Big Jake (March 2001 – June 2021) was an exceptionally tall American Belgian

gelding A gelding (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɛldɪŋ/) is a castration, castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. The term is also used with certain other animals and livestock, such as domesticated Camelidae, camels. By compa ...

horse. From 2010 he was the

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

"tallest living horse", and also the second-tallest horse on record.

Life

Big Jake was born in 2001 in

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, weighing approximately , which is about heavier than is typical for his breed. His parents were normal-sized, and he was not unusually tall as a

foal A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt (horse), colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. Whe ...

. He was bought as a three-year-old by the Gilbert family of Smokey Hollow Farm, near

Poynette, Wisconsin Poynette is a village in Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,590 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Poynette was named after Pierre Paquette (1796–1836), an early ...

. He ate two buckets of grain and about a bale of hay every day. His stall was almost twice the normal size and he was transported in a

semi-trailer A semi-trailer is a trailer (vehicle), trailer without a front axle. The combination of a semi-trailer and a tractor truck is called a ''semi-trailer truck'' (also known simply as a "semi-trailer", "tractor trailer", or "semi" in the United Sta ...

. He became the

"tallest living horse" when he was measured in 2010 at . He also became the second-tallest horse on record, after

Sampson Sampson may refer to: Military * , several Royal Navy ships * , several US Navy ships * Sampson-class destroyer, a World War I US Navy class * Sampson Air Force Base, near Seneca Lake, New York, closed in 1956 * SAMPSON, a multi-function radar ...

at (foaled 1846, in Toddington Mills,

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, England). He competed in

draft horse showing Draft horse showing (UK and Commonwealth; draught horse, dray horse or carthorse) refers to horse shows exclusively for horses of the draft horse breeds. In North America the term "Draft horse showing" refers to a specific horse show competition wi ...

competitions and was shown at the

Wisconsin State Fair The Wisconsin State Fair is an annual event held at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. The modern fair takes place in August (occasionally beginning late July) and lasts 11 days. History The first ...

. He died in June 2021; his owners did not give an exact date.

Explanatory notes

References

{{reflist 2001 animal births 2021 animal deaths Biological records Individual draft horses Individual male horses Horses in the United States Animal world record holders