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Guinness World Records’s oldest living horse – who was once owned by legendary actor Burt Reynolds – has died shortly after attaining the title, the organization announced recently.
Mokie the Arabian horse was 40 years old, having spent some of his latter years in Florida serving as a therapy animal for “people going through some of the darkest times of their lives”, Guinness wrote Monday on its website.
Horses’ average lifespan is roughly 25 to 30 years, meaning Mokie reached the equivalent human age of about 115, said the organization whose database of 40,000 records constantly fascinates the public.
A statement attributed to Mokie’s owner at the time of his death – Arica Dzama of Jupiter, Florida – said the creature taught her “how to love a horse that doesn’t give back in a riding form”.
Dzama added that Mokie instead demonstrated “what a horse can do with just their magic”.
Guinness recounted how Mokie was born on Reynolds’s farm on 21 February 1985. The animal, who was originally named Mohawk, was bred to be the personal horse of the late Golden Globe and Emmy winner.
He lived at Reynolds’s farm until 1992, when he was sold.
Dzama began looking after Mokie while the owner who acquired the horse from Reynolds was out of town. She took Mokie in permanently after the second owner moved away, according to Guinness.
That second owner “enjoyed many years riding all over” the US with him, Dzama told the records organization. But, under Dzama’s care, he was primarily a therapy horse and lived at a slower pace.
“Mokie was an old man when he came to me,” she told Guinness. “He liked eating, getting brushed – he liked to give kisses.
“Every day that we had with Mokie was a special day.”
On 14 May, Guinness said it verified Mokie to be aged 40 years and 83 days. He died on 3 June.
Dzama said she badly wanted for Mokie to be able to receive his formal title, but he died before that happened. Nonetheless, she said she was proud that he had gained recognition for his longevity, calling it an “amazing accomplishment in his life”.
“This … is something I will always cherish,” Dzama said to Guinness. “I look forward to continuing his legacy.
“He was just a really special guy.”
Before Mokie, Guinness World Records recognized Echoquette the Arabian mare as the oldest living horse. Echoquette suddenly and unexpectedly died at age 36 and 222 days from acute liver failure in Austin, Texas, after being born in Arizona and spending some time in Switzerland.
