Critter Sitter's Blog: Four Days of Pony Penning Week So Far... Buy Backs Tagged

All yearling and older ponies, as well as all the foals (with the exception of Kimball's Rainbow Delight's) showed up for Pony Penning in the north and south herds. We lost CLG Cowboy Kisses to suspected equine pythiosis just before Pony Penning; Carol's Little Freedom disappeared in March; Cody's Little Jigsaw Puzzle disappeared 10 days be Spring Round-Up; and Rainy's foal was photographed one afternoon, soon after birth, and never seen again. At the moment there are 143 ponies counted as yearlings or older, and 61 foals in the combined herds.
I was surprised to find that the Pony Committee has marked 10 foals as selected But Backs this year, as the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company's contract with the US government states that there can be no more 150 ponies kept on the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge year round. With 143 and 10 Buy Backs, that is a trifle over 150 head of ponies. So now I'm wondering if a few of the older ponies will be gently "retired" into private, personal homes for the rest of their lives, to make room for the ten chosen foals.
Well - first of all - the ten foals marked as Buy Backs (and this may change if one of them ends up being King or Queen Neptune tomorrow) are nine fillies and one colt. The colt is foal 7 - a buckskin, out of Miracle's Natural Beauty, and sired by Tornado's Legacy. The two solid color fillies are Anne Bonny's buckskin (number 55), sired by Legacy; and Black Pearl's black (number 52), sired by Maverick. The other seven fillies are pintos - six bay and one chestnut: the chestnut is out of Two Teagues Taco (number 56), sired by Ace; and number 2, out of Danny's Girl Splash, by Hoppy; number 57, out of May's Grand Slam, by Ken; number 4, out of Winter Moon, by DLSII; number 61, out of Skylark, by Ajax; number 48, out of Splash of Freckles, by Legacy; and number 12, out of Thunderstorm Skies, by Puzzle.
Rainbow Warrior was foaled in 1997, and is looking very tired and worn. Neptune (aka Little Dolphin) has not sired a foal in 2 years, even though he has a very nice herd of mares, breeds them frequently, and is only 11 years old. I am wondering if these two stallions might be retired from Assateague, as Tornado (the sire of Legacy and Prince of Tides) was. I would also (personally) retire WitchKraft (aka Friendly Girl), who is 27 this year and produced another gorgeous foal on May 18th - a chestnut pinto filly with Prince.... But the above is just my own personal thoughts - not those of the CVFC or any other people that I know of...
That started me thinking about the ages of the ponies in general - they pretty much fend for themselves year-round, unless it's a really hard winter and hay is provided - and they bicker among themselves, as all wild things do, settling leadership issues. Looking just at the stallions - Rainbow Warrior acts the eldest (born in 1997), and hasn't bred a mare in years; but Wild Thing was also born in 1997 and is very active and producing foals. Born in 2007 were Ace's Black Tie Affair, Effie's Papa Bear (aka Hoppy), Ajax, Tornado's Legacy and Tornado's Prince of Tides. Born in 2008 were Chief Golden Eagle, Ken, Archer's Gambit (aka Puzzle), and Little Dolphin (aka Neptune), who has not sired a foal in 2 years. Surfer's Riptide was born in 2009. The year 2014 produced Maverick and the Don Leonard Stud II (aka DLS2). WH Rainy's Beach Boy was born and donated to the CVFC in 2015 - the first Misty stallion descendant on Assateague. 2017 saw the addition of two more colts: Henry's Hidalgo, and CLG ToMorrow's Tidewater Twist. Last year, another solid bay colt was added, Thunderbolt.
Looking at the mares, the eldest is WitchKraft (aka Friendly Girl) who was born in 1992. Babe was born in 1994; Unci in 1995; Susie Q in 1996, and Checkers in 1997. 1998 saw the births of Black Star, Suzy's Sweetheart, and Slash of White. Bay Girl, Leah's Bayside Angel, Shy Anne (aka Half 'n' Half), and Cinnamon Blaze were born in 1999. Born in 2000 were Whisper of a Living Legend, Too Grand (aka Saltwater Taffee), Got Milk, Ella of Assateague, Surfin' Scarlet, and Lefty's Checkmark. Thetis, Susana, Unforgettable, and Stevenson's Dakota Sky were born in 2001. And 2002 saw the birth of Surfer Dude's Gidget, Tuleta Star, JABATTA, and Tiger Lily (aka Waterbaby)....
There is no reversing of the aging process, and having a foal almost every year can be very wearing on the mares - and fighting amongst the stallions can be pretty nasty and debilitating, too.

So - here are photos of the marked Buy Back

foals for 2019 - in order of their birth: