What are Tarpans and Tarpan horses?

Tarpans are considered to be one of the wild horse ancestors of the domesticated horse. Tarpan is a Turkish word for wild horse. Historical accounts set the time of their extinction during the late 19th or early 20th century. One good reference for more information is this website: Return to Freedom | Extinct Breeds. Recently, genetic analysis of ancient horse bones from numerous archaeological sites across Eurasia shows that the horse was domesticated before the third millenium BCE on the Pontic-Caspian steppes north of the Black and Caspian seas. This evidence indicates that the Tarpan was a later cross between the European wild horse and these ancestors (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04018-9).

Today's Tarpan horses are descendants of horses and Tarpans. We recognize three types of Tarpan horses: Koniks, Heck horses, and Hegard or Stroebel Tarpans. All are replicas of Tarpans. Their developers sought to recreate the ancient tarpan that roamed the forests of Eurasia. Since DNA approaches did not exist, they used back-breeding based on observable physical characteristics.

Why are Tarpan horses important today?
Historical accounts described Tarpan ancestors as wild, destructive, and dangerous, but our Tarpan horses have a unique approach to life and enjoy partnering with humans. They have innate curiosity that makes them stop and examine rather than bolt. When nurtured they are unusually good as therapy horses as well as family and project horses. As an all–around horse, they can be used in any discipline.  They cost very little to own because of their extremely low maintenance needs when kept naturally.  They have been introduced to maintain wetlands and reclaim land. Tarpan horses seem to possess some of the resilient qualities of a free-roaming, woodlands horse along with a desire to connect with humans. 

Things You Didn't Expect of a Tarpan Horse‍