World’s Tallest Horse Dead At 20

The world’s tallest horse at 6-foot-10 and weighing 2,500 pounds has died in Wisconsin, the WMTV reported Monday.

The Gilberts, the owners of Big Jake, will memorialize the horse by keeping his stall empty and inserting a brick outside of it with his picture and name, according to WMTV.

Big Jake, 20, was certified as the world’s tallest living horse in 2010 by the Guinness Book of World Records, according to their site.

Valicia Gilbert, the wife of the farm’s owner, Jerry Gilbert, declined to say when the horse exactly died but did say it was about two weeks ago, according to the AP.

“We would rather not remember him by a date — it’s been a traumatic event for our family,” she said to the AP.

“Jake was a superstar and I’m not just saying that because he was ours,” Jerry Gilbert told WMTV. “He was truly a magnificent animal. He was extremely talented.”

The horse lived on Smokey Hollow Farm in Poynette, a village in Columbia County, according to WMTV.

Big Jake weighed about 100 pounds heavier than a typical Belgian foal at 240 pounds when he was born in Nebraska, according to the AP.

“It’s very quiet (at the farm),” Jerry Gilbert said, according to WMTV. “The other horses know. I think they have their own grieving time because Jake was the center of attention around here.”

“Day to day, I think we will always feel that Jake is still here,” said Jerry Gilbert, according to WMTV. “And I don’t think that will ever change.”