Tarpan Horse Exhibit

If I am not mistaken, the tarpan (now extinct) was the wild ancestor of the domestic horse? Is this an attempt to breed back horses to look like them?

@Arizona Docent Maybe, as there was mention of Heck's Cattle on the informational sign. The two horses in this photo look slightly different from most horses that I've seen in zoos or on farms.

@Arizona Docent
@snowleopard

Years late to this conversation, but for the record, these are Heck Horses. (Commonly referred to as Restoration Tarpans or just Tarpans in the US.)

Heck Horses are the result of a breeding-back project.

Breeding back - Wikipedia

Heck horse - Wikipedia

Restoration Tarpan horses in America - Country Folks

The Tarpans — Hope's Legacy Equine Rescue

https://themidwestequestrian.com/meet-a-heck-horse/

The first two links will explain the thinking behind the Heck horse and how it was created.

The other three links will lay out how Heck Horses came to be in the USA, their history in this country and how Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary got it's herd.