10 Biggest Horses In The World

Horses are fancy animals. With their long black or brown manes, they look too beautiful to be real. It is believed that horses have been living on earth for over 50 million years now! They originated in North America and then slowly made their presence in Asia and Europe.

According to the Oklahoma State University, the horses that left North America became extinct and were re-introduced by colonizing the Europeans. It is also said that the horses were first domesticated in Asia between 3000 and 4000 B.C.

During that time, these horses were mainly used to milk and meat but then gradually they became a mode of transportation.

Did You Know?

Horses are unique animals and love to sleep while standing up! However, they do sleep while laying down too, but that happens only for a very short period of time.

10. Goliath

Height: 6 feet 5 inch
Weight: 2500 pounds

This Shire horse had the name of a biblical giant and was born in 1992 in Canada. A the beginning its life wasn’t easy because of its big size since it was a foal.

The 2,500-pound horse was owned by Priefert Ranch Equipment of Mount Pleasant, Texas. Goliath was a huge black horse of immense character, he travelled the country for ten years as the senior members of Young and Co’s Brewery, a team of show horses.

Goliath was even featured in the Guinness Book for 8 consecutive years as he was the tallest horse in all of Great Britain. This famous animal even made as many as 150 promotional appearances and would travel in style in his specially-built horse trailer!

This six feet five inches tall horse spent the last days of his life at the Northcote Heavy Horse Sanctuary in Lincolnshire and peacefully passed away in 2001.

9. Cracker

Height: 6 feet 3 inch
Weight: 2000 pounds

Considered to be one of the highest horses in Great Britain, this Shire horse named Cracker was born in 1989 in Somerset, England. Just a few years later, in 1992, Cracker was sent to Lincolnshire where he became instantly famous.

On his very first public outing to the Burgh Railway Museum, he staggered several important visitors with his panache and charisma. He even received a letter of commendation on his very first day out!

Cracker has never been ill until July 2007. After treatment he recovered quickly but was noticeably affected by the loss of his two friends Samuel and Jacob in August. This 6 feet 3 inches tall giant horse died when he was 18 years old.

8. Radar

Height: 6 feet 3.5 inch
Weight: 2300 pounds

This beautiful Belgian draft horse gelding named Radar was born in 1998. Standing tall at 19 hands (standard measurement for horses), Radar weighed over 2,300 pounds. In 2006, the Priefert family had purchased this horse.

Radar held the Guinness World Record for being the tallest living horse between 2006-09. He peacefully passed away in 2016.

The ranch referred to Radar as a “superstar and legend in his own right” and likened his death to “the passing of a giant.” While Radar held the record, he traveled the country and made appearances on the Today Show, Oprah, and Extreme Makeover.

7. Remington

Height: 6 feet 6 inch
Weight: 3000 pounds

Remington was born in Texas, United States and comes from the Clydesdale breed. It measures 80 inches in height and earned the title of the tallest horse alive in 2008 by the Guinness World Record.

The Clydesdale weighs a massive 3000 pounds. Shattering the previously held Guinness World Record being continued since 2004 at 79.5 inches, Remington measured at 80 inches at the withers, without his shoes!

Remington’s owner Cheryl Davis used to say that her horse had a great temperament. Davis’s horse would hang out in his barn and play around like a big puppy for the first six years of his life. Davis loved Remington like her son and called him to be quite a character!

Remington could easily pull a carriage with a wagon with up to eight adults and two children on board. However, because of his huge size, everything had to be custom-made for him. For example, where 85 inches is suitable as the size of shafts on carriages, Remington’s carriage had to be 105 inches.

6. Tina

Height: 6 feet 6 inch
Weight: 2500 pounds

Declared the world’s tallest horse in 2007 by Guinness, Tina measured at a whopping 80 inches tall. Tina was measured by a local veterinarian and as many as 1,000 people came to see this horse being measured at Springbrook Inn.

Tina was owned by by the couple Jim and Marge Williams, who owned a hotel named Sprinbrook Inn and also had a riding school. The horse made history and stories about her made regular features in newspapers all around the world. She was also featured in a Japanese documentary.

When Tina died, her owners and the entire area went silent as the horse had become very popular in her neighborhood. The couple was so shattered by Tina’s death that till date, they do not even like to speak about her with anyone.

5. Poe

Height: 6 feet 10 inch
Weight: 2800 pounds

Standing 20.2 hands – that’s 6 ft 10 in – at the shoulder and weighing 200 stone, Poe is the tallest horse in the world, according to owner Shereen Thompson.

Standing at 5 feet 3 inches tall, Miss Thompson was very eager to get Poe’s name etched in the Guinness Book. She believed that Poe was a huge horse and definitely the tallest in the world and all she needed was the official papers from Guinness to prove so.

The huge horse used to consume a massive two bales of hay, 10 lb of grain and 75 gallons of water each day. The huge Clydesdale used to work as a dray horse in Ontario, pulling a cart filled with crates of beer. Now, Miss Thompson displays the equine giant to amazed onlookers.

4. Big Jake

Height: 6 feet 8 inch
Weight: 3000 pounds

Big Jake officially became the tallest horse in the world according to the Guinness World Records. Jake earned the title of the tallest living horse in 2010 when he was measured at 29 hands 2.75 inches (without shoes).

After setting his hands on the title of being the tallest horse, many tourists became eager to see this animal. Every year, thousands of people throng the Smokey Hollow Farm in Wisconsin, USA to catch a glimpse of this magnificent animal.

Jake’s owner Jerry Gilbert says that people are shocked when they see this animal. With Jake’s popularity soaring as high as his size, Jerry says that he has been keeping very busy.

As a testament to Jake’s popularity, a video was published by Guinness on their YouTube channel in 2012 and this video attracted a whopping 3.5 million views!

3. Sovereign

Height: 6 feet 10 inch
Weight: 3100 pounds

Sovereign stands at 20.2 hands from his hoof to his withers at the bottom of his neck – the equivalent of just over 6 feet 10 inches and is still growing!

Two years before Sovereign rose to popularity, he was highly neglected and underweight. His owners used to keep him in a tiny cow shed and never took care of him. It would have taken only a slight push for him to die had not his new owner purchased him.

Sovereign was purchased at £200 by his new owner who took immense care of him and nurtured him back to health. Soon enough, this beautiful horse began to prosper and grow beyond his limits and became the tallest horse in Britain.

At his massive size of more than a tonne, Soverreign was fed 8 kilos of hay and corn everyday. He is now lodged at a 10-acre paddock along with his other shire friends who love each other.

2. Zeus

Height: 7 feet
Weight: 3100 pounds

Measuring a whopping 86 inches and tipping the scales at 3,100 pounds, this shire was named Zeus. During his first 4 years, Zeus used to live with his owner in Maine.

He was purchased when he was 4 years old to pull carriages along with another horse named Fred, who weighed 2,500 pounds. However, just at 4 years old, Zeus began to grow immensely and measured 20 hands and 2,400 pounds. This is when his owner realised that this horse was special.

Quite soon, Zeus grew and increased in size to a whopping 3,000 pounds. No shafts in the carriages would fit him. However, people loved this beautiful shire at the castle. A few years later, this beautiful horse was diagnosed with a muscle disease that eventually took his life.

1. Sampson

Height: 7 feet
Weight: 3360 pounds

The biggest horse in the world was Sampson. He weighed 3,300 pounds and measured at 7 feet tall, becoming the tallest and heaviest horse in the world during his time.

Born in 1846 in England, Sampson was a shire horse. His owner Thomas Cleaver bought him when he was just one and a half years old. During his peak time, Sampson weighed 3,360 pounds! Because of his massive size, Sampson earned the name Mammoth and he was also catastrated.

Sampson was special not just because of his grand size. He was a great combination of kind, cool temperament, and exceptional athleticism!