Iberian
and Barb horses, both breeds closely related, were the horses the
conquistadors brought to the New World. Settlers of the vast new
territory of Hispania also imported Barbs directly from Africa when
Spain became drained of her original breeding stock from excess exports
to European nations and the New World. In 1667, Sir Walter Raleigh found
the West Indies as having the finest-shaped Barb horses as he had ever
see (www.ColonialSpanishHorses.org). These horses where bred in the
West Indies and shipped to Mexico to begin the conquest of both the
North and South American continents.
In the late 1600’s Jesuit
missionary and explorer Father Eusebio Kino established a herd of
Spanish Barb horses along with cattle and other livestock at Rancho
Dolores, Mexico to supply the expanding settlements
of the Pimeria Alta
region. Father Kino developed a mission system
reaching from Mexico to San Xavier del Bac outside Tucson, AZ three
centuries ago. He was known as the "Padre on
Horseback" for his extensive riding. Father Kino and
his Spanish Barb horses were said to travel 70 miles a day, making many
trips from Mexico City to the Pimeria Alta settlements. Known for the
attributes of endurance, easy keepers and hardiness these Barbs were
instrumental in settling the West.
In the 1870’s, according to family history, Dr.
Wilbur, an early homesteader near the town of Arivaca, Arizona,
purchased a group of these Mission horses. These became the foundation
stock of the Wilbur-Cruce rancher strain of Colonial Spanish Horses. Dr.
Wilbur’s granddaughter, Eva Antonia Wilbur-Cruce, preserved this
isolated herd through much adversity until she sold her family ranch in
1989 to The Nature Conservancy to be included in the Buenos Aires
National Wildlife Refuge. Fortunately, the American Livestock Breeds
Conservancy became involved. Blood typing and visual inspection
supported the oral history and resulted in the rescue and conservatory
distribution of the herd. Today Eva’s "rock horses" as she fondly called
them noting their ability to negotiate very difficult, rocky,
mountainous country with skill and ease – are preserved by breeders in
several western states. ("A Beautiful, Cruel Country" by Eva Wilbur-Cruce,
1987).
