The assateague horses are wild horses that are very well known all over the world, even to those people who have never visited them on their island. These horses are actually feral animals as they descend from domestic breeds that have been reverted to a wild nature over the years.
These horses are a very unique breed, both beautiful and wild, as they can live in almost any type of weather, including scorching heat and thunderstorms. They normally live on the scarce and poor quality food that can be found in the area of the remote island and have become almost immune to the large abundance of mosquitoes that surround them.
It is not certain how these beasts came to live and roam on the islands, that are very remote. But there are certain stories concerning their origin, some of them not very believable. The most common told story is that the animals survived a terrible shipwreck off of the coast of Virginia. The story tells of a dramatic struggle that the animals went through. This story has not data to back it up.
The best explanation given on how they came to live on the island is that they are direct descendants of the animals that were brought to the islands during the late seventeenth century by their owners, who most probably wanted to avoid the laws on taxation of livestock and fencing, and that have become wild over the years.
Over the years, the horses have divided themselves naturally into two separate groups, one of the groups can be found on the Virginia side of the state line and are referred to as the Chincoteague ponies, the other group is on the Maryland side, on the Assateague island. The Maryland herd are managed and owned by the National Park Services and are separated from the other herd by a fence.
The Chincoteague Fire Company own and manage the Chincoteague ponies on the Virginia side, they have a permit which allows the animals to live in the National Wildlife Refuge and to graze on their lands. The animals are restricted to a maximum of One hundred and fifty fully grown horses in one herd to protect the rest of the natural resources that live and grow in the refuge.
The aspect of these animals has changed radically throughout the centuries, due to them breeding with other horses. Naturally they had a very distinct colouring, of all different shades, but mostly brown. Now they can be seen with mixed colours, including brown and white spots, to blacks and tans. They tend to have a long period of breeding, which is normally between September and march and after eleven months, the fillies are born.
It is very hard to see these assateague horses in their natural habitat nowadays as there are not many places where they can be seen. And as these animals have a very complex social structure, they have very strange and very unique behaviours. They tend to be temperamental animals and it is advised for those who do go to visit them to not get very close as they will get bitten and kicked.
These horses are a very unique breed, both beautiful and wild, as they can live in almost any type of weather, including scorching heat and thunderstorms. They normally live on the scarce and poor quality food that can be found in the area of the remote island and have become almost immune to the large abundance of mosquitoes that surround them.
It is not certain how these beasts came to live and roam on the islands, that are very remote. But there are certain stories concerning their origin, some of them not very believable. The most common told story is that the animals survived a terrible shipwreck off of the coast of Virginia. The story tells of a dramatic struggle that the animals went through. This story has not data to back it up.
The best explanation given on how they came to live on the island is that they are direct descendants of the animals that were brought to the islands during the late seventeenth century by their owners, who most probably wanted to avoid the laws on taxation of livestock and fencing, and that have become wild over the years.
Over the years, the horses have divided themselves naturally into two separate groups, one of the groups can be found on the Virginia side of the state line and are referred to as the Chincoteague ponies, the other group is on the Maryland side, on the Assateague island. The Maryland herd are managed and owned by the National Park Services and are separated from the other herd by a fence.
The Chincoteague Fire Company own and manage the Chincoteague ponies on the Virginia side, they have a permit which allows the animals to live in the National Wildlife Refuge and to graze on their lands. The animals are restricted to a maximum of One hundred and fifty fully grown horses in one herd to protect the rest of the natural resources that live and grow in the refuge.
The aspect of these animals has changed radically throughout the centuries, due to them breeding with other horses. Naturally they had a very distinct colouring, of all different shades, but mostly brown. Now they can be seen with mixed colours, including brown and white spots, to blacks and tans. They tend to have a long period of breeding, which is normally between September and march and after eleven months, the fillies are born.
It is very hard to see these assateague horses in their natural habitat nowadays as there are not many places where they can be seen. And as these animals have a very complex social structure, they have very strange and very unique behaviours. They tend to be temperamental animals and it is advised for those who do go to visit them to not get very close as they will get bitten and kicked.
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