A traditional companion of nomads (from Libya to Morocco, via Tunisia and Algeria) and breeders in the Atlas Mountains and the High Plateaux, the Barb is still a remarkable saddle horse and endurance performer, despite variations in size.

In the Maghreb, the Barb horse is still associated with cultural activities (Tbourida), but its qualities make it the ideal horse for many modern sporting activities, such as learning to ride, endurance, polo, trekking, tourism, etc.

Medium-sized, varying between 1.50 m and 1.60 m, with a long head and slightly rounded forehead, often loaded with ganache, straight, massive neck, slightly sloping croup, tail carried low, long, strong legs and small, high-heeled feet, the bearded horse is a square horse often wearing a grey coat.

In Morocco, there are an estimated 4,000 Barbes.

The Arab-Barb horse is a cross between the Purebred Arab and the Barb. The Arab-Barb, which is more harmonious than the Barb, is an excellent saddle horse and Tbourida horse.

There are 60,000 Arab-Barb horses in Morocco.

For most people, the Arabian is the horse par excellence. It is, in fact, certain that without it, the breeding of the thoroughbred horse would have been impossible.

Essential to the improvement of the horse breed, the Arab is without doubt the most beautiful and distinguished of all equines.

Although the origin of the Arabian horse remains uncertain, paintings and engravings show that the Assyrians, the Persians and above all the Egyptians of the Pharaonic era were already riding long-legged, elegant, sleek horses, which suggests that this type of light, fast horse is not the result of human selection and intervention, but rather of adaptation to the extreme living conditions of the original desert environment.

Arabian horses have been selected on the basis of physical and moral qualities, starting with the most necessary of all in combat: obedience. This concern is at the origin of the legend of the Five Mares of the Prophet, ‘Al khamsa al Rasul’. Their names were Obajah, Saqlaouiah, Koheilah, Hamdaniyah and Habdah. Some of these names are still used today to designate lineages within the Arab race.

Introduced to Morocco with Islam, this horse is elegant and harmonious overall, fitting into a square. It is a medium-sized horse (1.40 to 1.55 m), with a small, fine head topped by pointed, mobile ears, a flat forehead, eyes level with the head, a straight, rather cambered muzzle, wide open nostrils carried by a neck that is not too fine, not too fleshy and well grafted, a horizontal topline ending in a high set tail, ample chest and a slightly developed abdomen. The legs are strong and muscular, with thick tendons and wide joints.

There are 13,000 Arab horses in Morocco.

Only the English Thoroughbred can truly measure up to the Arabian Thoroughbred. The former, unlike the latter, owes its extraordinary qualities and characteristics not to an adaptation to the primitive environment and habitat, but, more commonly, to the sporting tastes and breeding talent of the British.

From the fifteenth century onwards, an increasing number of horses of oriental origin were imported into England and crossed with native ponies; the broodmares resulting from these crosses formed the stock from which all Thoroughbred breeding originated.

Three stallions: Godolphin, a bearded stallion of Moroccan origin from the Haras de Meknes, owned by Moulay Ismail and his contemporary Louis XIV, Darley Arabian, a thoroughbred Arabian, and Beyerly Turk, were the ancestors of the million thoroughbreds currently in existence.

The English thoroughbred is the ultimate racehorse, unbeatable over medium distances.

Although, like the Arabian Thoroughbred, the English Thoroughbred was not bred for beauty or elegance, they are splendid animals, racy, with loose limbs, harmonious, energetic and fast.

The head is fine, generally small and well proportioned. The eyes are lively, attentive and expressive.

The muzzle is straight or slightly arched, but less concave than in some Arabian dogs.

The neck is long, slender and muscular at the base.

The chest is broad and deep, providing ample room for the respiratory and circulatory systems.

The well-supported back is prolonged by a short croup, inherited from the Arab ancestor, ending in a high tail.

The legs, with proportionately short cannons, are lean and very strong.

The coat is fine and silky, bay or chestnut but never piebald.

There are 3,500 thoroughbred English horses in Morocco.

The saddle horse par excellence, resulting from the crossing of two pure breeds: the Purebred Arabian and the Purebred English. To qualify for the pure Anglo-Arabian designation, a horse must have a minimum of 25% Arab blood.

The Anglo Arab is a product of French breeding.

The Anglo-Arab is a versatile horse with aptitudes for both racing and equestrian sports. As a result, it is destined to replace other purebred English horses on national racecourses.

It is a long, slender horse with a fine head, more often than not straight in profile, and a long, slender neck.

The croup is long or slightly sloping, and the legs are fine.

There are 5,000 Anglo-Arabian horses in Morocco.