Wild horses in the Maryland section of Assateague Island National Seashore

Horses have been on Assateague Island for over 300 years. Though nobody knows for sure how they got there, it is certain that they were not originally wild. Domesticated horses could have swam ashore from sinking ships or could have been thrown off of ships that had run aground in attempt to lighten and refloat the ship. Another theory is that during colonial times, residents on the mainland brought horses to graze on the island to avoid taxation on animals living on the mainland. Regardless, today the horses are wild and, for the most part, left to fend for themselves.

While wild horses roam both ends of Assateague Island National Seashore, you are most likely to see them in the Maryland section. This is because in the Virginia section the horses are privately owned by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department and are corralled so they can only roam certain areas (this area is very large, so you will not see typical corrals). A fence keeps them from wandering into Maryland. I did not see any horses in the Virginia section during my day at the park.

Each year the horses are rounded up by the Fire Department and taken to Chincoteague Island where they are auctioned off to raise money for the department. Most of the foals are sold, which keeps the herd to the permitted 150-horse limit. This is a long standing tradition and was around long before the Fire Department took control of the herd. Called the Pony Penning Festival, this is a big event that takes place on the last Wednesday in July. Horses that are not sold are returned to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.

The horses in the Maryland section of the park are owned by the National Park Service. You can’t avoid seeing horses in Maryland for they are everywhere—in the streets, in the parking lots, on the beaches, on the trails, and even in the campgrounds. I was camping at the Bayside Drive-In Campground and was woken up one night to the sound of ripping grass and munching. A horse was grazing so close to my tent that I could have unzipped the door panel and reached out and petted it. Three were also grazing at my campsite while I was eating dinner earlier in the day. Come to think of it, I never did see a horse that wasn’t eating.