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FRAMED, READY TO HANG!
Framed;
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TO THE RIGHT;
'CHINCOTEAGUE'
FRAMED
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A LARGER, DETAILED
LOOK!
30 X 24" Stretched 1 1/2' Canvas
Price Unframed; $250.00
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vary among individuals. Most ponies tend to resemble the Welsh or Arabian breeds, although Mustang blood is obvious in others.
The head is expressive, with broad forehead; large, soft eyes, straight or slightly dished short face; firm muzzle; small, wide-set,
tipped-in ears; tapered muzzle, large nostrils and rounded jowls. The body is clean with a, moderately refined throat latch and neck;
well-angulated shoulder; broad chest and loins; short back; deep flanks; well-sprung ribs; round croup; straight, sound legs with
dense bone and an appearance of overall hardiness; round, hard hooves; adequate mane and tail. The Chincoteague Pony can be
found in all common colors, with many pintos among them.
Today's horses are actually the size of ponies (average 12- 13 hands) probably due to their poor diet and harsh environment. Some
horses removed from Assateague as foals and fed a higher protein diet grow to horse size. Almost 80% of their diet is coarse salt
marsh cordgrass and American beach grass. Various grass species, greenbrier stems, bayberry twigs, rose hips, seaweed and
poison ivy make up the rest of their diet. The high concentration of salt in their diets causes the horses to drink twice as much fresh
water as domestic horses. Because of this, the horses have a "fat" or "bloated" appearance. Although they will sip salt water, they
actually drink very little of it.
Today there are two groups of these ponies descended down from the only 17 original Arabian Horses in which survived the famous
shipwreck. The two groups are "The Maryland Herd" and "The Virginia Herd". The Virginia Herd consists of approximately 130 head
and is owned by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Dept. The ponies graze in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, located on
the Virginia portion of Assateague Island. The Maryland Herd consists of approximately 40 Head and is owned by the Maryland Park
Service.
The famous annual "Pony Round-up" and "Pony Swim" is held each year during the month of July. The Chincoteague Volunteer
Fireman herd the ponies off their island at slack tide, through the sea water channel to Virginia. On the last Wednesday of every July,
the ponies are gathered for the sale the next day. Here the baby foals are auctioned off to the highest bidder. In 1998, the highest
bid ever for a pony was $7000
After the Chincoteague Pony foals are sold, the stallions and mares are taken back to their islands, again swimming the channel at
slack tide. Slack tide is when the water is at it's calmest and the tide is neither coming in nor going out. This is the easiest time for the
ponies to cross the channel.
There are approximately 180 privately owned Chincoteague Ponies scattered over the United States and Canada. In the mid 80's
Gale Park Frederick founded a horse registry for the Chincoteague Ponies. They are now recognized as a pure and rare breed.
The information and illustrations for this article are kindly provided by the National Chincoteague Pony Association.
For further information on the ponies please contact the
The National Chincoteague Pony Association
E-mail: GFreder426@aol.com
Website: www.pony-chincoteague.com
this is a piece of slate measuring 21X12, turned out to be the perfect
format for this painting! Done in 3 colors only, does not show well in
photo, very stunning and inviting!
