Assateague Pony
Name:
Assateague Pony
Lifespan:
20+ years
Height:
12-14 h.h.
Appearance:
A high-quality head that can reflect Spanish or Arabian qualities.They can be reasonably long in the leg in proportion to their body size, and are extremely tough.
Markings:
Yes
Color:
Any color, with a predominance of parti-colored.
Aptitude:
Feral, but if domesticated, Riding, Competitive, Western riding sports, Pony sports.
Where from:
United States
Facts:
On average around 60 to 70 new foals are born every spring in the herd on the Virginia side of Assateague Island.
Approximately 75 percent of the mature mares have foals each year, a relatively high foaling rate for wild horses.
A mare can become pregnant again once her foal has stopped nursing. And with an 11 month gestational cycle many of the mares are pregnant almost all year around!
Super fact:
It is estimated that the Ponies have lived on Assateague for over 400 years. While no one knows for sure exactly how they originally got there, there are two main theories.
Theory #1: Brought by early settlers...
This theory contends that the Ponies living on Assateague Island today are descendants of domesticated horses turned loose to graze by early settlers. Early settlers to the area were farmers on the mainland and no one lived on the barrier Islands of Chincoteague and Assateague. Mainland communities instituted ‘fencing laws’ to keep free-roaming livestock out of towns or from causing crop damage. In addition farmers were required to pay taxes on their herds of livestock. In an effort to avoid building expensive fences, and to avoid paying the livestock taxes, farmers moved their livestock (including horses, cows, sheep, and pigs) to nearby barrier Islands. The barrier Islands provided a natural corral made of water.
Theory #2: Shipwreck survivors...
If you’ve ever seen a shipwreck map of the mid Atlantic coastline, then you know that there were a remarkable number of shipwrecks in the 16th and 17th centuries. Before modern navigation, ships used lighthouses and the stars to navigate at night. This worked well until a bad storm came up or heavy fog set in, which impaired visibility. Unable to see the lighthouse ships would get off course and hit sandbars along the coast. This would usually occur during a storm and the large waves would beat the wooden ship apart. The large number of shipwrecks, together with the fact that it was very common for ships to be transporting ponies to the Colonies or South America, makes it very likely that ponies originally got to Assateague from a shipwreck. It is also possible that both theories are correct.
Assateague Pony
Lifespan:
20+ years
Height:
12-14 h.h.
Appearance:
A high-quality head that can reflect Spanish or Arabian qualities.They can be reasonably long in the leg in proportion to their body size, and are extremely tough.
Markings:
Yes
Color:
Any color, with a predominance of parti-colored.
Aptitude:
Feral, but if domesticated, Riding, Competitive, Western riding sports, Pony sports.
Where from:
United States
Facts:
On average around 60 to 70 new foals are born every spring in the herd on the Virginia side of Assateague Island.
Approximately 75 percent of the mature mares have foals each year, a relatively high foaling rate for wild horses.
A mare can become pregnant again once her foal has stopped nursing. And with an 11 month gestational cycle many of the mares are pregnant almost all year around!
Super fact:
It is estimated that the Ponies have lived on Assateague for over 400 years. While no one knows for sure exactly how they originally got there, there are two main theories.
Theory #1: Brought by early settlers...
This theory contends that the Ponies living on Assateague Island today are descendants of domesticated horses turned loose to graze by early settlers. Early settlers to the area were farmers on the mainland and no one lived on the barrier Islands of Chincoteague and Assateague. Mainland communities instituted ‘fencing laws’ to keep free-roaming livestock out of towns or from causing crop damage. In addition farmers were required to pay taxes on their herds of livestock. In an effort to avoid building expensive fences, and to avoid paying the livestock taxes, farmers moved their livestock (including horses, cows, sheep, and pigs) to nearby barrier Islands. The barrier Islands provided a natural corral made of water.
Theory #2: Shipwreck survivors...
If you’ve ever seen a shipwreck map of the mid Atlantic coastline, then you know that there were a remarkable number of shipwrecks in the 16th and 17th centuries. Before modern navigation, ships used lighthouses and the stars to navigate at night. This worked well until a bad storm came up or heavy fog set in, which impaired visibility. Unable to see the lighthouse ships would get off course and hit sandbars along the coast. This would usually occur during a storm and the large waves would beat the wooden ship apart. The large number of shipwrecks, together with the fact that it was very common for ships to be transporting ponies to the Colonies or South America, makes it very likely that ponies originally got to Assateague from a shipwreck. It is also possible that both theories are correct.