The ‘absolute unit’ sheep has a challenger: Lubber the horse

A photo of an extremely large horse is delighting the internet, prompting some to say it could knock the “absolute unit” sheep off its pedestal.

In case you are unaware of the sheep, it became famous after a photo of it was posted on the Museum of English Rural Life’s Twitter feed.

In the tweet it described the Exmoor Horn ram as an “absolute unit”. The incredible specimen was owned G. F. Thorne in Somerset.

Dr Ollie Douglas, the curator of collections at the MERL wrote in a blog on the subject: “The reason it was so big is breed was intended for meat and wool production, which meant it had to pack a bit of meaty muscle and sport a fulsome fleece.”

The original tweet went incredibly viral, but a challenger for the title of “absolute unit” has just stepped forward.

Enter Lubber the horse.

Lubber was born in 1921 at the Miller Ranch in Holt County, Nebraska and this photo of him is in the History Nebraska archives.

Lubber was 7ft 4in and weighed more than 214 stone. He was exhibited at carnivals during the 1920s as the world’s largest horse.

He was owned by A. E. Ponton and Sons of Battle Creek.

Unfortunately he died from pneumonia in 1927. According to an obituary in the Norfolk Press, Lubber’s dam was a Percheron and his sire was a cross between Belgian and Shire.

Will he reach the posthumous fame of the MERL sheep? Only time will tell.