Comments on: February 19, 2010 – PZP & Assateague Island

By: Linda

Linda — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 17:15:21 +0000

I have a question: In wolf populations, when there are scarce resources, the pack limits who will breed, and it’s usually the alpha female, thus insuring the best traits are passed on to the pack.

If the PZP program on Asseteague allows that every mare will have one live foal, and the populations are reduced to a point where there is no real demand on the resources, so the rate of survival for all is higher with less having to “prove” themselves, wouldn’t that interfere with the herds natural selection process and possibly create a scenario where inferior genes are passed onto the herd.

By: Jason Edge

Jason Edge — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 21:02:56 +0000

Am I just being pedantic? Are these horses really wild or just feral? http://www.offyoutrot.co.uk/blog/wild-horses/

By: Lea Williams

Lea Williams — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:48:46 +0000

This is all wonderful information Matt. I am wondering though how in a much larger area where there are so many more horses how it would work. Just wondering and pondering it.

By: Barb S

Barb S — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:51:51 +0000

Matt, Thanks for posting this information on the Assateague Island ponies and the PZP program. I only wish the western wild horses were given as much consideration and care as those on Assateague–both the NPS Assateague and the Chincoteague herds.
I have a Chincoteague pony I purchased in 2007. The firemen do return some of the foal crop to the island every summer in the form of a “buy back”. The foals they select to return are auctioned off; the top bidder gets to name the foal and have their picture taken with him. This year’s top price for a “buy back” was $13,000! The NPS Assateague ponies have a program called Foster Horse Program where for a small amount of money you can “adopt” a pony and get a picture of the pony and info about it. They also had a “name the foal” on Ebay and the top bidder got to name the new foals. All good ideas that make the public part of the process. Again I believe that the BLM has a lot of catching up to do!