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Assateague Island is a long barrier island lying off the coast of Maryland and Virginia. It is famous for two herds of ponies, descendants of horses from a Spanish galleon that sank offshore in the 1600’s. Living off the meager resources of the island, the horses gradually shrank in size and came to be known as Assateague ponies. Half of them lives in the southern part of the island, an area called Chincoteague. The other half roams the northern part of the island where Assateague Island National Seashore is located. The two herds are kept separate from each other and are raised by two different organizations.
Six years ago I went to Chincoteague and had a hard time finding the ponies, only seeing a few from a great distance. This past Saturday I went to the northern part of the island and was immediately rewarded with the sight of six ponies munching on very short grass near the entrance to the park.
Pinto pony at Assateague island entrance.
Assateague Island pony.
Signs everywhere warned visitors not to pet or feed the ponies, or even to come within 10 ft of them. However, those I saw were very peaceful and completely ignored the tourists, young and old, who surrounded them and took their photos.
Assateague Island ponies.
Assateague Island ponies strolling by the side of the road.
Handsome pinto pony at Assateague Island.
Another handsome pinto pony at Assateague Island.
neihtn 
There are equally wonderful horses on the Shackleford island
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Thank you for letting me know. I went and saw their pictures. Will have to go see them in person some day!
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The facts are actually that these horses are descendants of colonist farmers on the mainland that let the horses graze on the island so they wouldn’t have to pay taxes. Research as shown that there is very little,if any, DNA of Spanish horses.
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Beautiful breed of animal, and great captures Hien. I had never heard of these ponies, and their history of being descendants of horses from a Spanish galleon is quite fascinating.
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For a long time, people doubted the story about that Spanish galleon. However, in recent years one wreck of such a ship was found near the island. Now it’s up to the Spanish government to allow salvagers to raise the ship and bring it to land to find out whether there were horses on it, though I am sure they are probably thinking more about hidden treasures lost all these years.
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Hidden treasure is pretty exciting to think about ~ but also finding out mysteries such as the horses are almost more important.
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The facts are actually that these horses are descendants of colonist farmers on the mainland that let the horses graze on the island so they wouldn’t have to pay taxes. Research as shown that there is very little,if any, DNA of Spanish horses.
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Beautiful Ponies living in nice surroundings and roaming almost freely.Your photos are splendid,you have wonderfully portrayed them,Hienn!The reddish-brownish colour of their coat and the white ring make them so very special.I’m glad you were so lucky this time 🙂
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They look so good for petting, except that the signs said not to do that! People still do, when the park rangers are not looking. Some even give them food, which in some cases are not good for them at all. Glad you like them, Doda!
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I did like them,the colour of their coat is fabulous!
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One of my favorite things about starting a blogging career is following others who visit places I’ve never heard of and feature subjects that make me want to visit myself. I’ve been to southern Virginia recently, but no further north than Smithfield. I need to travel north throughout the entire eastern coastline all the way to Maine.
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It’s definitely worth the trip, John. So much history and nature to see on the East Coast.
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wonderful horse photos! I love how fuzzy their horse hair looks! Beautiful animals! Have a splendid rest of your week! Hugz Lisa and Bear
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Glad you like these photos, Lisa! Thank you for stopping by and commenting.
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Don’t you just love it when the subject that you’re after is easy to find for a change? Beautiful horse, and your photos certainly capture their beauty well!
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Jerry, we deserve a break once in a while, right? Thank you for your kind comment.
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Lovely photographs. I don’t know much about horses or ponies so this is quite useful!
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Glad you found this post useful. Thank you, Sukanya!
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Beautiful shots of these wonderful ponies Hein, especially the last image.
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Thank you Mary!
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They are beautiful and intelligent creatures! Love these photos, especially the last one. 🙂
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I never got tired of looking at those ponies and taking their pictures. Thank you Amy!
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They are beautiful ponies, Hein. So happy you were rewarded with such a wonderful photo opportunity.
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It was definetely worth a 4-hour drive to get there. Thank you Lois!
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