Southern Herds In Corral; Northern Herds To Be Rounded Up This Morning

All Chincoteague Ponies in the southern compartment of the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island were successfully rounded-up and corralled Saturday morning.  Each and every pony living in the southern area was gathered in by the Saltwater Cowboys, made up of Volunteer Firemen from Chincoteague Island and other horsemen from other Volunteer Fire Companies (both near by, and from as far away as Ohio). 
  Due to the extreme heat the east coast is experiencing, the southern herds round-up was moved from the usual afternoon gathering, to one beginning at 7 a.m. yesterday.  Some visitors were unhappy with the time change, but the Pony Committee does what is best for the ponies, and for the horses the round-up men ride.  Veterinarians recommended an earlier and cooler time of day, and even so, it was hot.
  The yearlings look a bit peaked, due to the heat.  It is also their first summer grazing for themselves, and they were on the Carnival Grounds, with both hay and pasture provided up until mid-April.  It's not unusual to see ribs and backbones in feral yearlings, especially as they are busy growing, as well as playing - which doesn't work well in this extraordinary heat wave.  On the whole, the majority of the ponies look very good, weight-wise.  But the yearlings and nursing mares could use some more weight...

 Above: foal 26, out of Got Milk, by Riptide

Below: foal 27, out of Loveland's Secret Feather, by Riptide

   Today's northern round-up will cover a lot more territory, and there are 12 distinct herds to gather in, rather than just 3 down south.  (I was "screamed at" on Facebook fro listed two mares as deceased last week - both have been declared deceased by the Chincoteague Pony Pedigree Database, in keeping with the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company's records.  However, a group of pony enthusiasts insists that until a pony has been missing for more than a year, it should be considered alive, stating that other ponies have reappeared after a year long disappearance.  I still completely disagree with this.)  Two mares have been missing since March and April - Carol's Little Freedom has been missing since the first week of March, and Cody's Little Jigsaw Puzzle was last seen the first week of April.  Freedom was in Hoppy's herd and was 20 years old; Jigsaw was in Legacy's herd, and looked about ready to foal when she disappeared at the age of 6.  I expect everyone to come in except these two mares in the northern compartment.
   I am still trying to figure out the comments regarding ponies missing for a year that suddenly make a reappearance. The only one I can think of is Pirate, who was best known as "Broken Jaw."  He did evade being rounded three times immediately after his jaw was broken by a kick from an older stallion - but he was also seen many times in between the Fall, Spring, and Pony Penning round-ups where he was absent.  And then, after a couple of years once he had his own herd, the cowboys left him on Assateague, because he kept going over and through the fences at the Carnival Grounds, and leading his mares and other herds all over the island...

Pirate, also known as Broken Jaw

   When Walt Clark was alive, I used to sit at his side and ask questions about all the Pony Pennings he remembered - then I'd go home and write all of what he told me down.  Since he was a true Teaguer, raised on Piney Island, a World War II veteran, a hunter, poacher, Round-Up man, and absolutely wonderful person, I take his word on what has happened with the ponies in the past (may he rest in peace).  He was a fantastic teller of tales, both of the times when his family lived on Assateague, and his own years in the Army and on Chincoteague....  He was the one who gave me the background information on Pirate.