when he is bred, he produces champions. His son Lath becomes one of the finest racehorses of his generation. His grandson Matchem becomes a champion sire for sixteen consecutive years.
He is called the Godolphin Arabian after his most famous owner — though many argue he is a Barb, not an Arabian. His head is convex, not dished. His build is compact, not refined. His conformation says Maghreb, not Peninsula.
He becomes one of three foundation stallions of the Thoroughbred. Through his male line come Man o'War, War Admiral, and Seabiscuit. Through both male and female lines, his blood flows in approximately 13.8% of all modern Thoroughbreds — making him the single most influential foundation sire when both lines are counted.
He dies in 1753, aged about 29, buried at his owner's stable in Cambridgeshire. A horse from the Maghreb — possibly from Meknes, possibly from Yemen, certainly from the bloodline of the Barb — who was used to pull a water cart, became the ancestor of a million racehorses.
The Barb dies but never gives up. It is the horse that built the Andalusian, the Thoroughbred, the Mustang, and the Quarter Horse. It won Cannae. It crossed the Alps with Hannibal and the Atlantic with Columbus. It pulled a water cart in Paris and founded a billion-dollar racing industry. And in the mountains of the Maghreb, where it was born 3,500 years ago, it is still running.
Sources
SOREC — sorec.ma/en/horse-breeds-in-morocco
WAHO Morocco Delegation Report (2018)
Wikipedia — Barb horse, Arab-Barb, Numidian cavalry, Godolphin Arabian
Mad Barn — Barb Horse Breed Profile (2023)
Horse Illustrated — Berber Horses of Morocco (2021)
National Geographic — Fantasia Horse Riders (2021)
UNESCO — Tbourida inscription (2021)
PMC — Y Chromosome Haplotypes, North African Barb (2022)
Oklahoma State University — Barb Horses breed database
Spanish Barb Horse Association — spanishbarb.com
Polybius, Livy, Claudius Aelianus — Classical sources
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