Fall Roundup: October 18 & 19, 2019
When you shoot over a thousand pics on two days... well, here's the better ones...
Captain Dan doesn't guarantee mermaid sightings on his tours, but... Whisper seems to have found one...
Chincoteague is famous for Pony Penning in July. Then, all the 150ish ponies are rounded up, collected in the corral by the road to the beach, then swum across the channel between Assateague and Chincoteague at slack tide (when the water stops moving briefly). It reflects colonial livestock keeping and herding that existed on the islands for centuries. Today it supports the Volunteer fire Company, and the entire island which depends on its tourist industry. The ponies sell for thousands of dollars in many cases, prices not reflecting fabulous lineage or Olympic athletic ability... rather a unique horse that has evolved in a short time to thrive in a difficult environment, and a piece of a legend. Marguerite Henry put the islands on the map with her Misty of Chincoteauge books (and its sequels), and now, people go home with a four legged piece of the legend. Many of these versatile large ponies go on to do everything from be family pets to champions in the showring.
In spring and fall the saltwater cowboys gather again for a more informal roundup, one less known to tourists. They check on new foals, remove foals now old enough to go to their new homes, do some herd maintenance like shots, worming and hoof trimming as needed, collect young horses to spend the winter protected at the Carnival Grounds, and pick up any adult pony that needs extra TLC. This year, Blue Moon came to the CG for that extra TLC, to put on some weight.
Seeing ponies: the ponies are divided into northern and southern herds. There is also a herd on the north, Maryland, end of Assateague; that one is managed by the park service and is a totally separate herd. When I mention North and South, here, I mean Chincoteague's herds. The Chincoteague north and south herds are in the Virginia part of Assateague Island. The southern herd is often seen off of Beach Road, to the right, in the marsh with its "tree islands" on higher ground. This is also a great area to find cattle egrets following the ponies (or riding on them), great and snowy egrets, and great blue herons, in the lagoons on the other side of the road, as well as other waterfowl and seabirds.The Woodland Trail goes through there, and ponies can often be seen from the trail... or on it. I encountered Thetis one year there, alone in the woods. You can sometimes see them by the water if you are looking, with binoculars, from Memorial Park. You can hike or bike the Wildlife Loop trail, or drive it after 3pm. There are sometimes ponies there. We saw Riptide, Got Milk and some others in 2018. The northern herd is more ponies over more land, and harder to round up. You can see them sometimes from afar, from the top of the lighthouse, or by hiking up the service road: this is an epic three mile hike through mosquito infested brush in summer. By fall, the vampires have subsided and a hike is plausible. Portapottis, not so much. For more comfy travel: The Chincoteague Natural History Association does a bus tour up that road: https://www.facebook.com/Chincoteague-Natural-History-Association-100590856717235/
Captain Dan's Around the Island Tours takes you by comfy and speedy pontoon boat into the back country. You'll see wildlife, history, and generally, ponies. http://www.captaindanstours.com/
The ponies spend most of the year free ranging on the wild island of Assateague, and while they are used to humans, and to being herded, they are not trained.like your backyard horse is. They are herded by cowboys on horseback, through marsh and shrub and woods, then directed into a carefully constructed corral with various smaller pens and chutes to handle the ponies for close up work. The people herding ponies are experienced horsemen who use the most effective, humane techniques.
I once found Fall Roundup by accident: (click here for the story)
This year, I went on purpose, with friends who had been there before, and some who hadn't...
DSC Photography specializes in logging miles, wearing out hiking boots, and continually photography the Virginia ponies in their natural habitat and at roundups. Their website is a fantastic resource for identifying ponies, their facebook posts awesome for following the herd from afar.
https://www.dscphotography.net/
Bands of the Wild Chincoteague Pony Herds on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1117969761621328/
In spring and fall the saltwater cowboys gather again for a more informal roundup, one less known to tourists. They check on new foals, remove foals now old enough to go to their new homes, do some herd maintenance like shots, worming and hoof trimming as needed, collect young horses to spend the winter protected at the Carnival Grounds, and pick up any adult pony that needs extra TLC. This year, Blue Moon came to the CG for that extra TLC, to put on some weight.
Seeing ponies: the ponies are divided into northern and southern herds. There is also a herd on the north, Maryland, end of Assateague; that one is managed by the park service and is a totally separate herd. When I mention North and South, here, I mean Chincoteague's herds. The Chincoteague north and south herds are in the Virginia part of Assateague Island. The southern herd is often seen off of Beach Road, to the right, in the marsh with its "tree islands" on higher ground. This is also a great area to find cattle egrets following the ponies (or riding on them), great and snowy egrets, and great blue herons, in the lagoons on the other side of the road, as well as other waterfowl and seabirds.The Woodland Trail goes through there, and ponies can often be seen from the trail... or on it. I encountered Thetis one year there, alone in the woods. You can sometimes see them by the water if you are looking, with binoculars, from Memorial Park. You can hike or bike the Wildlife Loop trail, or drive it after 3pm. There are sometimes ponies there. We saw Riptide, Got Milk and some others in 2018. The northern herd is more ponies over more land, and harder to round up. You can see them sometimes from afar, from the top of the lighthouse, or by hiking up the service road: this is an epic three mile hike through mosquito infested brush in summer. By fall, the vampires have subsided and a hike is plausible. Portapottis, not so much. For more comfy travel: The Chincoteague Natural History Association does a bus tour up that road: https://www.facebook.com/Chincoteague-Natural-History-Association-100590856717235/
Captain Dan's Around the Island Tours takes you by comfy and speedy pontoon boat into the back country. You'll see wildlife, history, and generally, ponies. http://www.captaindanstours.com/
The ponies spend most of the year free ranging on the wild island of Assateague, and while they are used to humans, and to being herded, they are not trained.like your backyard horse is. They are herded by cowboys on horseback, through marsh and shrub and woods, then directed into a carefully constructed corral with various smaller pens and chutes to handle the ponies for close up work. The people herding ponies are experienced horsemen who use the most effective, humane techniques.
I once found Fall Roundup by accident: (click here for the story)
This year, I went on purpose, with friends who had been there before, and some who hadn't...
DSC Photography specializes in logging miles, wearing out hiking boots, and continually photography the Virginia ponies in their natural habitat and at roundups. Their website is a fantastic resource for identifying ponies, their facebook posts awesome for following the herd from afar.
https://www.dscphotography.net/
Bands of the Wild Chincoteague Pony Herds on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1117969761621328/
the joys of photographing and identifying ponies
While I have made every attempt to identify ponies correctly, and have an inordinate number of field guides, apps, and DSC's entire website to peruse, all the darn Brown Things (chestnuts/bays) look alike and I could be wrong...
For instance, in this nice action shot of Chief (palomino) and Ajax (the bay pinto with the white tail) taken from afar on Captain Dan's pontoon boat; the stallions are easy to ID, stallions have a distinct curvy muscular look. Ajax has a distinct and unusual fully white tail coming out of a bay rump.
There are 15 bay ponies in Gina Aguilera's field guide for 2019. At the end of all the solid colors sections in the book, there are comparison charts with details like brands, whether the mane falls to left or right (or both), markings like stars or socks, and random things like "top of 1 in brand is obscured". I also have each mare marked on her page as to what stallion's band she's running with (this time). That narrowed the ponies in this pic to three possible mares, all with Chief.
The stallions are up on a service road, you can see the construction textures on the side there.
There are 15 bay ponies in Gina Aguilera's field guide for 2019. At the end of all the solid colors sections in the book, there are comparison charts with details like brands, whether the mane falls to left or right (or both), markings like stars or socks, and random things like "top of 1 in brand is obscured". I also have each mare marked on her page as to what stallion's band she's running with (this time). That narrowed the ponies in this pic to three possible mares, all with Chief.
The stallions are up on a service road, you can see the construction textures on the side there.
This is the kind of pic you get with your cell phone, brown blitt butts in the distance. (I actually shot this from even farther with a fair zoom). I know the horse on the service road in the background is Ajax, from context: other pics in this series. And his white tail. The mares in the other pics are in Chief's band, the bays are probably Bling Bling, Taco, or Lady, the very dark one is probably Ember, the only black in his herd (he has no very dark chestnuts, which often look black). Could be JABATAA who also runs with Chief and is a very dark liver chestnut. But then Surfette is very dark chestnut and runs with Ajax. At this time, the ponies were still mixed up, dispersing, and reforming their bands,
Friday evening, saltwater cowboys on the move, collecting the southern herd...
in the corral Friday evening
Saturday morning at the southern corral along Beach Road
The southern herd consists of Riptide's band, Donald Leonard Stud II's band, and some random yearlings with no band allegiance yet. The northern herd would be seen by us later from Captain Dan's boat. Many people also hiked up the service road to the northern corral. That roundup covered more ground, collected more ponies, and took longer.
Here's the southern herd...
Here's the southern herd...
Southern Herd, Beach Road corral, after release into the marsh
at the Carnival Grounds
A couple of young mares do some horse kung fu at the Carnival Grounds in Chincoteague town. CLG stands for Chincoteague Legacy Group. who collectively buy foals that are "buybacks", that go back onto the island to live. Anyone interested can join. You can choose to donate (as little as $5) toward a buyback foal, or just watch the ponies.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1635116803391890/?hc_location=ufi
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1635116803391890/?hc_location=ufi
Perlino is a double dilute: two cream genes on bay. Pinto adds a white pattern. The skin is pink and the eyes are blue. The colored parts of the coat are pale sand. The winter coat, here, is even paler. The single dilute of bay is buckskin, they can be very pale, but have dark skin and eyes.
Blue Eyes in the rain
Horses usually have brown eyes, but various genetics can create blue ones, or even one blue and one brown (one of my grey Welsh/Arab ponies, and Surfer's Blue Moon of Chincoteague, a black mare with a white blaze. I have seen a solid bay Chincoteague pony with blue eyes. Some pinto patterns often have one or two blue eyes. Sabino and splash patterns exist in Chincoteagues, and sometimes have blue eyes. Double dilutes (2 cream genes) have blue eyes and pink skin. Blue eyes are no more prone to problems, but Honeymoon definitely spends more time squinting in strong sunlight, and pink skin is more prone to sunburn and various kinds of cancer, preventable with a UV blocking flymask, sunglasses for horses. Blue eyes have been called glass, eyes, wall eyes, china eyes, and watch eyes. A pony in "Misty of Chincoteague" was called Watch Eye, who had one blue and one brown eye. In European faerie lore, an animal with different colored eyes has faerie blood.
Below: two weanlings at the Refuge Inn on Chincoteague. Misty's Honeymoon is a perlino pinto: a double dilute of bay with pinto markings too. Tribute is a pinto, a partial "medicine hat" with minimal color. The difference in the blues is subtle. This was shot in the rain on Sunday. The ponies were fine standing out in it.
Below: two weanlings at the Refuge Inn on Chincoteague. Misty's Honeymoon is a perlino pinto: a double dilute of bay with pinto markings too. Tribute is a pinto, a partial "medicine hat" with minimal color. The difference in the blues is subtle. This was shot in the rain on Sunday. The ponies were fine standing out in it.
Captain Dan's Around the Island Tour
After the ponies are released, they wander back out into the island, collect their bands, and resume living wild. Captain Dan's tour takes us out into the far reaches of the waters between Chincoteague and Asssateague, hoping to catch some of the bands as they disperse. He does not guarantee mermaid sightings...
http://www.captaindanstours.com/
http://www.captaindanstours.com/
Horse behavior 101: having a nice roll
Horses do all kinds of self and mutual grooming. A favorite is finding a nice sandy or dusty... or muddy... spot and just rolling. Ask anyone who has a mostly white horse why "fantasy is a clean white horse" (quote: Nancy Springer).
Rolling removes dead hair, bugs, gives a nice scratch, and is usually followed by a hefty shake.
Rolling removes dead hair, bugs, gives a nice scratch, and is usually followed by a hefty shake.
Horse behavior 102: scritch scritch
Horses will roll, groom each other with teeth, and use handy objects to groom themselves or scratch an itch. Here, Catwalk Chaos uses a low hanging branch to have a nice scritch. She's recognizable by the mermaid tail on her side. Her sire was Chaos, a stallion returned by a buyer; he was so aggressive at collecting mares, the pony committee decided to sell him. He went to a great home, with his own band of mares there, but died within a year of an unusual burst aneurysm. Catwalk continues his lineage.
Horse behavior 103: Rain
Horses in the rain may look soggy and sad, but they are not. Horses' coats are designed to shed water, leaving the undercoat dry. The way the hair lays is like shingles on a roof, it directs water away. Tails turned to the wind become a shield, manes are a thatched roof. Ears turned back don't collect water. In the wild, horses bunch up, find their own shelter under trees or shrubbery or the lee of a hill. Snow can collect on their backs and not melt, they are so well insulated. In a pasture, we provide shelters. All these ponies have access to shelter but, like my old mustang, prefer to stand outside. This behavior saved the lives of both my horses when a 70' hickory tree bullseyed the exact center of their run-in shed in a storm... they were out in the field.
Horses tend to stand together, and turn their tails to the wind. This is the first time I've seen whole groups do it though.
This rain was not particularly cold. Cold, wet and windy is hazardous for pastured horses; that can lead to hypothermia without shelter.
Horses tend to stand together, and turn their tails to the wind. This is the first time I've seen whole groups do it though.
This rain was not particularly cold. Cold, wet and windy is hazardous for pastured horses; that can lead to hypothermia without shelter.
Three hour tour
Captain Dan has a sense of humor: if you call you'll get "waiting music"... the Gilligan's Island theme song.
Captain Dan's Around the Island Tour is usually about 2 and a half hours. On Saturday afternoon it was a legit "three hour tour" as we wove our way up through the shallow back bays and channels to find the ponies as they dispersed from the holding corral and reformed their bands.
The islands are a puzzle maze of water and marsh, with low treelines where the land is a bit higher. The lacy, see through treelines are very different from the crowded woods back in PA. It all reflects light in fabulous ways, especially late in the day. Even on a cloudy day like this, it's beautiful. In summer, the water is cooler and breezier. It's even cooler and breezier in October, so wear lots of layers! Hot drinks a bonus!
No worries about sinking here, and if you fall overboard, just stand up: the water's about 4 feet deep. Now running aground is another matter...
Captain Dan's Around the Island Tour is usually about 2 and a half hours. On Saturday afternoon it was a legit "three hour tour" as we wove our way up through the shallow back bays and channels to find the ponies as they dispersed from the holding corral and reformed their bands.
The islands are a puzzle maze of water and marsh, with low treelines where the land is a bit higher. The lacy, see through treelines are very different from the crowded woods back in PA. It all reflects light in fabulous ways, especially late in the day. Even on a cloudy day like this, it's beautiful. In summer, the water is cooler and breezier. It's even cooler and breezier in October, so wear lots of layers! Hot drinks a bonus!
No worries about sinking here, and if you fall overboard, just stand up: the water's about 4 feet deep. Now running aground is another matter...
birbs
The islands are a great place to see shorebirds, waterfowl, egrets and herons, raptors, and migrating birds. Kayaking, I notice the egrets and herons a lot. On Assateague, you can find them right along Beach Road in the lagoons. For those big white birds, it's best to expose for the bright whites, or on my camera there's a mode to get more detail in highlights and shadows. Just point and shoot will get you big white blobs, choose your settings carefully!
Pride, the Hippo of diversity, is the mascot of Knowledge is Power, a local (York County) program which appeared on cable access, and is headed for the wilds of youtube. It is run by a friend of mine. Not sure if my mermaid photoshoots inspired Pride's adventures, but...KiP facebook page here: Knowledge is Power - York, PA
DSC's website lists 20 stallions (and young stallions) for 2019 and 136 mares/fillies
Ponies I have pics of as of 2019 (the pony watcher's life list)
random foals; 2019
Elvis (black colt)
Black Pearl's filly
Moon's filly
Dove's filly
Winter Moon's filly
Smooch's filly
Wildfire's colt
Zustan's perlino pinto colt
Molly's Rosebud's foal
Beach Baby's foal
Refuge Inn;
Tribute (Loveland Secret Feather's filly)
Misty's Honeymoon (perlino pinto)
Martha (Misty's dam)
Esther Jane (chestnut)
Jasmine (roan)
Pocahontas (bay pinto)
- Ace (minimally marked black pinto stallion)
- Anne Bonny (chestnut pinto mare)
- Ajax (bay pinto, white tail, stallion)
- Bailey's Star (Good Ole Days...)(chestnut pinto mare)
- Babe (bay pinto mare)
- Bay Girl (bay mare)
- Baybe (black pinto mare)
- Beach Baby (chestnut pinto mare)
- Beach Boy (black pinto stallion)
- Bling Bling (bay mare)
- Calendar Girl (fading black pinto mare)
- Catwalk Chaos (chestnut pinto mare)
- Carli Marie (chestnut pinto mare)
- CJ Samm'n (chestnut pinto mare)
- Checkers (Giraffe)(chestnut pinto mare)
- Chickadee (bay pinto mare)
- Chief (Chief Golden Eagle) (palomino stallion)
- Cinnamon Blaze (chestnut mare)
- CLG Rumor Has It (chestnut pinto mare)
- Courtney's Island Dove (chestnut pinto mare)
- Destiny Feathering Spirit (bay pinto mare)
- Dreamer's Stardust (chestnut mare)
- Doc Amrien (bay pinto mare)
- Doc's Bay Dream (bay mare)
- Donald Leonard Stud II (chestnut pinto stallion)
- Ella (bay pinto mare)
- 15 Friends of Freckles (bay pinto mare with cat tracks)
- Gingersnap (Surfer's Shining Star)(dark chestnut mare)
- Got Milk (bay mare with "milk moustache")
- Gracey (black pinto mare)
- Grandma's Dream (bay pinto mare)
- Heide's Sky (bay pinto mare, mostly white)
- Henry's Hidalgo (bay pinto stallion)
- Hoppy (Effie's Papa Bear)(bay stallion)
- Jean Bonde's Bayside Angel (bay mare)
- Kachina Grand Star (buckskin mare)
- Ken (chestnut stallion)
- Kimball's Rainbow Delight (chestnut pinto mare)
- Lady Hook (Susie Q)(chestnut pinto mare)
- Lady (Pony Ladies Sweet Surprise)(bay mare)
- Lefty's Checkmark (chestnut pinto mare)
- Little Bit O Joansie (chestnut pinto mare)
- Little Duckie (chestnut pinto mare)
- Loveland's Secret Feather (bay pinto mare)
- Lorna Dune (palomino pinto mare, pale)
- Mary Read (chestnut pinto mare)
- Marguerite of Chincoteague (bay pinto mare)
- Marsh Mallow palomino pinto mare, pale)
- May's Grand Slam (bay pinto mare)
- Milly Sue (black mare)
- Miss Admiral Halsey (palomino mare, pale)
- Miss Me (bay pinto mare)
- Misty Mills (chestnut pinto mare)
- Molly's Rosebud (buckskin pinto mare)
- Pappy's Pony (bay mare)
- Pixie Dust (black pinto, white saddle)
- Poco Latte (buckskin mare)
- Poco's Starry Night (black pinto mare, small white spots)
- Pony Girl's Bliss (chestnut pinto mare)
- Prince (Tornado's Prince of Tides) (palomino pinto stallion)
- Puzzle (Archer's Gambit) (dark chestnut pinto stallion)
- Randy (buckskin pinto mare)
- Rainbow Warrior (bay pinto stallion)
- Scotty/ET (bay pinto mare)
- Seaside Miracle (bay pinto mare)
- Slash of White (chestnut pinto mare)
- Smooch (chestnut mare)
- Shy Anne/Half n Half (bay pinto mare, middle is white)
- Skeeter (Jigsaw's Little Miss Skeeter)(palomino pinto mare, pale)
- Sonny's Legacy (chestnut pinto mare, middle is white)
- Stevenson's Dakota Sky (dark chestnut pinto with roaning on shoulder, mare)
- Summer (bay pinto mare)
- Sundance (palomino pinto mare, different spots are different shades)
- Surfer's Blue Moon (black mare, blaze, one blue eye)
- Surfer Dude's Gidget (chestnut mare)
- Surfer's Riptide (dark chocolate chestnut stallion with flaxen, blaze goes under jaw)
- Suzy's Sweetheart (bay pinto mare)
- Sweet Jane (chestnut pinto mare)
- Talia (black mare)
- Thetis (dark chestnut pinto mare, mostly white in middle)
- Thunderstorm Skies (chestnut pinto mare)
- Tidewater Treasure (buckskin pinto mare)
- Tidewater Twist (buckskin pinto stallion)
- Two Teagues Golden Girl/Goldie (bright golden palomino mare)
- Two Teagues Taco (bay mare)
- Unci (bay mare, the swaybacked wonder)
- Unforgettable/Diamond (chestnut mare)
- Wendy's Carolina Girl (bay pinto mare)
- Wild Thing (bay pinto stallion)
- Winter Moon (bay pinto mare, dark)
- Whisper of Living Legend (palomino pinto mare, bright gold)
- Wildfire (chestnut pinto mare, unique sabino "broken edged" markings, mostly white)
- Wildest Dreams (bay pinto mare)
random foals; 2019
Elvis (black colt)
Black Pearl's filly
Moon's filly
Dove's filly
Winter Moon's filly
Smooch's filly
Wildfire's colt
Zustan's perlino pinto colt
Molly's Rosebud's foal
Beach Baby's foal
Refuge Inn;
Tribute (Loveland Secret Feather's filly)
Misty's Honeymoon (perlino pinto)
Martha (Misty's dam)
Esther Jane (chestnut)
Jasmine (roan)
Pocahontas (bay pinto)
