VISITING THE HORSES

Assateague Island

A few years ago my friends and I visited this island by boat.  The island contains over 37 miles of pristine beach. More than 300 wild ponies wander the water around the beaches and salt marshes. Assateague became a National Park in 1965 and together with the U.S. Fish &           Wildlife Service refuge and State Park, the land and water boundaries of Assateague Island total over 48,000 acres in Maryland & Virginia.  We were impressed by the beauty of the horses, even though they never experienced the safety and protection of a stable. Local folklore describes the Assateague horses as survivors of a shipwreck off the Virginia coast.