The Restoration Tarpan is a relatively new horse breed which is said to resemble the extinct Tarpan horse. Unlike their name suggests, Restoration Tarpans are not Tarpans.

The Tarpan and the Heck Horse:
Back in the 18th century, herds of grullo wild horses roamed in Eastern Europe. They were known as Tarpans, and went extinct during the 19th century.

Before that happened, still during the 19th century, Polish breeders purportedly obtained many of those Tarpans and crossed them with domesticated horses. Those crossings are said to have created the Konik, a breed whose coat is said to be identical to that of the Tarpan. Although this narrative is apocryphal and is still being debated, the events listed below have enough documentation to support their authenticity.

Following World War I, the proposed visual similarity between the Konik and the Tarpan attracted the attention of breeders who wanted to recreate the extinct Tarpan. One of them was the Polish professor Tadeusz Vetulani, who released a herd of Konik horses in Bialowieza Forest, in hope that the forest environment will cause the horses to re-develop their 'Tarpan' characteristics.

Another horse-breeding plan took place in Nazi Germany, and was carried out by the Heck brothers. As part of that plan, Konik horses from Vetulani's program were taken to Germany and crossed with several other breeds which, according to the Heck brothers, were related to the Tarpan. The result was the Heck Horse, who had a grulla coat and was said to resemble the extinct Tarpan, although there is no proof for that.

From Heck Horses to Restoration Tarpans:
Heck Horses outlived Nazi Germany, and survived World War II in the German Munich zoo. Six such horses were imported from Germany to the USA between 1950 and 1961. Those horses were bred well into the 21th century, although their numbers were small.

In 2019, the Tarpan Horse Conservation Program Inc. was founded to register and promote the breeding of those horses. Obviously, those horses were not Tarpans (as they were not the product of Tarpans), so the horses were named Restoration Tarpans.

Why the Restoration Tarpan is Not a 'Modern Tarpan':
Restoration Tarpans are sometimes called 'Modern Tarpans' even though it is incorrect, and potentially misleading, to call them this way.

The term 'Modern' in horse breeds refers to members of a breed who descend directly from the breed in question, and were bred to fit a more modern standard. A good example is the Modern Oldenburg, which was created by crossing Oldenburg horses with sport horses to generate a lighter form of the Oldenburg breed. All Modern Oldenburgs can be traced back, via pedigree, to the original Oldenburg stock.

This is not the case with the Restoration Tarpan. There is no genetic or documented proof that Heck Horses descend from the original Tarpans that roamed Europe in the 19th century. Without said proof, the Restoration Tarpan cannot be regarded as a Modern Tarpan, or as a Tarpan, or as related to the Tarpan at all.

The Restoration Tarpan today:
Today, Restoration Tarpans are bred in the USA in small numbers. They are said to have a calm temperament and are used for recreational riding and therapeutic riding.

Breeding:
Restoration Tarpans in Horse Isle have extremely strict breeding rules because of their unique bloodlines.

The Restoration Tarpan, as a breed, descends from six Heck Horses imported from Germany to the USA during the 1950s and 1961. There are no Heck Horses in Horse Isle, but there are Koniks. Because Heck horses descended from Konik horses, then in Horse Isle breeders can use those Koniks to breed Restoration Tarpans, although it is extremely difficult.

The strict origin of the Restoration Tarpan is also the reason why, in Horse Isle, Restoration Tarpans must have at least one Konik or one Restoration Tarpan parent. Purebreeding, however, requires two Restoration Tarpan parents, similar to how they are bred today.

Conformation:
The conformation standard for Restoration Tarpans is a broad one, and therefore, in Horse Isle, we relied primarily on images of registered Restoration Tarpans when building this horse in the game.

Restoration Tarpans have a large head with a straight or convex profile, especially toward the muzzle, and a deep jaw. The neck is short, the withers are smooth, and the croup is rounded.

Performance metrics:
The following are the: range, average, (SD), and MOE of performance metrics of ordered Restoration Tarpans in Horse Isle (not bred ones). In rare cases, horses might have metrics outside of the range. Breeders can produce horses that are beyond this range.

Speed: 13.7-15.2, 14.4 (0.3), 0.06.
Sprint: 39-53, 45 (3), 0.53.

Accel: 0.84-1.06, 0.94 (0.05), 0.01.
Decel: 0.86-0.99, 0.93 (0.03), 0.01.

Jump: 4.98-5.21, 5.10 (0.05), 0.01.
Pull: 1.46-2.00, 1.73 (0.11), 0.02.

Turning: 43.93-57.53, 50.34 (3.12), 0.61.
Reverse: 2.2-3.0, 2.6 (0.1), 0.03.

Stamina: 47.26-51.40, 49.13 (0.93), 0.18.
Reaction: 0.61-0.74, 0.67 (0.03), 0.01.

Coats & Height:
Colors: Grulla. The coat is always light, and horses will be penalized if their coat is too dark.

Always a grullo coat: real Restoration Tarpans always have a grullo (dun on black base) coat, which ranges from dark grullo with a blackish body to light grullo with a whitish or yellowish body (the light shades are not found in Horse Isle). Regardless of the shade of the coat, the head is always darker than the body.

Additionals: none. The coat is always solid and has no markings at all.

Eyes color: real Restoration Tarpans must have brown eyes, and any other eye color leads to disqualification from registration. In Horse Isle, however, due to technical limitations, Restoration Tarpans can have other eye colors such as blue.

Height: 12.2hh to 13.3hh.