Assateague Island

There's just something about the image of horses running along beaches, crashing gallantly through the surf, muscles rippling beneath windswept coats. It's the stuff of Hollywood and the silver screen (as seen in the 1961 film "Misty"). But on Assateague Island, it is also part of daily reality. While bicycling or walking the Maryland State Park, you're just as likely to encounter one of the island's wild horses (commonly referred to as "ponies") as you are the other forms of untamed wildlife that inhabit the area. The equine foragers roam the park's 680 acres in small bands, or "harems," nibbling on a steady diet consisting mostly of indigenous cordgrass and American beachgrass.

By Jay Livingston

June 15, 2001