The biggest horse in history was a Shire horse named Sampson, who stood at a towering 21.25 hands (7 ft 2.5 in, or 2.19 m) and weighed 3,360 lb (1,524 kg). With his impressive measurements, Sampson was both the tallest and heaviest horse in history.
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| Photograph of Sampson, also known as Mammoth, the tallest and heaviest horse on record, circa 1850. He was a Shire horse gelding foaled in 1846 in Toddington Mills, Bedfordshire, England. |
Foaled in 1846 in Bedfordshire, England, Sampson was renamed Mammoth at the age of four when he already stood 7ft 2 in. Had he not been gelded at one and a half years old, this famous giant could’ve reached even more extraordinary heights.
There’s a good chance that Sampson’s name might forever remain in the Guinness World Records as the biggest horse that ever lived. However, some equines have since come close to his impressive size.
