Chincoteague Ponies Collage Poster

The Chincoteague Pony, now a registered breed, descends from the 'wild' horses on Assateague Island, a 37 mile long barrier island off the coast of Maryland and Virginia. The 'wild' horses on Assateague are actually feral animals, meaning that they are descendants of domestic animals that have reverted to a wild state. Despite the often told tale of the horses swimming to Assateague from a shipwrecked Spanish galleon, the most plausible explanation is that they are the descendents of horses that were brought to Assateague in the 17th century by mainland owners to avoid fencing laws and taxation of livestock. Today's horses are actually the size of ponies (average 12- 13 hands) probably due to their poor diet and harsh environment. Some horses removed from Assateague as foals and fed a higher protein diet grow to horse size. Almost 80% of their diet is coarse saltmarsh cordgrass and American beachgrass. Various grass species, greenbrier stems, bayberry twigs, rose hips, seaweeds and poison ivy make up the rest of their diet. The high concentration of salt in their diets causes the horses to drink twice as much fresh water as domestic horses. Because of this, the horses have a "fat" or "bloated" appearance. Although they will sip salt water, they actually drink very little of it. The ponies are split into two main herds, one on the Virginia end and one on the Maryland end of Assateague. A fence at the Virginia/Maryland State line separates the herds and the population size of each herd is kept around 150 animals to lessen their impact on island ecology. These herds have divided themselves into bands of two to twelve animals and each band occupies a home range. The National Park Service owns and manages the Maryland herd. The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company owns and manages the Virginia Herd, which is allowed to graze on Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, through a special use permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The permit restricts the size of the herd to approximately 150 adult animals in order to protect the other natural resources of the wildlife refuge. It is the Virginia herd that is often referred to as the "Chincoteague" ponies.