Bicycling with the Ponies, Chincoteague VA [October 24 – 31, 2016]

We found ourselves with a whole week without a commitment, so looked for a place to visit that was close by home, salty, wet, and with lots of things to do.  CHINCOTEAGUE!!!!  

Chincoteague is famous for the Wild Ponies that live on Assateague Island across a narrow channel from Chincoteague Island.  The ponies live in bands with a stallion, 2 to 10 mares, and foals. We came across one such band as we rode our bicycles along Wildlife Loop.  These animals placidly munched the grass along the side of the road as we and other people took their pictures.  They are definitely used to tourists.

The ponies are actually genetically horses, but 300 years of adaptation to a poor quality salt grass diet, and survival in a harsh climate have resulted in animals of short stature.  They drink over twice as much water as domesticated horses because of their high salt diet, and as a result have a bloated appearance.  There is no denying that they are lovely to see in the wild.

We saw a band of the ponies in the distance as we drove along the Beach Road across the island.  One day at low tide, we saw another band on a spit of land across the channel from our campsite.  They had come across a newly exposed land bridge to graze on a tuft of high ground usually surrounded by water.

Assateague Island in Virginia has both a National Wildlife Refuge and a National Seashore (Happy 100^th Birthday NPS!).  The Maryland part of the island also has a State Park.  Wild Ponies live all along Assateague Island, though the Maryland ponies and the Virginia ponies are owned by different entities and are separated by a fence along the Maryland/Virginia border. About 125 ponies live in Maryland, and 150 live in Virginia.  Both herds are kept that size to prevent overgrazing the fragile barrier island ecosystem.

Even though the Wild Ponies aren’t very wild (they hung around while we took their pictures, after all) and are really horses instead of ponies, they are beloved.  Dana read Misty of Chincoteague and the other “Misty” books as a girl.  She saw Misty at the viewing of the movie based on the book in 1961.  A few years later, she came to the annual Pony Penning, where the ponies are rounded up by the Chincoteague Fire Department.  This a special place with special memories, and special ponies – I mean horses!