A New Foal - And Other Foals

First, foal 49 has joined us - Kachina and Hoppy have produced what looks to be a buckskin baby.  Seen from a distance, and not seen clearly, so sex is definitely unknown.  Baby spotted this morning, 30 May...

Foal 48 is a filly, the daughter of A Splash of Freckles and Legacy:

And, today's "bonus" is a series of photos of two foals sired by Wild, playing together...  They are both bay pintos. -  The colt (# 9) is a darker base color, out of Summer's Gentle Sea Breeze, and was born on 20 April.  The filly (#13) is lighter in color and has a splash of white on her neck; she is out of Tuleta Star, and was born on 27 April.  -  She's leading in the first photo; he's leading in the second...

** All photos shared today were taken by, and are the property of

DSC Photography **

Forty-One Foals So Far on the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

The latest foal was spotted about noon today, on 21 May.  Kathleen Cahall, who saw and has taken the only photos so far of Lorna Dune's palomino pinto baby, saw a palomino pinto foal with Zustan, a young buckskin mare in Legacy's herd.  No photos of this foal, number 41, at the moment... 
   Late Sunday afternoon, through a heavy fog, a - possibly - chestnut (?) foal was spotted with Kimball's Rainbow Delight; the sire would be Prince.  This is the photo from that sighting and report:

  Little miss (Judy's Little) Smooch has been at the Carnival Grounds, keeping company with Bailey's Star (a donated mare), since the Spring Round-up in mid-April.  Neither the cowboys, the Pony Committee, not the veterinarians, were happy with Smooch's condition.  Her fur was dull, she was underweight, and she was definitely pregnant.  So she's been getting extra tender loving care, as well as grain, hay and supplements since that time. Early yesterday morning, when the CVFC person arrived to feed her and Star, they found a palomino pinto filly, whose sire is Legacy beside her....  These are the early photos of the little girl, less than 3 hours old:

   Suede and Maverick produced a bay colt yesterday, too.  Suede is a palomino, and Maverick is a bay pinto...  

   Again, Zustan foaled today, but there are currently no photos available... her foal makes 4 palomino pintos sired by Legacy, and 2 sired by Legacy's half-brother, Prince.

    Still no close photos of, and/or color confirmation, and/or sexes of Gingersnap and Prince's foal, Little Miss Sunshine's foal, or Rainbow Delight's foal.  We know Lorna Dune's foal is a palomino pinto, but not the sex of that baby, nor of the new Zustan foal....

    **** All photos used today were taken by, and belong to, DSC Photography ****

Newest Chincoteague Pony Foals and Up-dated Photos

There are three new foals to report on the Virginia side of Assateague Island...  Bling Bling (registered name Diamond's Bay Dream) and Chief Golden Eagle had a bay filly on 16 May; and two new babies were spotted yesterday - Lorna Dune and Prince of Tides have a palomino pinto, and Friendly Girl (also known as Witch Kraft) and Chief had a chestnut pinto colt.  Friendly Girl is currently the oldest pony on the Virginia end, at 27 years of age; her last foal was in 2016, when she and Wild Thing had a chestnut pinto filly.  Lorna Dune's buy back donor spotted the foal yesterday - but the mare is way out in the middle of the Plover Flats, so close viewing is impossible.  The photos of her foal were taken by  Kathleen Cahall, and belong solely to her.

Foal # 35  - bay filly, out of Bling Bling, by Chief

 These photos are property of DSC Photography

Foal # 36  - palomino pinto, out of Lorna Dune, by Prince of Tides

 These photos are property of Kathleen Cahall

Foal # 37  - chestnut pinto colt, out of Friendly Girl, by Chief

Above photo is property of Captain Dan Davis

 Bottom photo is property of DSC Photography

Foal # 14  - bay pinto filly, out of Tuleta Star, by Wild Thing

Photo property of DSC Photography

Foal # 25  - chestnut pinto colt, out of Chickadee, by Ace

Photo property of DSC Photography

Rest In Peace Surf Queen, Wild Island Orchid, Firestar and CLG Wild Star....

I want to thank Darcy Cole and Steve Cole of DSC Photography for calling the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company and 911 at the same time yesterday - each one called a number.  There were hiking on the north end of the island, looking for new foals.  To their horror, they spotted three mares stuck in quicksand.  One wasn't moving, but two were still feebly struggling.  The CVFC and Pony Committee members were there within 15 minutes. 
   Wild Island Orchid, a pale chestnut mare had already succumbed to the cold, wet muck and cold water.  Randy and Surf Queen were pulled from the quicksand, hauled into stock trailers, and taken to the Carnival Grounds.  The mares were suffering from hypothermia and dehydration.  They were covered with blankets and given intravenous fluids continuously.  Surf Queen, who had been the long-time lead mare for Surfer Dude passed away early this morning.  Randy has a cautiously optimistic outlook - if she can survive through tomorrow, and doesn't develop infections, she should be all right.
   Wild Island Orchid was buried on Assateague.  I'm not sure what will be done with Surf Queen.  I would assume she was buried today, also. 
   Firestar passed away on 19 February 2018 at a private home.  She had been a feral pony living on Assateague since 1992 and producing foals for the CVFC up until the fall of 2015.  She was born on the Maryland end of Assateague, sired by Saddleback and out of VIP.  She was donated by the National Park Service to the Virginia herd in 1994.  She was judged too frail to live in the wild at the Fall Round-Up in 2015 and was taken to a private farm, where she was fed grain and hay and was able to decide whether to stay under cover of a run-in or go out into the pasture.
   CLG Wild Star was an $11,000 buy back in 2015.  Her sire was Wild Thing, and her dam was Fire Star.  She was doing well with the other youngsters, but hasn't been seen in months, and was not found at this year's Spring Round-Up.  It is assumed she passed away during the winter months.
   Wild Island Orchid was also known as Naughty Lady.  She was foaled in 1994, and passed away on 29 April 2018.  She, Randy and Surf Queen became buddies over the past 18 to 20 months, and were often together while out of sight of their stallion, Hoppy (aka Effie's Papa Bear).  Orchid was with the stallion Witch Doctor for many years.  Two of her daughters, sired by Witch Doctor, are still on Assateague - Two Teagues Taco, a 2005 foal, and White Saddle, born in 2013.  Her last three foals were all fillies, and were sired by Hoppy.
   Surf Queen.  She was Surfer Dude's lead mare until his death in the winter of  2015.  She was born in 1997 and passed away today.  It is generally accepted that her sire was General Lee, and her dam was Virginia Belle.  After the Dude's passing, she wandered for a year before settling in with Hoppy.  She produce a gorgeous bay filly with him on 26 June last year, named Hoppy's Surfing Princess.  Three of her foals reside on Assateague, all sired by Surfer Dude:  her daughter, Surfin' Scarlett, born in 2000; her son, Surfer Dude's Riptide, born 2009; and her last Dude foal, Surfer Princess, born 2015.

New Fillies - Two in Virginia, One in Maryland

Well, three mares have foaled since Pony Penning ended.  We have two new fillies to be sold at the Fall Round-up on October 13 and 14; and we have one mare recovering from a stillbirth.  The vet has checked Courtney's Island Dove frequently since she delivered a dead foal on 17 August.  She'll be returned to Assateague within the next few days.  There has been no announcement regarding the reason for the stillbirth.
   On 6 August, Galadriel, a 1999 mare, delivered a beautifully marked Wild Thing filly.  Photo shows dam, filly, and sire at right.  I do not know who took this photo - if you did so, please notify me, and I will credit you, with gratitude!

On the morning of the eclipse, 21 August, Freckles (aka 15 Friends of Freckles), a 2006 mare, gave birth to a filly sired by Ken.  These photos are by DSC Photography of Greenbackville, VA.  Copies may be purchased on their website -  http://www.dscphotography.net     These copies were shared on Facebook originally.

And, also on the morning of the eclipse, Johnny's Star gave birth to a chestnut filly - presumed sire is Chip (aka Delegate's Pride).  These photos were taken by Beached Paws Photography  of Berlin, MD - please see their website at:  http://beachedpaws.wixsite.com/beachedpawsphotos  for these and other excellent photos.

Assateague Island and Pony Information

I've been receiving a lot of comments and questions regarding my two favorite islands - and about how I can identify the ponies on both the northern, Maryland end of Assatague, and the ponies that are found on the southern, Virginia end of Assateague on the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.  If you are interested, read on...   If you're not interested, then today's blog is a bust for you (sorry).
   Assateague Island is a long, lean barrier island that (currently) runs from just south of Ocean City, Maryland to the southern tip of Chincoteague Island in Virginia.   Assateague's east side is faced by the Atlantic Ocean, and the west side has multiple named bays and channels, before you reach the southern hook.  Assateague originally was an outlying island, that in the recent past (200 years ago) ran from New Jersey to Virginia.  The ocean currents eat away, and build up, barrier islands.
   The entirety of Assateague  Island is designated a National Seashore.  The Maryland end has camping sites, a State Park, a Visitor's Center, wildlife galore, and an amazing beach.  One can find further information at the following URLs:
  Assateague  Island National Seashore Visitor Services
      http://www.assateagueisland.com/

  Assateague Island National Seashore - United States Park Service
      https://www.nps.gov/asis/

  Assateague Island National Seashore - National Park Foundation
      https://www.nationalparks.org/explore-parks/assateague-island-national-seashore/

If you are looking for fantastic photography of Assateague - landscapes, seascapes, wildlife, sunrises, or sunsets - or you want specific photos taken, I strongly suggest Beached Paws Photography, located in Berlin Maryland.  You can easily check out the website (http://beachedpaws.wixsite.com/beachedpawsphotos )  or look at the Facebook page....  Beautiful work and marvelous photos of all kinds!
  I also highly recommend Allen Sklar Photos - Allen specializes in commercial wildlife photography, birds, and every aspect of Assateague Island.  His website may be seen at:  http://www.assateaguephotos.com
   If you want to learn the names and designations (breeding numbers) of the ponies on the Maryland end of Assateague, I highly recommend visiting two different Facebook pages:  The Assateague Island Alliance and Assateague Island Ponies.

  If you are seeking the most up-to-date information regarding the ponies on the southern end of Assateague Island, in Virginia - the ones made famous in the book Misty of Chincoteague - then the best place for information is the website of Darcie and Steve Cole, who own and operate DSC Photography out of Greenbackville, Virginia.  They have multiple photos of each pony - and the groups are separated into stallions, fillies and mares, and herds.  They also start a new album each year of the new babies, listing dam and sire, sex, and when the baby was first seen.  Their website may be viewed at   https://www.dscphotography.net    and they also have a great Facebook page.
(And I have to admit that having worked with horses for more than 50 years, and having spent al of my summers on Chincoteague and Assateague, I can identify most of the ponies quite easily - some by the way they move, some by their conformation....)

I'll post Chincoteague information tomorrow....

      

Chincoteague Ponies - Older & New - Photos

These photos are shared with many thanks from several people - and

two special business entities:

DSC Photography of Greenbackville, Virginia

and

JMS Photography of Chincoteague, Virginia

(You can purchase un-marked photos from them, at great prices!

Check out their web sites!)

Badabing and Surfer Princess (2015 buy-backs)

Riptide's herd (Riptide at right)

Five of the 2016 buy-backs

First foal of 2017 - 

Mom is Anne Bonny, the filly, and Dad is Legacy

Second foal - a colt by Legacy out of Sweetheart

Newborn third foal - filly out of Little Duckie, sired by Legacy

Fourth foal - a colt, by Riptide, out of first-time Mom Suede.

Suede left the foal after the first nursing; Suede and foal were

re-united in a box stall after a mini-round-up, and will be kept

together for a few days to insure bonding.  

New Foals on the Virginia End of Assateague - Photos

Since I last posted Chincoteague pony babies photographs, eight more have arrived in Virginia.  Each of these photos was taken by DSC Photography, and their work is copyrighted.  I share these photos with their gracious permission.  Under each photo is the name of the mother (dam) and presumed father (sire); if the sex is known, it is stated....

Molly Rosebud - Ace's Black Tie Affair   Colt

Leah's Bayside Angel - Sockett To Me

Suzy's Sweetheart - Riptide 

Bay Girl - Riptide   Colt

Tiger Lily - Ace       Filly

Catwalk Chaos - Ajax      Filly

Poco's Starry Night - Riptide

Destiny Feathered Spirit has also had her foal, but, as yet, we have no photos.

New Chincoteague Foals - Thanks to DSC Photography

Sarcy and Steve Cole hike miles every day on Assateague to bring you photos like these.  Please visit their website and purchase a gorgeous photo of your favorite Chincoteague pony without their copyright watermark.  They work hard for our enjoyment.  http://www.dscphotography.com 

Tunie's colt, first-born of the herds

Tunie's colt approaching Japanese elk (Sika deer)

Ladies' Sweet Surprise and her buckskin foal

Wildest Dream and her bay baby

Wildest Dream's bay

Wild Island Orchid and her chestnut foal

Lyra's Vega and her foal sired by Riptide