Extinct Horses in the Last 100 Years

Clay Trotting Horses

• A clay trotting horse was a particular type of horse made for trot races. These horses specifically trained to "slow trot" instead of gallop and pulled a jockey on a buggy. The clay trotting horse got its name from an earlier ancestor known as Old Henry Clay. According to "Horses of America" by John Wallace, clay trotting horses drifted out of style in the early 1900s and eventually became extinct, though a few bred into a strain of horse called Bashaw.

Weilkopolski

• From Western and Central Poland, the Weilkopolski combined breeds known as the Arabian, Trakehner and Hanoverian. In Polish, Weilkopolski means "Great Poland," which explains why this horse was primarily a Polish farm horse, used for light riding and agricultural means. The breed disappeared in the 1980s, though strains of the Weilkopolski continue in farm breeds around the central and western areas of Poland.

The Wild Horse

• The tarpan, also known as a wild horse, existed up until the late 1800s, though the last one died in Russian captivity in 1909. As the tarpan was not a thoroughbred or work horse, farmers grew frustrated with tarpans when caught mating with mares or eating grass on farm lands. At time of publication a revival exists to bring back the wild horse but the tarpans are genetic recreations of the original tarpan.

Karacabey

• An Arabian-Turkish strain mixed with Anadol, a type of pony, and Nonius, a Hungarian horse, the karacabey was a show jumper horse that was used in a variety of games through the 20th century. The karacabey-nonius was an even larger breed of show jumper. However, all breeding of the karacabey stopped in 1980, which led to the extinction of the breed.