Just as with many other aspects of the Kelpie, there is a lot of misunderstanding concerning the famous sheepdog called, Barb. Was it a special breed, a black Kelpie, or something else? Even today many breeders state that they have Barbs but what they are really referring to is a black Kelpie.

The dog called Barb, was born about 1880 and was sired by Tullys Moss, a black dog of Rutherford breeding owned by Mark Tully and then Jack Gleeson. Tullys Moss was mated to a Kelpie called Sally (Laddie X Kings Kelpie) owned by Charles King and produced a black sheepdog called 'Barb'.

Sally was by Laddie. Laddie was one of the pups from Brutus and Jenny and a full brother to Caesar and Nero. Sally was from Kings Kelpie who in turn was by Caesar and Gleeson's Kelpie. So Sally was a close linebred Kelpie with some excellent sheepdogs in her ancestry.

Barb was named after a famous black Australian racehorse who won the Melbourne Cup in the 1860's. The Melbourne Cup was, and is still today, Australia's greatest horse race. The Barb was one of the greatest racehorses of the time. He was a black horse, bred at Bathurst in 1863. In all he recorded 15 wins and many places. He was also known as 'The Black Demon'.

Many arguments have been formed about whether Barb was a separate breed from the Kelpie. There is no doubt that the Barb and his progeny were a different strain of workers. Most people agree now that the 'Barb' and his numerous offspring should be regarded as early Kelpies.

A lot of people have different opinions on the Barb. The King and McLeod Stud, being one of the biggest sheepdog Studs from about 1900 to 1930's, had plenty to say about the Barb and in their opinion the Barbs were pushy dogs and inclined to bite. This was a similar opinion to Robert Kaleski, one of the leading experts on working dogs in the early 1900's.  King & McLeod in many of their letters to clients and newspapers, always stressed that it was better to mate the hard Barb strain to a softer line.