Spring Brings New Foals To Assateague Island

For hundreds of years on Assateague Island the arrival of Spring has also meant the arrival of new born foals.  Its estimated that the Wild Ponies have lived on Assateague between 300 and 400 years!  The majority of the mares on the Island will have one foal each year.  With an 11 month gestational cycle, many of them are pregnant almost year around.  Today there are on average between 60 and 70 foals born on the Virginia portion of Assateague Island each year.  The first foals will begin to be born in April. Foals can be born as late in the summer as July.  In past there have even been foals born on Chincoteague, during 'Pony Penning' in late July.  The foals born in the Spring will be auctioned off during Pony Penning.

There are approximately 150 adult ponies in the herd on the Virginia side of Assateague Island.  These ponies are owned and managed by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company.  The auction during Pony Penning not only provides a source of revenue for the fire company, but it also serves to trim the herd's numbers. To retain the permit to graze on the refuge, the herd must not exceed 150 horses. 

Each year the Fire Company designates a few ponies (usually between 3 to 5) as "Buy Backs". A Buy Back Pony is a foal that is designated by the Fire Company to return to Assateague Island to live out its life there. The Buy Back Pony will be auctioned with the rest of the foals. The winner of a Buy Back Pony will get to name the Pony before it is returned to Assateague. Buy Back Ponies replenish the herd on Assateague. Buy Back Ponies have actually become some of the highest priced ponies sold at the auction.