The Horse in Morocco: the Barb, the Arab-Barb and the Fantasia

In Morocco the horse is not an imported hobby. It runs through military history, religious festivals and tribal identity. And behind every Fantasia charge stands a breed shaped by the climate and the ground of the Maghreb: the Barb.

The Barb, a horse of the Maghreb

The Barb comes from North Africa, the region old geographers called Barbary — hence the name. It is one of the oldest breeds in the world, and it travelled far beyond its homeland: European and Spanish cavalry owe it a great deal, and its blood runs in several modern breeds.

You recognise it by a set of traits: a square, compact frame, a head with an often convex profile, a strong arched neck, a pronounced wither, a sloping croup and a low-set tail. Nothing spectacular at first glance, but a build made to last.

Built for the ground, not for the track

The Barb was never selected for flat speed. It was selected to carry an armed man all day over stony ground, on little water and little fodder. Hence its reputation: remarkable endurance, hard feet, a hardiness that forgives rough conditions, and a temperament that is lively but willing.

Those are exactly the qualities tbourida demands: accelerate at once, hold the line, stop dead at the end of the track, and do it again.

The Arab-Barb, the horse of the modern Fantasia

Crossing the Barb with the Arabian produces the Arab-Barb, which combines the endurance and soundness of one with the refinement, lightness and elegance of the other. It is now the most common horse in tbourida troupes: hardy enough for daily training, handsome enough for the parade.

Coat colours vary — grey, bay, chestnut, black — but troupes often look for uniformity: a line of horses of the same colour, harnessed identically, makes a far stronger impression at the moment of the charge.

How a tbourida horse is prepared

The hardest part is not the gallop. It is habituation. A horse naturally flees the sound of a gunshot, the smell of powder, the smoke, the floodlights. It takes months for it to accept all of that without flinching, and months more to do it at night.

Training goes through simple, repeated stages: distant shots, then closer ones; riding while carrying the rifle; working in a line of two, then five, then the whole troupe; learning to set off on the exact signal and to pull up straight. In the end horse and rider understand each other through the pressure of a calf.

The horse in Moroccan life

The horse belongs to the big occasions: moussems, weddings, village festivals, the welcoming of honoured guests. Moussems — seasonal gatherings around a local saint or a harvest — often include a tbourida. The one at Tan-Tan, inscribed by UNESCO in 2008, brings together more than thirty nomadic tribes.

The country also maintains a structured equine sector: national studs, breeding, racing and competitions. The annual El Jadida horse show devotes a large part of its programme to tbourida and its best troupes.

Seeing the horses up close in Marrakech

At Chez Ali the horses open the evening: riders escort the cars on arrival, there is a hurdle race before dinner, and a small exhibition on the horse and the Fantasia sits on the grounds. The Fantasia itself closes the night. The stables have been part of the estate since it was built in the early 1980s — the story of the place tells how.

The running order is on the evening programme page, and the €60 packages with transfer included are on menus and prices.

Frequently asked questions

Read next

• Fantasia in Morocco: the history of tbourida
• Moroccan folk troupes, region by region
• The evening programme at Chez Ali

Sources: UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: tbourida (2021), Moussem of Tan-Tan (2008). Details of the evening, the menus and the prices are those of Chez Ali Marrakech, updated in September 2026.