Rediculously that the foal's price are 10 times of that of the horses in Nevada wild horse auction. I saw in the video clip that one foal is sold at 2K and another at 3K while the horses in Cold Creeks are sold at 200 to 300 each.
@VietFiddle - part of the cost is due to the auction being a source of funding for the fire department, and care of the herds on Assateague - see the next video in our trip called chincoteague camping - horsing around
What you people need to understand is if they did not auction off the ponies each year the herd would become to large for Assateague Island to support. The auction also provides funding to care for the Assateague herd. Without the auction the ponies would become extinct.
@bbgocats In addition to the ecological issues too many ponies would create, there's also the government to deal with. Virginia will revoke the permit given to the Fire Department to have the horses on the island if the herd gets bigger than 150 horses. Then the herd would have to be disbanded and sold off, and we'd be left with no wild horses to enjoy and Chincoteague would loose a major source of income every summer.
im glad you said that...i was down there this year too and my heart broke for the baby ponies..they looked scared. I'm not a horse person so i don't know the 'process'...
if you were a "horse person" you would know that horses are ALL flighty animals, and scaredy-cats. it's how they survive. i've ridden horses that are afraid of fence posts! but they do get over it, and, once they have been "handled" correctly, they come to trust people, and other horses, although they develop a natural pecking order.
well, like i said I am not a horse person, just an animal lover and i was simply thanking you for providing the information on how they are okay and well care for...
The ponies are weaned at about the same age as they would naturally, and the really young ones get sent back to the island and are given to their new owners in the fall. They are perfectly fine.
@tinkytanie They don't get taken from their moms that young except for the short time they're in the auction ring. There's actually three roundups on Assateague every year: The spring roundup to check their health after the winter and get them vaccinated against illness, the fall roundup for another checkup before the winter, and of course Pony Penning. Any foal too young to wean at Pony Penning gets to stay with mom and the buyer has to come back at the fall roundup in September to get them.
Oh those colts are pure enchantment.
Helen at Ebenezer
Catusha1000 1 year ago
@Catusha1000 - glad you like this one - it''s another of my personal favs...and i'd like to go back to Chincoteague, AND camp on Assateague again...
bluzdawg 1 year ago
Rediculously that the foal's price are 10 times of that of the horses in Nevada wild horse auction. I saw in the video clip that one foal is sold at 2K and another at 3K while the horses in Cold Creeks are sold at 200 to 300 each.
VietFiddle 1 year ago
@VietFiddle - part of the cost is due to the auction being a source of funding for the fire department, and care of the herds on Assateague - see the next video in our trip called chincoteague camping - horsing around
bluzdawg 1 year ago
I love going to Chincoteague & Assateague Island. I go every year for the Pony Penning, Swim and auction. :)
barrelracer4lifecg13 2 years ago
What you people need to understand is if they did not auction off the ponies each year the herd would become to large for Assateague Island to support. The auction also provides funding to care for the Assateague herd. Without the auction the ponies would become extinct.
bbgocats 2 years ago
@bbgocats In addition to the ecological issues too many ponies would create, there's also the government to deal with. Virginia will revoke the permit given to the Fire Department to have the horses on the island if the herd gets bigger than 150 horses. Then the herd would have to be disbanded and sold off, and we'd be left with no wild horses to enjoy and Chincoteague would loose a major source of income every summer.
DokkasoStorm 1 year ago
that is soo mean they shouldnt take them away from the moms at that age ! that should be illegal
tinkytanie 3 years ago
the winners come back way later and get the ponies - we asked about it - all the ponies are very well cared for
bluzdawg 3 years ago
im glad you said that...i was down there this year too and my heart broke for the baby ponies..they looked scared. I'm not a horse person so i don't know the 'process'...
dgrrrl 2 years ago
if you were a "horse person" you would know that horses are ALL flighty animals, and scaredy-cats. it's how they survive. i've ridden horses that are afraid of fence posts! but they do get over it, and, once they have been "handled" correctly, they come to trust people, and other horses, although they develop a natural pecking order.
bluzdawg 2 years ago
well, like i said I am not a horse person, just an animal lover and i was simply thanking you for providing the information on how they are okay and well care for...
dgrrrl 2 years ago
The ponies are weaned at about the same age as they would naturally, and the really young ones get sent back to the island and are given to their new owners in the fall. They are perfectly fine.
TameTheFlame 2 years ago
@tinkytanie They don't get taken from their moms that young except for the short time they're in the auction ring. There's actually three roundups on Assateague every year: The spring roundup to check their health after the winter and get them vaccinated against illness, the fall roundup for another checkup before the winter, and of course Pony Penning. Any foal too young to wean at Pony Penning gets to stay with mom and the buyer has to come back at the fall roundup in September to get them.
DokkasoStorm 1 year ago
@DokkasoStorm - thanks for the information - wasn't sure where to find that out....
bluzdawg 1 year ago