Editing Breeding back (section)

=== European wild horse ===
[[File:Steppentarpan.jpg|thumb|[[Heck horse]] in Haselünne, Germany]]
The Polish [[Konik]] horse is often erroneously considered the result of a breeding-back experiment to "recreate" the [[phenotype]] of the [[Tarpan]]. The Konik is actually a hardy [[landrace]] breed originating in Poland, which was called ''Panje horse'' before agriculturist [[Tadeusz Vetulani]] coined the name "Konik" in the 1920s. Vetulani started an experiment to reconstruct the Tarpan using Koniks; ultimately, his stock made only a minor contribution to the present-day Konik population.<ref name="DPK">Tadeusz Jezierski, Zbigniew Jaworski: ''Das Polnische Konik. Die Neue Brehm-Bücherei Bd. 658'', Westarp Wissenschaften, Hohenwarsleben 2008, {{ISBN|3-89432-913-0}}</ref>

During the Second World War, the Heck brothers crossed Koniks with [[Przewalski's horse]]s and ponies, such as the  [[Icelandic horse]] and the [[Gotland pony]]; the result is now called the [[Heck Horse]]. During recent decades, Heck horses have  been continually crossed with Koniks, making the two phenotypes at present nearly indistinguishable, excepting that the Heck horse tends to have a lighter build.<ref name="Weiden">Bunzel-Drüke, Finck, Kämmer, Luick, Reisinger, Riecken, Riedl, Scharf & Zimball: ''"Wilde Weiden: Praxisleitfaden für Ganzjahresbeweidung in Naturschutz und Landschaftsentwicklung''</ref>