Island of Horses in Maryland

Getaways to exotic islands and beautiful beaches are dream vacations for most of us. We’d usually expect to see unusual animals and fishes in these islands, but would you visit one populated by wild horses?

Assateague Island, found somewhere near Virginia and Maryland, is a 60-km long beach destination frequented by many tourists during the summer. However, you can expect to see more than just sand and sea in this small island, as there are about 300 feral horses roaming freely around the island. These horses are so used to seeing humans that they would just walk in to any crowded beach and campsites.

The horses would even sunbathe together with people on the beaches. They do have a tendency to rummage through baskets and coolers looking for food though, but the tourists don’t really mind them and would just shoo them away.

It’s said that these horses came from a Spanish ship which was transporting horses and sank near the island around 400 years ago. The horses swam to shore and populated the island since. Due to the overpopulation of the horses, the whole herd is divided into half and some of them are auctioned off every year.

The island was made into a national park during the 60’s. The northern side belongs to the state of Maryland, which includes a majority of the Assateague State Park and Assateague Island National Seashore. The southern area is under Virginia and has the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.

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Horses

Black Beauty is one of the most beloved classics in the world of literature, written by Anna Sewell in 1877. With more than 50 million copies sold, Black Beauty is undoubtedly one of the best-selling books of all time, telling the lesson of animal welfare and treating people kindly, with respect and sympathy. The story is narrated through a first person point of view, from the perspective of the horse Black Beauty. In the book, Black Beauty narrates his experiences, from his young carefree days as a colt, to his hard days spent as a cab horse, to his eventual retirement in the country.

The book perhaps captures the fascinating relationship between man and horse, which goes back for several millennia. The earliest records of man’s domestication of horses can be traced back to some 4000 years ago, in Central Asia. From then on, horses have become an essential part of human society, playing crucial roles in farming and transportation right until the engine first became available to the public. To this day, horses are still held by many cultures in high regard, often seen as a symbol of bravery.

While man has domesticated most horses, many still roam wild and free today. These horses are known as feral horses and are the descendants of horses once tamed but have run free, continuing to do so for many generations. An example of feral horses would be the Mustangs of North America, which are descended from the horses brought to North America some 400 years ago.

The Przewalski's horse is the only ‘pure’ wild horse. It’s a horse whose ancestors were never domesticated. Ironically, the Przewalski's horse is officially extinct in the wild, with the remaining population kept in captivity.

Horses Video

 

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