My artist friend, Peter Hoff, shared a couple of his photos of the Chincoteague ponies taken on a roundup day in the spring for medication. Today I worked on the stallion... Thanks, Peter!
Two herds of wild horses make their home on Assateague Island, separated by a fence at the Maryland-Virginia line. These small but sturdy, shaggy horses have adapted to their environment over the years by eating dune and marsh grasses and drinking fresh water from ponds. They are feral. The Maryland herd is managed by the National Park Service and the Virginia herd is owned by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company and allowed by permit to graze on the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.
According to romantic legend, the horses arrived on Assateague when a Spanish galleon with a cargo of wild mustangs sunk off the coast. The surviving animals swam to shore and are the ancestors of today's herds. Unfortunately, the horses (affectionately called ponies because of their slightly stunted size) have a more practical origin. Most likely they are descendants of herds turned loose by early settlers.
"Chincoteague Stallion"