The M'Bayar is a

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

of small horse from the historic region of

Baol Baol or Bawol was a kingdom in what is now central Senegal. Founded in the 11th century, it was a vassal of the Jolof Empire before becoming independent in the mid-16th century. The ruler bore the title of Teigne (title), Teigne (or Teeň) and re ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. It is the most numerous of the four Senegalese horse breeds, the others being the

Fleuve The Fleuve is a List of horse breeds, breed of horse from Senegal, in West Africa. Its name is the French word for "big river"; it is named for the Senegal River (). It is one of four Senegalese horse breeds, the others being the Foutanké, t ...

, the Foutanké and the M'Par.

History

The origins of the horse in Senegal are not documented. The M'Bayar may either be an autochthonous breed with ancient origins in the area, or may be a descendant of

Barb Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Barb, ...

horses from the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...

countries to the north. In the twentieth century the breed was influenced by Barb horses imported from

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

Mauretania Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It extended from central present-day Algeria to the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, encompassing northern present-day Morocco, and from the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean in the ...

and Morocco; the pure-blood

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

and

Anglo-Arab The Anglo-Arabian, also known as the Anglo-Arab, is a horse breed that originated in France by cross-breeding a Thoroughbred with an Arabian. The Anglo-Arabian has origins tracing back to the Limousin Horse. It was officially recognized by Empe ...

stock at the Centre de Recherches Zootechniques of

Dahra Dahra (also Dahra Djoloff or Dara) is a town of commune status located in the Louga Region of Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borde ...

have also had an influence. In 1996, Senegal had a horse population of about 400,000 head, the largest of any West African country. This was a substantial increase from the 216,000 reported in 1978, and a much greater increase from the population after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, estimated at barely 30,000. The M'Bayar is the most numerous of the four Senegalese horse breeds. In 2007 the

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...

did not have data from which to estimate the conservation status of the M'Bayar breed.

Characteristics

The M'Bayar is a small stocky horse, broad in the chest and short in the neck. The legs are strong, but often suffer from cow hocks and other conformational defects. The predominant coat colour is

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

, but

grey Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

, roan and

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

are also commonly seen. The M'Bayar is calm and docile, rustic, strong and enduring.

Use

Horses play an important part in the social and economic life in Senegal. The M'Bayar is used as a light

draught horse A draft horse (US) or draught horse (UK), also known as dray horse, carthorse, work horse or heavy horse, is a large horse bred to be a working animal hauling freight and doing heavy agricultural tasks such as plough, plowing. There are a nu ...

, both for

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

and for

tillage Tillage is the agriculture, agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical wikt:agitation#Noun, agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of manual labour, human-powered tilling methods using hand tools inc ...

. It is also used for

horse-racing Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all spor ...

. Consumption of

horse meat Horse meat forms a significant part of the culinary traditions of many countries, particularly in Europe and Asia. The eight countries that consume the most horse meat consume about 4.3million horses a year. For the majority of humanity's early ...

in Senegal is very low, for religious and cultural reasons, but some carcasses are sent to a specialised butcher's shop in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

References

{{Horse breeds of Africa Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Senegal