The Tarpan, also known as the Eurasian or Forest Horse, once roamed the dense woodlands across Europe to the Russian steppes. One of the wild ancestors of today’s domesticated horse, Darwin recorded them in his books on the origins of domesticated species. Tarpans are depicted in the cave paintings of Lascaux in southwestern France. Our early ancestors hunted them. As habitats changed and agriculture expanded, Tarpans annoyed farmers by eating their crops and causing their mares to run away. Most accounts place the time of Tarpan extinction before World War I.
We recognize three types of Tarpan horses:
All are replicas of Tarpans. Koniks and Heck horses were both developed in the 1920s-30s in Europe. The Hegard or Stroebel horse was developed in the early 1960s in the US.
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.
In the US, Harry Hegardt developed a Tarpan horse from the traits found in American mustangs originally brought by Spanish conquistadors. An article suggests he introduced a Polish Konik into his breeding effort (FARM SHOW Magazine 2003). Gordon and Lenette Stroebel continued Hegardt’s work from the 1990s. THCP supported the rescue of the current Stroebel herd of 31 Tarpan horses in early 2023.
Joan Steelhammer, Giddyup Horse Ranch, Oregon, is now the custodian of the Stroebel herd of 31 Tarpan horses. Joan rescued the Stroebel herd in 2010 and again in 2023. Our Stroebel Tarpan representative and colleagues are working hard to identify and trace the parentage of each of the herd members.
We are aware of, and are seeking to connect with private individuals, zoological parks, and wildlife reserves that maintain small herds of Heck horses and Koniks in Europe, including the Netherlands, Latvia, Germany, France, Poland, and Belarus. In 2022, we contributed to rescue of Eurasian horses and Ukrainian Tarpans in the Carpathian mountains.
Examples include:
Belarus Tarpan Horses videoTarpanhofGrovni FoundationJURA, UNE TERRE, DES HOMMESLe tarpan, acteur de la biodiversité - Cheval Magazine
Horsefly Productions made this fascinating video about Tarpan horse conservation by an international team of Polish, Dutch and Bulgarian scientists:
Tarpan: Repainting An Ancient Picture - YouTube
See also Forest horses in Poland--Tarpans (Koniks)
Ackerman, Diane. The Zookeeper’s Wife. 2007. W.W. Norton &Company. New York, US; Forrest, Susanna. The Age of the Horse: An Equine Journey Through Human History. 2016. Atlantic Monthly Press. New York, USA; Heck, Heinz. The Breeding-Back of the Tarpan. Oryx, Volume 1, Issue 7, 1952, pp. 338-342; Heck, Lutz. Animals: My Adventure 1952; Martin, Linda. Saving the Tarpan Horse in the USA: The Dixie Meadows Herd. Horse Talk Magazine, Sept-Oct-2016; Mullarky, Alex. Return to the Wild. Horses and People Magazine, March 2016, pp. 23-27; Thrall, Ellen J. 1975. American Tarpan Studbook. Volume 1. 1954-1973. Caballus Publishers, Fort Collins, CO.
Bearfoot Ranch, Inc.
Happy Trails Therapeutic Riding Center
Wild Horse Rescue Center
Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary
Magnetic Hill Zoological Park
Hope Reins at Marcody Ranch
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
