World’s tallest horse dies in Wisconsin at age 20

The world’s tallest horse has died in Wisconsin. The 20-year-old Belgian named Big Jake lived on Smokey Hollow Farm in Poynette. Valicia Gilbert, wife of the farm’s owner, Jerry Gilbert, said Big Jake died two weeks ago but declined to give the exact date of death.

Big Jake was 6-foot-10 and weighed 2,500 pounds. The Guinness Book of World Records certified him as the world’s tallest living horse in 2010.

#TBT! Check out Big Jake, our amazing record holder for tallest horse living https://t.co/5UJPOt0ZoK #horse pic.twitter.com/6OtMX8Z3YY

— Guinness World Records (@GWR) November 11, 2016

Jerry Gilbert told WMTV that Big Jake was a “superstar” and a “truly magnificent animal.” Big Jake was born in Nebraska and weighed 240 pounds at birth, about 100 pounds heavier at birth than a typical Belgian foal.

Gilbert said he plans to memorialize Big Jake by keeping his stall empty and inserting a brick on the outside of it with his picture and name.

“It’s very quiet (at the farm),” Jerry Gilbert said. “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.”