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Preserving a breed: Viewtown farm is sanctuary for rare Tarpan horses

by | Mar 14, 2024

Debbie Capasso pets Cremesicle, a palomino Tarpan at Dixie Meadows Farm.
Debbie Capasso pets Cremesicle, a palomino Tarpan at Dixie Meadows Farm.
12 of the 16 mares on Viewtown’s Dixie Meadows Farm grazing in their pasture. Some of the mares are in their late 20s, which is well beyond the average wild Tarpan’s lifespan, which Capasso said is in the midteens.
12 of the 16 mares on Viewtown’s Dixie Meadows Farm grazing in their pasture. Some of the mares are in their late 20s, which is well beyond the average wild Tarpan’s lifespan, which Capasso said is in the midteens.
A Tarpan mare nibbles at the collar of Debbie Capasso’s jacket. Comfortable with humans, the Tarpans are a very docile breed.
A Tarpan mare nibbles at the collar of Debbie Capasso’s jacket. Comfortable with humans, the Tarpans are a very docile breed.
Most of the Heck line of Tarpans, named for the Heck brothers who developed the breed in Germany, have distinct smoky gray coats and brown eyes.
Most of the Heck line of Tarpans, named for the Heck brothers who developed the breed in Germany, have distinct smoky gray coats and brown eyes.
Tarpans have a distinct dorsal stripe down their back, and zebra striping on the bottoms of their legs near the hooves that becomes more distinct in the summer months.They were bred to be work horses, and are smaller than the average horse, standing at about 13 hands fully grown, but have strong builds and features. Their hooves maintain themselves, and Capasso said the Dixie Meadows Tarpans have never needed hoof care.
Tarpans have a distinct dorsal stripe down their back, and zebra striping on the bottoms of their legs near the hooves that becomes more distinct in the summer months.They were bred to be work horses, and are smaller than the average horse, standing at about 13 hands fully grown, but have strong builds and features. Their hooves maintain themselves, and Capasso said the Dixie Meadows Tarpans have never needed hoof care.
Debbie Capasso runs her hands through the mane of a Tarpan mare. Mane colors vary in the breed, from tan and brown to grey to black.
Debbie Capasso runs her hands through the mane of a Tarpan mare. Mane colors vary in the breed, from tan and brown to grey to black.
A British documentary crew visited Dixie Meadows in January to film the Tarpan horses. The independent film is set to premiere sometime near the end of this year.
A British documentary crew visited Dixie Meadows in January to film the Tarpan horses. The independent film is set to premiere sometime near the end of this year.
Debbie Capasso with Cremesicle, a palomino Tarpan. A departure from the breed’s most common coloring, the palomino Tarpans are more rare, and is the result of a double-recessive gene.
Debbie Capasso with Cremesicle, a palomino Tarpan. A departure from the breed’s most common coloring, the palomino Tarpans are more rare, and is the result of a double-recessive gene.
Most of the Heck line of Tarpans, named for the Heck brothers who developed the breed in Germany, have distinct smoky gray coats and brown eyes. (Photo/Ireland Hayes)
A Tarpan mare nibbles at the collar of Debbie Capasso’s jacket. Comfortable with humans, the Tarpans are a very docile breed. (Photo/Ireland Hayes)
12 of the 16 mares on Viewtown’s Dixie Meadows Farm grazing in their pasture. Some of the mares are in their late 20s, which is well beyond the average wild Tarpan’s lifespan, which Capasso said is in the midteens. (Photo/Ireland Hayes)
A British documentary crew visited Dixie Meadows in January to film the Tarpan horses. The independent film is set to premiere sometime near the end of this year. (Photo/Ireland Hayes)
Debbie Capasso runs her hands through the mane of a Tarpan mare. Mane colors vary in the breed, from tan and brown to grey to black. (PhotoI/reland Hayes)
Tarpans have a distinct dorsal stripe down their back, and zebra striping on the bottoms of their legs near the hooves that becomes more distinct in the summer months.They were bred to be work horses, and are smaller than the average horse, standing at about 13 hands fully grown, but have strong builds and features. Their hooves maintain themselves, and Capasso said the Dixie Meadows Tarpans have never needed hoof care. (Photo/ireland Hayes)
Debbie Capasso with Cremesicle, a palomino Tarpan. A departure from the breed’s most common coloring, the palomino Tarpans are more rare, and is the result of a double-recessive gene. (Photo/Ireland Hayes)

One morning after a storm, Debbie Capasso woke up to three camels standing in her yard. Little did she know, a chance encounter nine years ago with an exotic animal would turn into a lifelong commitment to another.

When the camels’ owner came to claim them and return them home, Capasso learned about Dixie Meadows Farm, right down the road from her house, that was a sanctuary to several exotic animals–camels, zebras, oryx, an African antelope, and Heck horses, more commonly known as Tarpans, a rare breed bred to emulate the extinct equine species. Capasso, a lifelong horse lover, quickly fell in love with the Tarpans, and started to help care for them.

“The amazing thing is, even people who live in Rappahannock, even people who live on Viewtown Road, had never heard of these horses, never seen them…So I was fascinated,” Capasso said.

Helen Dixon, the original owner of Dixie Meadows and the Tarpans, came across the breed at an animal auction, bid on one by accident while trying to bid on another horse and wound up with the rare breed. When she did some research and found out just how rare Tarpan horses were, she decided to start breeding them on her farm in an effort to preserve the breed.

“She was under the impression that this breed was going to go extinct, so she just started breeding like crazy,” Capasso said.

Most of the Heck line of Tarpans, named for the Heck brothers who developed the breed in Germany, have distinct smoky gray coats and brown eyes. (Photo/Ireland Hayes)

A Tarpan mare nibbles at the collar of Debbie Capasso’s jacket. Comfortable with humans, the Tarpans are a very docile breed. (Photo/Ireland Hayes)

12 of the 16 mares on Viewtown’s Dixie Meadows Farm grazing in their pasture. Some of the mares are in their late 20s, which is well beyond the average wild Tarpan’s lifespan, which Capasso said is in the midteens. (Photo/Ireland Hayes)

At its peak, Dixie Meadows was home to more than 60 wild Tarpan horses, untrained and with little human socialization. Three weeks before Dixon passed away in 2019, she bred every one of the 30 mares in the field. After she passed, the caretakers at the farm and her son, Greg Dixon, who now owns the farm, knew they were going to need support, and quickly called Capasso and enlisted her help.

That summer, 16 foals were born.

The herd has since been thinned, with several now on farms across the United States and Canada. With only 120 Tarpan horses in the United States, Dixie Meadows’ herd, today numbering 24, still remains one of the largest in the country.

“They couldn’t find anybody that loves the Tarpan horse more than I do,” Capasso said.

Although technically a wild herd, the horses are very docile and friendly toward humans. Sized somewhere between a pony and a quarter horse, the Tarpans are sturdy little horses known for their endurance and strength. When the 2019 foals were born, Capasso worked hard to socialize them and bond with them.

Capasso said the 300 acres of rolling hills at Dixie Meadows are perfect for the horses, and they require very little care–they mostly graze on grass in the fields, do not require hoof trimming, and are able to withstand cold temperatures well. Capasso said the breed is becoming popular with older people and retirees who have always wanted a horse, but not necessarily for riding.

Capasso’s mission is to spread awareness about the breed. Now that she is fully retired, she plans to start an equine therapy business with her Tarpan, Magic, at the center. Magic is at an equine therapy facility in Canton, Ga., being trained. Capasso is also heavily involved with the Tarpan Horse Conservation Program, a nonprofit developed to track the number of Tarpans in the U.S. and educate the public about the breed.

“As soon as I met this breed, I said, ‘You know what, they’re just perfect’…for anxiety, PTSD, sensory disorders, anybody with any kind of trauma, they are so perfect for that,” Capasso said. “I just want people to be able to come and be in their presence, because there’s something that just happens.”

Debbie Capasso with Cremesicle, a palomino Tarpan. A departure from the breed’s most common coloring, the palomino Tarpans are more rare, and is the result of a double-recessive gene. (Photo/Ireland Hayes)

Author

  • Ireland Hayes

    Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner. Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.

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By Ireland Hayes

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Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner. Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.