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The Assateague Ponies
Ponies have lived on Assateague Island for hundreds of years, but have been studied scientifically only since 1975. In 1965, twenty-one ponies were released into the northern portion of Assateague, within the Assateague Island National Seashore, where their numbers have risen gradually and the animals have flourished. It is these feral horses—free to roam, forage for their own food and water, and live and reproduce as they choose—that Dr. Keiper, an animal behavior specialist, has studied and photographed. In this book, he presents the fascinating results of his investigations, enhanced by a generous selection of photographs from the vast collection he assembled over a ten-year period of study.
- GenresNonfictionAnimals
104 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 23, 2021
Wow...this was an incredible book! It may be about the Assateague ponies (in Maryland and Virginia) but I believe it also serves as a great primer on horse behavior. Before I ran across this book and bought it, I don't believe I had ever heard of Assateague before and I certainly didn't know how to pronounce that tricky looking name. And when I looked it up to see where it was I was shocked to discover it was the east coast of the US! I guess I had been expecting the UK as I have heard of wild ponies living over there...
Anyway I just found this book fascinating. These ponies are wild yet they are used to seeing humans so they basically just ignore them. This made it incredibly easy for scientists to study the ponies in great detail, even to measuring how many bites of food they took in a minute! You may think that sounds a bit over the top but they need to know how many ponies the island is able to support.
The book goes through all the pony life stages from birth to death. It is a great book to learn horse behavior. Maybe not for horse to human behavior but the general herd behavior. And I must say after reading this, the behavior of the horses in The Dark Horse (that I read a few days ago) suddenly makes a lot more sense! Apparently its common for young stallions to steal mares away from an older stallion.
These ponies are the closest as one can get to truly wild horses (besides the mustangs out west). And one thing that is very peculiar is the fact these ponies don't get foundering?? No one knows why. The pages describes the ponies lives on the island and how they naturally deal with the issues they face ranging from insects to heat to cold. And I was very surprised at one particular plant that they eat!
I found this book very easy to read and the paragraphs just flowed smoothly. It also contains a short glossary at the back.
The only thing that slightly confuses me is the phrase "champ" or "champing" that a young horse does to please an older one. I never heard that term before. I tried to see a video on it on youtube (because I do prefer to actually see it so I can recognize it in the horses I work with) but the term didn't come up at all. I wonder if this is the "chewing" motion that Monty Roberts describes? But the author of this book, Keiper, does not describe it as chewing. But he did say the mouth was moving! I do think they are the same - just a different word to describe it.
The book has many black and white photographs too.
If you love horses you should definitely read this!
Anyway I just found this book fascinating. These ponies are wild yet they are used to seeing humans so they basically just ignore them. This made it incredibly easy for scientists to study the ponies in great detail, even to measuring how many bites of food they took in a minute! You may think that sounds a bit over the top but they need to know how many ponies the island is able to support.
The book goes through all the pony life stages from birth to death. It is a great book to learn horse behavior. Maybe not for horse to human behavior but the general herd behavior. And I must say after reading this, the behavior of the horses in The Dark Horse (that I read a few days ago) suddenly makes a lot more sense! Apparently its common for young stallions to steal mares away from an older stallion.
These ponies are the closest as one can get to truly wild horses (besides the mustangs out west). And one thing that is very peculiar is the fact these ponies don't get foundering?? No one knows why. The pages describes the ponies lives on the island and how they naturally deal with the issues they face ranging from insects to heat to cold. And I was very surprised at one particular plant that they eat!
I found this book very easy to read and the paragraphs just flowed smoothly. It also contains a short glossary at the back.
The only thing that slightly confuses me is the phrase "champ" or "champing" that a young horse does to please an older one. I never heard that term before. I tried to see a video on it on youtube (because I do prefer to actually see it so I can recognize it in the horses I work with) but the term didn't come up at all. I wonder if this is the "chewing" motion that Monty Roberts describes? But the author of this book, Keiper, does not describe it as chewing. But he did say the mouth was moving! I do think they are the same - just a different word to describe it.
The book has many black and white photographs too.
If you love horses you should definitely read this!
June 19, 2024
I bought this in the 1990s ar Chincoteague. I was only there once. It was one of the best vacations of my life. My boyfriend at the time and I even planned on gettinb married there, and then ghe relationship crashed.
When I ran away to England, I had the gall to ask my ex to mail me some of my stuff. He included this book. I wound up losing it somewhere on the way during my misadventures in England.
About 13 years after returning to America, I bought a replacement copy. Despite the drama surrounding this book in my personal life, it is one of the best books about the mostly natural lives of wild Chincoteague ponies. Here, they are called Assateague ponies, since they live on the island of Assateague. Why are they called Chincoteague ponies and not Assateague ponies? Who knows?
The text does get a bit dry at times, but the author is approaching the ponies' lives as a naturalist. There are many black and white photos to help keep things moving along.
When I ran away to England, I had the gall to ask my ex to mail me some of my stuff. He included this book. I wound up losing it somewhere on the way during my misadventures in England.
About 13 years after returning to America, I bought a replacement copy. Despite the drama surrounding this book in my personal life, it is one of the best books about the mostly natural lives of wild Chincoteague ponies. Here, they are called Assateague ponies, since they live on the island of Assateague. Why are they called Chincoteague ponies and not Assateague ponies? Who knows?
The text does get a bit dry at times, but the author is approaching the ponies' lives as a naturalist. There are many black and white photos to help keep things moving along.
May 7, 2019
The Assateague ponies by Keiper_ Ronald R
I've heard stories of these that live on the islands off the coast of VA and they are cool stories of pirate days.
Research on all aspects of the ponies lives. 37 mile long island where it's protected now.
Seashore caretakers want others to watch from afar as the ponies can be dangerous.
Lot of different aspects of the ponies: how they were deposited there, how they life, weather concerns, other animals,
birthing and they've lived over 300 years! Learned about other islands around the world and specific characteristics of the ponies there.
Found this book fascinating, so many new things I've learned about them and their habits, how they are identified and what information is included on the bands.
Like how they trim the herds and also get rid of the troublemakers. Wish they had talked about what happens when they die on the island. There was some talk of autopsies but that was it.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
I've heard stories of these that live on the islands off the coast of VA and they are cool stories of pirate days.
Research on all aspects of the ponies lives. 37 mile long island where it's protected now.
Seashore caretakers want others to watch from afar as the ponies can be dangerous.
Lot of different aspects of the ponies: how they were deposited there, how they life, weather concerns, other animals,
birthing and they've lived over 300 years! Learned about other islands around the world and specific characteristics of the ponies there.
Found this book fascinating, so many new things I've learned about them and their habits, how they are identified and what information is included on the bands.
Like how they trim the herds and also get rid of the troublemakers. Wish they had talked about what happens when they die on the island. There was some talk of autopsies but that was it.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
May 26, 2026
When reading this book, keep in mind it was written 40 years ago. Some information about the park and interactions with people have changed. People are to stay 40' away from the ponies now and could face fines if they don't. Also, I believe that very few ponies get hit by cars, but I don't have the actual stats. And I've been told that the survival rate of the foals is much higher now then it was when the book written. This is why 4 stars instead of 5. That being said, the information about the ponies Is fantastic. I have been going there for many years and while I enjoy watching the ponies, I did not much about them. This books has so much information about them and their lives. Assateague Island is an amazing place. The ponies are amazing. It's great knowing more about them.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews