the Oregon Tarpan Horses
the Oregon Tarpan Horses are a rare herd of primitive-type horses, carrying traits that reach back to ancient lineages. their presence evokes the memory of wild horses painted on cave walls—companions of early humans who once moved with them in the shared rhythms of life on earth.
now, in the sagebrush deserts of central oregon, their story is rising again—ready to be seen, honored, and carried into the future.
about the oregon tarpan horses
The story of the Oregon Tarpan Horses begins in the 1950s, when horseman Harry Hegardt gathered a small group of unusual horses from the wild herds of the Eastern Oregon desert. These were not the typical mustangs of the region. They were smaller, sturdier, and carried traits that felt much older: dun and grulla coats, dark dorsal stripes, zebra-like leg and facial markings, and distinctive head shapes. To Hegardt, they resembled the long-extinct European Tarpan, whose image survives in prehistoric cave paintings and historical accounts.
His effort was never scientific in nature but born of vision and intuition. Yet in his care, he may have preserved something of real significance. Decades later, limited genetic work at UC Davis revealed that the Oregon Tarpan Horses carried alleles found in Przewalski’s Horse—the last truly wild horse—alleles absent from domestic breeds.
When Hegardt could no longer continue, the herd passed into the care of Gordon and Lynette Stroebel. For many years, they tended the horses and carried on the vision of protecting them. Locally, they became known as the Stroebel Tarpans. Crook County residents remember them as the “gray ponies” that filled a roadside corral—a familiar sight to passersby, though few understood the depth of their story.
In time, however, the Stroebels were no longer able to continue. The herd was moved again—first to a sanctuary, where structured breeding was paused, and later to a ranch where they lived for many years without close oversight. During that period, several of the foundation horses passed, and new generations were born without careful documentation. Today, about 30 ponies remain, including six elderly foundation horses—the last living links to the herd’s beginnings.
It was at this most precarious moment that the Oregon Tarpan Horses crossed paths with Jordanna, through her work with the Central Oregon nonprofit Mustangs to the Rescue. What began as a practical connection became something far deeper. In their presence, Jordanna felt they were not simply horses in need, but a herd carrying an intact thread of memory and story—waiting for someone to listen.
a new chapter of stewardship
It began in February 2023, in the stillness of the high desert, when an Elder spoke. Zarach, a 33-year-old gelding whose enduring presence carried the stories of time immemorial, came forward with a message. He spoke not in words, but in the silent language of trust and knowing. His call was clear: create a sanctuary on the land, beneath the sky, where humans and horses could gather in circle to remember their shared origins and rekindle the sacred bond between beings.
The vision was bold. It required faith in the unseen, trust in the unknown, and surrender to purpose. Yet Jordanna listened, her heart stirred by a quiet voice that whispered, this is possible. She agreed, stepping into a journey that would weave together strands of creativity, care, and devotion.
Over the months that followed, Jordanna and the herd moved quietly but with intention, working to bring this vision into form. The path was one of weaving relationships, building trust, and creating bridges across worlds—with the support of Mustangs to the Rescue, Joan Steelhammer, The Tarpan Horse Conservation Program, the CHOICE Tribe network, community foster homes, donors, the veterinary team, and Broken Arrow Ranch and Sanctuary.
Several of the Oregon Tarpan Horse mares walked with Jordanna through moments of doubt. They helped her see that she was chosen for this work—not for what she does, but for who she is. As a Hupa woman, she carries a lineage where memory and story have flowed like an unbroken thread through generations. The horses revealed that these stories are not held by people alone—they live in the land, in the soil, in the breath of animals, and in the unseen currents that connect all beings. All people carry this capacity, though for many it slipped into forgetting long ago—when we turned away from the natural world, and from the fires where families once gathered to cook, to warm themselves, and to pass stories beneath the night sky. Because both Jordanna and the Oregon Tarpan Horses carry intact threads of this memory, they are among the keepers of what was never forgotten. In that place of shared knowing, they meet one another, moving together in resonance with the wisdom the Oregon Tarpan Horses hold.
With each step forward, hoof and human print side by side, they moved as one—in trust, purpose, and quiet understanding.
In August 2024, vision became reality. Jordanna and CHOICE Tribe relocated to Broken Arrow Ranch and Sanctuary, bringing their herds and their work to a place that had long provided refuge for horses and people. In doing so, they carried their vision onto this land, where it could take root and grow. The timing felt guided—an opening at just the right moment, creating space for the Oregon Tarpan Horses to return. It was here that the first of the elders set hoof on sanctuary soil.
The Elders—Zerach, Kidron, and Barak—arrived in early September. In October, Oz, a middle-aged stallion, came with a band of mares and a colt. November brought the young stallions, full of fire and promise. December followed with four mares and a gelding, and then, on the last day of autumn, under a shifting sky, the final three members of the herd stepped onto the land. The circle was complete.
Their return aligned with the winter solstice, a moment of reflection and renewal, the turning of one cycle into the next. It invited pause, gratitude, and the planting of new seeds.
What began as a whisper from an Elder had become a symphony of purpose, peace, and stewardship. A herd once scattered was whole again. A dream once uncertain had taken root. And a sanctuary now stands as a testament to what can be created through alignment with vision, trust in the process, and devotion to something greater.
Now, gathered as one, the Oregon Tarpan Horses stand not only as survivors but as keepers of story. In their bodies, their markings, and their way of being, they echo patterns seen across time, reminding us of horses whose history reaches far beyond our own. Their story invites us to look closer—at what makes them unique, and why their preservation matters.
