With regard to barb horses, of which so much has been said and written, the probability would seem to be that “barbed” is in reality a corrupt form of the word “barded” that came originally from the French, bardé—that is to say, caparisoned—and therefore it may signify indirectly a horse in armour. Hence the meaning probably intended by Shakespeare to be conveyed in the following lines in King Richard III.:—
“And now—instead of mounting barbed steeds,
To fright the souls of fearful adversaries,—
He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber,
To the lascivious pleasing of a lute.”
Shakespeare and Bishop Hall, in addition to one or two other writers, speak of the horse, Marocco, which lived in Elizabeth's reign, and belonged to a man named Banks, or Bankes, a brother of the first keeper of the New Warren.
Foaled, so far as one can gather, at Newmarket, Marocco appears to have been one of the cleverest of the few horses that at that period had been trained to perform at fairs, and in shows and circuses.
Some of the feats performed by it are described at length in the old records, and though we read that in those days such feats were deemed “marvellous past belief,” we should smile if anybody were to-day to express amazement at seeing a circus horse perform tricks so simple.
That Marocco should be able to walk upright upon his hind legs, for instance, was considered so astounding that questions were asked in all seriousness as to whether supernatural aid of some kind had not been invoked!
In addition to this, Marocco would rear, kneel, sit, or lie down, when told to do so, and he would indicate amongst the spectators any individual selected by his trainer.