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In Poland, descendants of Tarpans are called Koniks, which means “small horses” in Polish. Polish scientists, led by Tadeusz Vetulani, bred offspring of domesticated (possibly Panje) horses and Tarpans to re-produce a horse that closely resembled the Tarpans they had known. Koniks have been introduced in the management of nature reserves (for example, Wildwood Koniks). Some are reported to live today on the Belarus side of the border between Russia and Poland in the Białowieża Forest—one of the world’s few remaining primeval forests.

Heck horses were developed by Lutz and Heinz Heck in Germany and Poland. The Heck brothers bred back the mixed descendants of Tarpans and domesticated horses with other “primitive” horses that resembled Tarpans. Lacking the knowledge of DNA, they matched visual traits, such as build, dorsal stripes, black barring on the lower legs, and their tan-gray color called mouse dun (grulla). Heck Tarpan horses were moved around Europe during WWII to escape bombing.  From 1952 through 1956, the nephew of Lutz Heck brought Heck Tarpan horses from the Tierpark Hellabrunn in Munich to the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago and New York’s Catskill Game Farm, the second of which he later directed. Some of the Heck Tarpan horse offspring were sent to other zoos. When they were distributed by zoos to private hands, Ellen Thrall, a Tarpan specialist at the zoo in Atlanta, traced as many as she could and published the only known studbook for these horses in 1975. She was considered the foremost authority until her death in 1997. After her death, several individuals assumed the breeding and recording of Heck line Tarpan horses until the early 2000s, when a number of them were transferred to Rare Breeds in Canada. We have been able to identify some of the breeders and owners who were active with Heck line Tarpan horses from the early 2000s in the US and Canada. Any information about these horses is vastly appreciated and sought.