A HORSE that weighed as much as a car with his legs as tall as a grown man continues to beggar belief.
Sampson, or “mammoth” as he was appropriately nicknamed, stood a staggering 2.19 metres tall and weighed a whopping 3,360 pounds.
In horse measuring speak, his height was an eye-popping 21.25 “hands”.
Sampson was a Shire, a breed of horse used for work due to their size and strength.
But even for a Shire, this huge horse was extraordinary.
He lived in the early 19th century in London, with Captain Samuel Bennett his owner.
Sampson was born in 1846 after being bred by Thomas Cleaver at Toddington Mills, Bedfordshire.
He is the tallest horse ever measured, according to Guinness World Records.
The average horse measures 14 to 17 hands tall.
And while the average horse weighs 900 to 2000 pounds, he weighed 3360 by age four, heavier than some cars.
Aside from clearly carrying freakish genetics, Sampson was known for eating massive amounts of oats and barley to expand his frame.
His fans would travel from far and wide to see him.
If they were lucky, Sampson would show off his size and strength by pulling carriages along.
His breeder Cleaver was well known at the time, supplying many stallions in Bedfordshire in the early 1800s.
There was a even song about Sampson, Bedfordshire Live previously reported.
It went: “Thomas Cleaver’s horse Sampson stood tall.
“By all records the tallest of all.
“Still under age two, how his testicles grew!
“Tom bawled, ‘Soon he won’t fit in his stall!'”
Sampson is said to have died aged 20.
Sadly, Shire horses aren’t as powerful as they once were.
According to the Shire Horse Society, there were less of the breed born last year than baby pandas.
The charity is on a mission to save the Shire given their standing in British heritage.
In 2010, another horse announced himself on the big stage to come for Sampson’s title.
Big Jake – from Wisconsin in the US – also grew to ridiculous heights but peaked at about 20 hands, just short of the legendary Sampson.
Big Jake died in June 2021 after a life of 20 years dining out on hay bales and buckets of grain.
