Big Jake, the tallest living horse has died after a long happy life of 20 years. Big Jake measured over 20 hand lengths tall, which measures up to 6-ft, 10-inches in height, and that’s just counting to the shoulders, not the horse’s neck and head.
He was certified by The Guinness Book of World Records in 2010 as the world’s tallest living horse and held the title for 11 years. Jerry and Valicia Gilbert, owners of the horse and of Smokey Hollow Farm where Big Jake lived, said that losing him has been a traumatic experience for the family.
“It’s very quiet (at the farm),” Jerry Gilbert told Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “The other horses know. I think they have their own grieving time because Jake was the center of attention around here. There is a huge void. It feels like he’s still here, but he’s not.”
Jerry told WMTV that Big Jake was born in Nebraska and weighed 240 pounds at birth, which is 100 pounds heavier at birth than a normal Belgian foal. He added that Big Jake was a “superstar” in the community and a “truly magnificent animal.”
The family said they plan to memorialize Big Jake by keeping his stall the way it was and not moving another horse into it. They also plan to place a brick on the outside of it with his picture and name. The family had more to say about their believed pet.
Hear more about Big Jake from the family in the video below.