Chincoteague Pony

Adapted from an article in Wikipedia

Feral ponies on Assateague Island

The Chincoteague Pony is a hardy breed of horse that lives on the Atlantic island of Assateague, the northern part of which belongs to Maryland and the southern part to Virginia. The breed varies greatly in type and there is no true breed standard. Natural selection and the introduction of different breeds, have led to this lack of a true type. Chincoteagues are easy to keep and often do not require shoes.

Most Chincoteagues are between 13 and 14.2 hands, but some have been known to reach 16 hands. A hand is a convention for measuring the height of horses. One hand equals 4 inches or 10.16 centimeters. Thus, Chincoteague ponies are between 52 and 56.8 inches but may grow as tall as 64 inches. Measured under the metric system, they are between 132.08 and 144.272 centimeters but may be as high as 162.56 centimeters.

Chincoteagues come in almost every color and pattern common to a horse, with pinto being the most popular and the most prevalent. A pinto is a horse with large patches of either brown and white or black and white.

The feral ponies residing in the Maryland side of Assateague are owned and cared for by the United States Park Service. A feral animal is an animal that lives in the wild as opposed to a tame or domesticated animal. The ponies living on the Maryland side of the island are called Assateague Ponies.

The Chincoteague Pony Association was established in 1994. All ponies sold by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department are eligible for registration as well as those bred by private breeders. There are a number of Chincoteague Pony breeders scattered around the United States. One, the Chincoteague Pony Breeders Association, was established in 2006. Several of these breeders also breed descendants of Misty of Chincoteague.

Origins

There are two theories of how the ponies came to live on Assateague Island. The legend is that a Spanish galleon, carrying horses in its cargo hold, was shipwrecked off of Assateague Island and the surviving ponies swam to the island. However, the more likely theory is that early 17th century colonists let their animals loose on the island to avoid the tax on fenced livestock. Whichever theory is true, the free-roaming ponies of Assateague have been living there for hundreds of years.

The Virginia feral ponies are owned by Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department. The government allows the fire department to keep a maximum of 150 adult ponies in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island. For over 80 years, on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July, Pony Penning is held on Chincoteague. The herds on Assateague are rounded up, and on Wednesday of Pony Penning week the ponies swim from Assateague to Chincoteague. The ponies are held in a pen at the carnival grounds on Chincoteague until they swim back on Friday morning. On Thursday, an auction of most of the foals is held with a few kept as future breeding stock. The proceeds of the auction are used to care for the feral ponies and finance Chincoteague’s fire department. A second roundup is held in the fall for a vet check, an informal sale of the foals born after Pony Penning, and the foals sold in July that were too young to be weaned are picked up by their owners.

Misty of Chincoteague

The Chincoteague Pony was made famous by Marguerite Henry’s 1947 children’s novel Misty of Chincoteague, and the subsequent sequels: Sea Star: Orphan of Chincoteague, Stormy: Misty’s Foal, and Misty’s Twilight. The real Misty of Chincoteague was born on Chincoteague in 1946, and her descendants still serve as ambassadors of the breed.

PHOTO: CHINCOTEAGUE PONIES GRAZING ON ASSATEAGUE ISLAND

(Left-click on picture to see full image.)

VOCABULARY

ambassador — a person who represents a country, organization or cause and promotes their interests.

auction — a public sale, where people bid on an item, which is sold to the highest bidder.

bred — the past tense of the verb “to breed.” See “breed” below.

breed — (1) verb: To cause to reproduce, especially by controlled mating and selection: breed cattle.; (2) noun: A group of organisms having common ancestors and certain distinguishable characteristics, especially a group within a species developed by artificial selection and maintained by controlled propagation.

breeder — A person who breeds animals or plants.

breeding stock — animals used for the purpose of breeding

cargo — The goods carried by a ship, an aircraft, or another commercial vehicle.

cargo hold — The space in a ship or aircraft for storing cargo.

consecutive — following one after another without interruption

descendant — A person, animal or plant whose descent can be traced to a particular individual or group.

descent — ancestry

domesticate — To train or adapt (an animal or plant) to live in a human environment and be of use to humans.

eligible — qualified or entitled to be chosen

finance — to provide money for something

foal — The young offspring of a horse or other equine animal, especially one under a year old.

free-roaming — allowed to roam free, as opposed to caged or fenced-in

galleon — a type of ship common in the 16th through 18th centuries

hardy — able to survive under unfavorable conditions

informal – not officially recognized or controlled

prevalent – Widely or commonly occurring, existing, accepted, or practiced. proceeds — the income or profit from the sale of something

registration — the entering of something in an official register

round up — to seek out and bring together

roundup — The herding together of cattle for inspection, branding, or shipping.

scattered — occurring or distributed over widely spaced and irregular intervals in time or space

sequel — Something that follows; a continuation.

shipwreck — To cause a ship to be destroyed, as by storm or collision.

standard — An acknowledged measure of comparison for quantitative or qualitative value; a criterion.

subsequent — Following in time or order; succeeding.

surviving — remaining alive or in existence

tame –brought from wildness into a domesticated state

theory — An assumption based on limited information or knowledge.

vet — A veterinarian, a doctor who treats animals

wean — to gradually deprive (infants and young mammals) of mother’s milk so they can learn to feed themselves

Potential Discussion Questions

The purpose of these questions is to help start a discussion about the article. You are not restricted to these questions; you can write about anything you want, as long as it relates to the article.

(1) The Chincoteague Ponies live in a wildlife refuge, which is a kind of nature park. Are there any wildlife refuges or nature parks where you come from? Have you ever visited them? What did you think of them?

(2) What do you think about the two theories? Which do you think is true, the one about the Spanish galleon or the one about the tax evaders?

(3) Do you like wild animals? What kind of wild animals are there where you come from?

(4) What do you think of the picture of the Chincoteague Ponies?

Note: An interactive text version of this post can be viewed and edited in OpenOffice.org Writer by clicking on the following link: OOo Writer Document.