Barb horse

“ It would be no exercise canter even for Satan, for the horses which followed were rare of their kind, and the western horse at the worst has manifold fine points. His ancestor is the Barb or the Arab which the Spaniards brought with them to Mexico and the descendants of that finest of equine bloods made up the wild herds which soon roamed the mountain-desert to the north. Long famines of winter, hot deserts in summer, changed their appearance. Their heads grew lumpier, their necks more scraggy, their croups more slanting, their legs shorter ”

“ From the mating of the Godolphin Barb and Roxana also came Cade, the sire of Regulus, the grandam of that most marvelous horse, Eclipse. When all this had happened the English were sure they were on the right road. And they have kept on that road with great persistency, not going back, however, in my opinion, frequently enough to the pure Nejdee and Berber stock for fresh infusions. That they have not done this is natural enough, however. A breeder wants results quickly. To get a collateral strain from fresh Arab and Barb blood equal to the present thoroughbred would probably take fifty years. ”

“ For more than one hundred years no desert-bred stallion has had any marked influence upon the race-horse directly through a thoroughbred mare. In the first decade of the last century a barb stallion bred to a barb mare produced Sultana, who brought forth the granddam of Berthune to Sir Archy. Berthune was much sought after as a sire for riding-horses; besides this barb blood he had strains of Diomed and of Saltram in his veins, all of which were desirable for saddle-horses.
Breeds of animals deteriorate rapidly through lack of nourishment and from in-and-in breeding. ”

“ This is equally true of the Barb or pure-bred horse of Morocco, and those of the northern coast of Africa, in Egypt, among the Turks, and indeed wherever the followers of the Prophet are to be found. It is unquestionable, that the influence of the Eastern blood among the choicest animals of modern Europe, has been followed by great improvements in racing stock. Yet it is equally certain, that the race-horse, both of England and the United States, has accomplished what has never been demonstrated as within the ability of their progenitors ”

“ The Barb v. Carbine. For we did produce, once upon a time, animals fit to take their places in the ranks against the greatest that the world could bring. Although the Hon. James White failed in his patriotic invasion, many individual racers reached the shores of Great Britain and showed the racing world what we are really capable of.
To begin with, there was Merman. This horse was bred by Mr. W. R. Wilson when his St. Albans Stud was in the zenith of its fortunes. ”

“ The quarters, too, should be good, and the setting on of the tail such as finishes the topping of the horse well, and gives him a fashionable appearance. If conjoined to the above-named points he stands on moderately short legs, with plenty of bone, and has good round and sound feet, he will be found as nearly as possible what is required. ”

“ Those arriving under such distinction, are to be considered the true MOUNTAIN BARB, the pedigree of whose blood has been recorded with as much tenacity and care as the genealogy of our most ancient nobility. Barbs (as they are called) are to be found in the possession of many people of fashion and fortune in England, but they are in general of inferior degree, and thought to be only the common horses of the country from whence they came: such there are at all times to be obtained through the intervening medium of Provence and Languedoc in France ”

“ Who among you does not know the barbet with its big round head, full of good will, its large drooping ears, short legs, squat body, long, fine and curly hair, almost like wool, which has given it the name of sheep dog? When half-shorn, as it is in the summer, it is still more comely. The hind quarters are naked and show the rosy skin; the fore part of the body is covered with a thick mane as white as cotton wool. A coquettish tuft finishes off the tail, elegant ruffles adorn the legs, the muzzle bears a mustache and small beard, which latter perhaps accounts for its name of barbet. ”

“ They tell—half dazed with fear—as they reach at last some house and welcome human companionship, of the wild baying of the hounds that drifted through the murk night to their ears, or of the sudden vision of the pack passing at whirlwind speed across bog and marsh urged onward by a grim black figure astride a giant dark horse from whose smoking nostrils came flame and fire. ”

“ Pierrot! are thy saddle-bags well fastened? And how fare my lutestrings? Have a care lest some of them snap with jogging over this rough bit of road. And, Pierrot, next time we pass a fine periwinkle thou hadst best jump down and pluck a fresh bunch for my Barbo’s ears.”
The speaker, Count Reynaurd of Poitiers, patted the fluffy black mane of his horse Barbo, and loosened the great nosegay of blue flowers [2] tucked into his harness and nodding behind his ears. ”

“ Till lately, the young fellow has had the freedom of the fields, digging in the first snows for a part of his living, and with his rough life has grown as shaggy-coated as a Shetland pony, with as many burrs stuck in his short foretop as it will hold; for if there is an overlooked burdock on all the farm, every one of the horse kind running at large will find it, and each get more than his share of burrs matted and twisted into his foretop and mane. ”

“ There was little need of the exclamation, for all, both human and quadruped, heard the sound that called it forth; the quick, rapid thud of a horse’s hoofs upon the solid prairie. All eyes were instantly turned toward the arch before alluded to. The rider—and a trained ear has but little difficulty in deciding whether a galloping horse is riderless—whoever it might be, was beyond the neck of timber, yet evidently approaching the bivouac.
The hunters felt only curiosity, for they knew that only one horseman approached. Then a simultaneous cry broke from their lips. ”

“ My horse seemed to have a sympathy with my feeling and he leaped bravely along the road. The Celtic melancholy of the first part of the journey had blown away like a sea-mist. I sped on gallantly toward Bath and Lady Mary.
But almost at the end of the day, when I was within a few miles of Bath, my horse suddenly pitched forward onto his knees and nose. There was a flying spray of muddy water. I was flung out of the saddle, but I fell without any serious hurt whatever. We had been ambushed by some kind of deep-sided puddle. ”

“ Having no other horses on whose hoofs I could exercise my art, I made my first essay on those of my own horse, if that could be called horse which horse was none, being only a pony. Perhaps if I had sought all England, I should scarcely have found an animal more in need of the kind offices of the smith. On three of his feet there were no shoes at all, and on the fourth only a remnant of one, on which account his hoofs were sadly broken and lacerated by his late journeys over the hard and flinty roads. ”

“ Then the chestnut horse dashed forward, and the whip fell from her hand, and she remembered no more, only that the tawny tail of the horse was not a tail at all, but a wave of the sea that rushed over her; and that the rattle of the cart was not the rattle of the cart at all, but the rumble and roar of the thunder, that followed the summer lightning. ”

“ A sudden sharp turn showed me what appeared to be a low stone wall running own the spur of the mountain, right across our track, and I had already begun to disquiet myself about the possibility of turning back on such a narrow ledge, when I saw F——'s powerful black horse, with his ears well forward, and his reins, lying loose on his neck, make a sort of rush at the obstacle, climb up it as a cat would, stand for an instant, exactly like a performing goat, with all four legs drawn closely together under him, and then with a spring disappear on the other side. ”

“ I dismounted from the pony, and delivering the bridle to the other guide, said, “Here is your master’s horse; if you please you may lead him down that abyss, but as for myself I wash my hands of the matter.” The fellow, without a word of reply, vaulted into the saddle, and with a vamos, Perico! [49] to the pony, impelled the creature to the descent. “Come, Senhor,” said he with the lantern, “there is no time to be lost; my light will be presently extinguished, and this is the worst bit in the whole road.” ”

“ The fire of the Barbary horse is generally known, but few reflect upon the power of endurance which this animal possesses. I have known them to go without water for two or three days when crossing the Desert, during which time they will only receive a small measure of corn or a few dates. On the coast, they are driven hard a long day, sweating, and covered with foam, their sides bleeding from the huge sharp-edged stirrups. Without the slightest covering, they are left out the whole night, and their only evening meal is a little chopped barley-straw. ”

“ They make a broad open wound on the back of their small sturdy ponies, in order to keep their seat; and, when they want to ride at full speed, they often scratch or cut their legs, in order to glue themselves to the horse’s flanks by means of the blood which oozes from the wounds; for, as I have stated above, they have neither saddle, stirrups, nor bridle, and they use nothing but a simple rope to guide their animals. ”

“ The chest expands, the limbs acquire strength. All Barbs stand well upon their legs and are admirably straight along the back and loins. The Arabs are loud in their abuse of our mode of tying up horses with a longe. They affirm that in addition to the vices and accidents it may occasion, it has the great inconvenience of not allowing the animal to lie down. Whereas with clogs a horse protrudes his head and neck and when he wants to sleep places himself exactly in the position of a greyhound basking in the sun. ”

“ Then he saw that there was a man on its back; a man either dead or asleep. His hand hung down nerveless by the horse's shoulder, and swung helplessly to and fro as the animal walked on; the man's head rested on the horse's mane. ”

“ I am going back to the . . ., where if you, or any person, are desirous of purchasing the horse, you must come within the next half-hour, or I shall probably not feel disposed to sell him at all.” “Another word, young man,” said the jockey; but without staying to hear what he had to say, I put the horse to his best trot, and re-entering the town, and threading my way as well as I could through the press, I returned to the yard of the inn, where, dismounting, I stood still, holding the horse by the bridle. ”

“ Black, small, and stocky, with fierce eyes and menacing horns, they have resumed the primitive characteristics of the race. Bad luck to whoever should come and disturb them at their sport among the reeds. Only the herdsman, mounted on a fast horse and equipped with a trident for pricking the nostrils of the beasts, can control the wild herd. ”

“ Guess the only kind o’ fruit a horse won’t eat is cocoanuts.” The Captain filled his pipe leisurely and in silence. Then: “Another peculiar thing, Billy, is that you might call the affinity o’ the hoki-moki tree an’ them wild horses. They can’t keep away from ’em, the horses can’t. There’s something about the—the tree itself that draws the horses: something in the wood, they say. You don’t never find any bark on a hoki-moki tree low down because the wild horses keeps rubbin’ themselves against it. Seems like they just can’t resist the—the sub-tile influence. ”

“ Suddenly I am pushed by a movement of the horse on which I am lying. I see that he has turned his great head aside; he is mournfully eating grass. I saw this horse but lately in the middle of the regiment—I know him by the white in his mane—rearing and whinnying like the true battle-chargers; and now, broken somewhere, he is silent as the truly unhappy are. ”

“ From Second Westings that morning, after old Debby's alarm, Doctor John and Doctor Jim had came posthaste on horseback to Westings Landing. Now, however, it was found that Barbara was quite too worn out by the fatigues of her long, strenuous day to sit a horse for a ten mile's ride over rough roads in the dark. Priding herself not less on her endurance than on her horsemanship, she vehemently repudiated the charge that she was done up, and was determined to ride back on the liveliest of the Blue Boar's horses. ”

“ His instinct, however, is no match for the cunning of his enemies; the harpooner makes a feint of striking with the paddle; the animal starts aside to avoid the expected blow; and as he does so the hunter delivers the harpoon with all his force. The small barb penetrates the tough thick skin, and no power can draw it out again; the line uncoils; the light staff, sometimes even with a bladder attached, floats behind to mark his track; the wounded animal finds no rest ”

“ Young Barbe was a brave hunter as well as skillful guide. On a bright morning in March, the lookout on the deck of the "Henry" shouted down the gangway that a herd of deer were in sight. Immediately the excitement of men and dogs was at fever-heat. The dogs, however, did not get the news until Koojesse had crept out, and from behind an island had fired upon the deer. His ball brought down no game, but the report of the gun called out Barbe with the whole pack of wolfish dogs at his heels, in full pursuit of the flying, frightened deer. ”